Any Advice ??

[elmariachi]

Even if you buy a complete kit, ready for assembly, you are going to run yourself ragged chasing down all the little bits and pieces you'll want to build it "your way." By building a car using donor parts that problem is only compounded. Its a buyer's market, and for what you'd spend on building one from used donor parts you can likely buy a complete kit made with all new, 0 mile, performance-grade, pre-fitted parts, and chop months off your build time. Granted, you gotta write that check all at once versus scrounging for parts over many months (though many kit makers will break their kits down into bite-sized chunks.)

One thing that may not have occurred to you, but when you are zooming along at a high rate of speed, you'll already be asking yourself "Did I tighten that bolt?" Do you want to also be asking yourself "Did the spindle I bought from Acme Salvage get cracked when the donor Mustang was hit by that freight train?"

[Snakebit]

A kit using a doner car is like putting a dress on a pig. Looks nice, but it's still a pig under the dress.

[redmt]

Originally Posted by Snakebit

A kit using a doner car is like putting a dress on a pig. Looks nice, but it's still a pig under the dress.

I heard it was like putting lipstick on a pig. It looks good but still tastes like pork if you kiss it.

All the posts above have certainly helped. My thoughts are to go with a complete kit. I'll add my power and drive train as I want it. I would say that my skill level is as good as anybodies when it comes to twisting bolts. My BIG handicap is electrical.

One thing I'm afraid of with a complete kit is where to get parts, brakes , bearings etc. when they wear out. I have an old ranch truck that is built out of so many vehicles over the years that even getting u-joints for it is a challenge. Do complete kits come with a list of what parts are common to off the shelf ? I would hope that when something wears out, I could go to Napa and get what I need. I've seen some of the mfg's say that the A frames, coil overs, rear links and such are specific to them. What happens when you bend an arm or wear out a ball joint and the company has gone under or sold out?

I think the only way I'd be interested in a used car would be if it was one of the make that I'd have bought as a kit. I'm not wanting to just settle for something that isn't what I want. I don't want to buy something to rebuild it, or repaint it.

I'm looking for a daily driver type. Probably a small block, 400 hp +-. Nothing too exotic.

John

[elmariachi]

Originally Posted by redmt

All the posts above have certainly helped. My thoughts are to go with a complete kit. I'll add my power and drive train as I want it. I would say that my skill level is as good as anybodies when it comes to twisting bolts. My BIG handicap is electrical.

The wiring on these kits is 7th grader simple. Hurricane uses a purpose-built wiring harness kit from Haywire, and every single wire is silkscreened every 12" with a label of where it goes (cooling fan, rear blinker, ignition, horn.) the harness comes with a 4 pages of instructions and once you read them, you can do it.

Originally Posted by redmt

One thing I'm afraid of with a complete kit is where to get parts, brakes, bearings etc. when they wear out. I have an old ranch truck that is built out of so many vehicles over the years that even getting u-joints for it is a challenge. Do complete kits come with a list of what parts are common to off the shelf ?

I can only speak for Hurricane but my kit came with a full build sheet with all part #s. Everything is either standard off-the-shelf and available at stores like Napa and O'Reilly (brake pads/wheel bearings etc), or available directly from race suppliers like QA1 (coil-over shocks), Wilwood (brakes) etc. Then there's all the "original Cobra"-related stuff like steering wheels, door latches, dash switches, knock-off wheels, etc that have been available for years from reputable Cobra suppliers (like www.finishlineaccessories.com) and will be for years to come. I have ZERO worry that something would need replacing in 10 years and not be able to easily source it. Frankly, I am more worried about that on my daily driver than my Cobra.

[Dwight]

most guys only put 2000 to 3000 miles per year on a Cobra. So it would take 33 years to wear out most of the parts.
Now if you drive it hard, well maybe you'll get 5 years out of them.
Most Cobra parts are Ford, a few Chevie and maybe a Mopar part or two.
I think you can find all the parts in a local parts store like Auto Zone.

You can buy a runing, ready to drive, Cobra Cheaper than you can build it.

There are thousands for sale.

Surely there is one that fits your buget and taste. If there are a few things you don't like about it, you can repair, re-paint or replace it.

Happy hunting

Dwight

[redmt]

You can buy a runing, ready to drive, Cobra Cheaper than you can build it.

There are thousands for sale.

Surely there is one that fits your buget and taste. If there are a few things you don't like about it, you can repair, re-paint or replace it.

Happy hunting

Dwight[/quote]

Where? I've hunted around here, ebay CL, FF5. I haven't seen anything comparable to component prices. I've ruled out a few . FF5, BB, McGill Pacific are a couple that come to mind I'm not interested in. The Hurricane still seems to be the front runner. I may find out that I have the Champagne taste on a beer budget. That is one of the reasons I was considering a donor build. Less expensive to start and pay as you build?

[patrickt]

Red, are you trying to keep your total outlay below, say, $40k?

[bobcowan]

Originally Posted by Snakebit

A kit using a doner car is like putting a dress on a pig. Looks nice, but it's still a pig under the dress.

Depends on how you do it. If you find a 15 year old BMW with 150K miles on it as a donor, that's what you get. But if you find a low mileage 5 year old BMW, then you get something very differant.

That's like refusing to buy a used car because it's just a pig with a pretty face.

I started with all new parts on my car. Now they're all used parts.