Mine isn't finished...yet. It will be though. The usual time and money limits the completion date.

 

Slord,

Understandable. Do you have a completed date in mine? And how long have you been working on it?

Thanks

 

To be honest I don't have a schedule. I am enjoying the build process and linger over every detail (probably way too long). Let me see... it is a little over a year since I brought the kit home. Was another year before that dismantling the donor and refurbing parts. So far it is a roller and the engine is in. Wiring mostly done. Most of the panels are in. Am presently working on engine extras like those PITA equal length shorty headers and the intake.
BTW anybody have a header bolt fall into the engine mount? It might have to live there till I hit a big bump or roll the thing.
As for completion date? It will be done when it is done.

 

Lack of time, lack of money are the two biggest reasons.
Lack of talent is the third.



Bill S.

 

To add to Bill, I think there is also change of life events that impact builds as well. Some of those go directly to #1 and #2, have a baby, lose your job, etc. Finding time to work on the car and having a plan is important for sure.

 

I know of three unfinished builds here in the center part of California. One arrived the same day as mine and two about two years later. The first one is not finished due to time (life events with family) the second for the same reason the third due to health problems.

 

Work, family, a new 30 year old house, kids in college ($$$). Building the car is a huge time commitment, and sometimes it has to be put on the back burner. Priorities change also.

 

it really takes a lot of time, esp. when you get to the body work, I remember working on the car till 1 in the morning, then a shower, bed and up at 6 for work, finally had to put a clock in the garage, sometimes you just get burned out and have to get away. Someone that does a lot of cars once told me the best way to complete a project like this is to devote 30 min ~1 hour a day in the shop, even if you don't have money to spend on parts, there is always something to do. That was the only fear I had, losing interest and having an uncompleted car just sitting in the garage, I think this forum helps get a lot of cars get completed.

 

Snakelake, I have to agree with that always something to do.

 

I know I stalled a few times getting mine on the road.

It took me months to tackle the wiring, once i got started it was a breeze.
I lost time considering options and upgrades...I purchased my kit from ffr thinking I'd do a donor, bought and dismantled one also. In the end the only part I used from it was a T5 which I recently burned.

For me I have to balance family, money (which really comes down to getting permission from my wife for big ticket items like the TKO I just bought) and research.

I'm doing body work this winter, started it a month ago. Luckily licensing in Ontario is easy so I was able to enjoy a few hundred miles before the transmission gave out.

 

Other priorities in my case. Just simply slide to the back burner, for now.
But I've been driving it, 3500 miles so far!

Plus, I want to stay in competition for the longest build...

 

I have been apart of so many of these builds it is hard to count.
This question comes up at every build.

How long should it take?

That is a very personal question.
Every person has their own priority's in life.
It seems to me that many people have the time they just don't include the build time in their daily routine.
Instead of watching that TV show of others building a car, go into the garage and build your own.
Instead of going camping this weekend spent a weekend in the garage with the kids.
Bowling on wed night I think not, have those guys come over and rivet.
And most of all get off the forum this is build time. and will only add more things to do on your build.

Another thing I see happen is people will get to a point in the build that causes them to hesitate.
Electrical system
Body Work
Registration
cluttered work area (Yes this point alone can stall a project more than the first three things. Never let your work area become messy stop and clean up. If you have to look for a tool more than twice your area is messy)

Ok enough
I have to go build now
Later
Mark D

 

Had mine a year and a half. Just getting really going on it now. To long a list of stuff to do.
No real reason to rush enjoy the build part.

I do a lot of bike riding.
House repair's, Grandson, Wife,
Also working a lot. Trying to retire next year. 55 years old and finally hit the 35 year mark at work.
And this form has me working extra for the upgrades I keep doing.

Joe

 

I can't disagree with any of the comments made so far... Money, time, talent, life's priorities all can slow a build down to where it stalls. Funny, just yesterday at a car show someone asked me how many of these kits get purchased and never finished. I have to say I don't have the answer, but I suspect it's more than we might think. When people asked me how long my Mk3 took to build, and I tell them two years, many aren't surprised but others say they wouldn't have the patience to stick with it that long. They are not good builder candidates... I guess the only thing I would add to the comments is that I think some underestimate the effort required. Perhaps FFR should take a little blame for this, because I think they understate the amount of time required. I don't recall the exact number, but it's several hundred hours. I guess it's possible, but certainly not for the inexperienced or non-professional builders. This could be a factor for some.

While this is a kit, each is still a custom build, and there will be bumps and surprises along the way. We regularly see forum posts about people "disappointed" because something didn't fit exactly as expected, they had to "adjust" something (bend, clearance, cut, whatever) and seem surprised that this is necessary. This could be a factor for others. Maybe they were expecting it to go together like the plastic models they built as a kid.

