Which kit would you recommend?

[Turnips]

I'm currently in the ACT, and when i visited harrison warwick was kind enough to call one of his mates that lived down the road and get him to show me his 1/2 built daytona. I have to say that car is much more impressive in the flesh than any pictures, or maybe it was just the matt black primer. It did give an idea of the amount of work required. I have considered and probably will go the route of rolling chassis for several reasons, firstly the one warwick said, much easier transportation. Can be rolled on and off a truck so I don't need to bribe some mates to help me pull it out. Also assembling suspension is from all my current research, one of the most dangerous parts of the build, so from a pure common sense approach this seems to be the go. Warwick also said he basically only charges the cost of the parts (which would have to be purchased anyway). Also, during the build the aim will be to get rego ASAP, as that seems to be the hard bit. So if I choose the cobra rather than daytona route, options like wind wings, dual roll cage and side pipes and other misc "bling" likely wont be installed initially. My plan is also to go a gel coat route as that way if funds get tight i can postpone the paintwork.

As previously mentioned my aim is to be in a position where i can order a kit in july/august, allowing 3 months for manufacture it should be in my garage able to work just in time for xmas/new year holiday period when i get a couple of weeks off work. This gives me 3-4 months to do all my research, read some books (anyone able to recommend a few?) talk to the local boys, meet people at shelbyfest etc.

Also, i want to get anally retentive about this and make schedules for when i plan to have things done by, and also about build budget before going into it to so to have a better idea on costs, where i can skimp if need be etc. Both of these should aid in getting the car done quickly and cheaply. If anyone's taken an inventory of exactly how long it took to do and how much it cost to do that'd be most useful, and something I plan on doing, should help keep budget and schedule in check (i hope).

As for signatories, I plan to have many a long (and probably expensive) conversation with them as the build progresses. It'll be cheaper (and easier) to pay him to visit twice as often as required, than have to rebuild significant portions because i bought the wrong stuff. I've heard there are also certain rules in NSW at least (i believe ACT has essentially the same) that if the signatory has seen the same kit with the same stuff then they don't necessarily have to re-test eg brake testing. So if there's a kit he is extremely familiar with this may influence manufacturer selection.

[dallas_]

Originally Posted by Turnips

Also, i want to get anally retentive about this and make schedules for when i plan to have things done by, and also about build budget before going into it to so to have a better idea on costs, where i can skimp if need be etc. Both of these should aid in getting the car done quickly and cheaply.

Ok, I'm not down under so I have no idea what the requirements for constructed vehicles are, but two things strike me.

1. Find a kit maker that has a lot of support for the build. We went with FFR partly because of the on-line support through build blogs and the forums which answer every type of question that can come up. Find some good build blogs and read them. Then read more of them. You will likely find that there is no single step that you can't do, but there are a lot of them.

2. If you want to end up hating your project, put a time schedule on it. A budget is fine (sort of), but if you want to get any enjoyment out of the process, let it take the time it takes. It's frustrating enough at times without unnecessary time pressures. Plus, in addition to that actual build time, parts sourcing, redoing things that didn't come out right and looking for the tool you misplaced, you will need to take time to learn things that you don't know that you don't know until you run across them.

Good luck. It's a daunting task, but quite rewarding.