For me personally, I built my Mk3 as someone with some mechanical aptitude, but zero experience doing anything similar. I got a bit of a headstart because the car was started by someone else. The two years I spent had ups and downs, and sometimes I just had to walk away for a bit. But stuck with it and eventually finished. I decided I liked the building enough to try another, so now working on a Mk4. Again, purchased from someone else but much closer to how it's delivered from the factory. I'm finding that my experience with the first one has paid off, and moving a little more quickly and fewer mistakes. (really) But it's still something you have to be dedicated to. I commented the other day to my wife that these cars really are a lot of work. Exactly what some of us enjoy and get a giant sense of accomplishment from. But not for everyone.

 

Life gets in the way...a couple lay offs that eat up savings and have to be built back up...the other is me, I've made enough mods that the build manual is barely a reference and having to work around the mods where I didn't anticipate the impact of those mods

I'm on a ten yr build, just recently had a first start and go cart...but I still have it and still making progress...I really enjoy the build....most of the time

 

Sometimes, life just gets in the way....

 

I think it has alot to do with motivation. I remember when I ordered mine, and I believe I took delivery in May of 06. I was building it as a Christmas suprise for my dad that year. I was full throttle is a crazy fast build, I ended up telling him about it a few months later because I wanted him to be a part of the build. He had a heart attack in August and died, and I covered up the car and didnt touch it again until last year. At that point I had to undo alot to repair some damage caused by some pool chemicals in my garage. Now thats all fixed and Im moving forward, getting close to completion.

I guess I, like many, lost my main motivation in the build. It happens, it sucks, and fortunately its not permanant. Now my wife wants one, I just ordered her a MK4. My new motivation is to have both cars somplete by her birthday, July 30, 2014.

 

My reasons are quite simple.

Lack of knowledge and talent.
Work - I am away 4-5 nights a week for work, and work 80 hours a week.
These forums - I've learnt a lot, but nothing beats sitting down with the parts in your hand and fiddling until something looks right.

When I do spend time on it, I make progress, albeit slowly.

Next on my list is to re-landscape the garden and build a small man-shed. Move all the non car stuff out of the garage and get more space so I can be more organised. I spend way too long looking for stuff.

Martin

 

The same as everyone else - just about

Mine took about 20 months, but I had almost a 1 year pause in the middle.

First, I had reconstructive shoulder surgery that required me to not touch it for months. So there is the health issue. Second, we have three kids younger than 12 who each play competitive soccer, football and baseball. Say "bye bye" to Saturdays and Sundays during spring & fall. Third, I hit the proverbial talent wall with the electrical wiring - my absolute kryptonite. So it sat gathering more dust for several months.

I wanted to be able to say I did it all myself, but in the end I had to find someone to help me get it finished. That individual is a regular on here and I couldn't have done it without him.

Fourth, my painter was a slow ploke and took almost 2 months.

Money was never really an issue for me. But I can definitely see how that could slow things down also.

Also, thankfully the titling / registration process in Louisiana is relatively easy. It is not automatic, nor free, but it can be accomplished. That's where I'm at now. I can't even imagine what that is like in some states with emission requirements. But I am a month into that process and still waiting on my application result.

It CAN be done in a couple months, or even weeks for that matter, but a lotta things gotta be absolutely right.

 

Mine took almost 5yrs with no paint or body work. Plain and simple answer; It Is A Lot of Work. You really need to be tenacious if you aren't retired. At about year 3 I was really questioning taking on this project, took some time away from it then came back and made the go kart milestone, then next year gel coat body and then tagged 6 months after that in April 2012. Since then drive it, race it, break it then repeat.

 

Coming up on four years this October... I'm just pacing myself.

Seriously, I enjoy the build and don't do anything particularly fast on it. I like to take time to read about the original cars, how certain things worked, what the race teams did, what the original builders (both AC and Shelby) did, and then figure out how to do something similar on my car. That always leads to lots of reading, ciphering, and deep thought before a wrench gets turned.

 

Son acquired a kidney dieses just over 6 years ago just after my car was delivered. Hospitals and drugs took most of the build money. Now he has his new kidney and things are starting to get somewhat back to normal. I’m still quite a bit from finished, but getting back on track.

 

Long Time Builder Too

I have several of the same reasons (excuses) for my lengthy build time, late model MK-II, including spending time with the grand kids.

My biggest difference was in making my tops. When I finally got to the point that I couldn't get any more work done on my car while making tops I had to put the tops on hold. That meant that the body had to come off. Then I started to make several changes and up-grades which also takes time.

I have designed and made most (at least 98%) of all the parts that I used in my modifications and up-grades which also adds to the build time. In the long run I'll have the car that I want the way I wanted it to be done and I'll be able to say that I did it all my self.

I started in 2001, took the body off in 2009 (for the last time) and hope to finally be getting some shake down miles this month.

Regards, Rick.

 

Heat, I cant make any progress on my body because it is too hot.

 

Wimp.

 

Health

 

Time, or lack thereof. Only a problem if you have unrealistic expectations. I'm past 5 years and will probably be at at least 6, probably 7, before I'm all done. I have no regrets.