rdroadster said:

Hi there am looking to get a MKIV kit in the next had full of months and was wondering if the full kit is availablefor shipment to Canada or not. With exception of the fuel pump and fuel lines etc… which I know can not be shipped here. Just wondering if the $19900 full kit is available for us north of the border.

Hi

Excellent Question. The Mk 4 Kit can be had in Canada in much the same way as the MkIII kit was available. Specifically the basic Kit can be had with a handful of items deleted, which are available from alternate sources.

As for the Complete Kit, if you wanted that you would order the Basic Kit and its legally allowable options from FFR while the remaining parts that go into making up the complete kit would also be ordered from an alternate source.

If you are interested in more details on either of these procedures feel free to contact me directly on our toll free number at 866 853-5835 or by e-mail at cobrainfo@shaw.ca

AL

my427sc said:

What is your surcharge for bringing an MK4 into Canada?

Thanks,

my427sc

Hi, Excellent Question, and I beleive you will like the answer, which is that due to the volumes we do with FFR, we are able to purchase your kit at a discounted price which means that we do not surcharge at all.

 Our prices are the same as FFR's prices -  converted to Cdn dollars at current exchange rates.

We also take care of all dealings with Canada Customs, the  Federal DOT, Freight Brokers and Customs Brokers. Your Kit is imported in your name with us as the Importer of record and we put replacement value insurance on it while it is in transit - at no charge to you. In short, our service puts you in the position of having only three things to do as follows; 1) Decide what you want on your car, 2) Pay for it (in Canadian dollars), 3) Be home when they call you to tell you it is in town. Everything in between payment and arrival is looked after by us and we will work with you to ensure that your car has all the right options for your intended usage of it.

I hope this helps and feel free to contact us by E-mail at cobrainfo@shaw.ca or on our toll free number at 866 853-5835.

Thanks,

my427sc

The past few weeks have been pretty hectic. I made a lot of phone calls and one trip for parts. I got some miscellaneous parts, the telescopic/tilt steering and was given a front and rear set of rim and tires. I also received some ordered parts for the suspension.

Here we have the front right assembly. I added the hub and bearing assembly, rotor, caliper, brake pads and hooked up the brake line. Everything went together with no problems.

Here is another picture of the front right hand side.

Right side complete with rim and tire. Left side is the same procedure as the right.

Now for the rear. The hub and bearing assembly, emergency brake assembly, rotor, rear link rod, emergency brake bracket, caliper, brake pads, hub spacer and hooked up the brake line. Again all went together with no problems.

Here is another picture of the back right hand side.

Right side complete with rim and tire. Left side is the same procedure as the right.

Well, here we have it, the car is now sitting on all four tires. It really starting to look like a car. The only thing I need now is to take some time and clean up a little.

The next step is to install the telescopic/tilt steering. The electrical is still under research and I'm getting really close to figuring out what I have to do. This is one area that I certainly do not want to rush in.

I'm really having lots of fun with this build. Things have been going really good and I'm really surprised on how all the parts have been installed with no problems. I still have a long way to go but the way things are going, I might just be able to have this car on the road this summer.

Till next time.

Radar

The engine is one place that can save you money all pending on what you are looking for. The LS1 engine is rated about 350 horsepower and 365 lb-ft. The LS2 engine is rated at 400 horsepower and 400 lb-ft. The LS3 engine is rated at 430 horsepower and 424 lb-ft. The LS1 engine being the lowest cost up to the LS3 being more expensive. Anything above the LS3 gets to be very expensive. If you are holding the horsepower to its original state, the transaxle also can cheaper. Depending on what you are looking for in an engine and its performance, that will somewhat set a base for what you will be spending on the main parts.

For example, originally is was going with the crate LS7 engine and found that after everything was complete is was hitting around the $14000.00 to $16000.00 mark. Going with the LS3 engine, everything included (and some extensive research), I'm close to $9000.00 mark.

Another area that would have to be considered is the interior and exterior of the vehicle. How far do you want to go in appearance? This can also be very costly.

Don't forget that F5 is an estimated cost. With some extensive research you can find what you are looking for. Sometimes time and patients is what it takes. Sitting down and figuring out what you would like to have and what is affordable can be difficult and it all starts with the ability to work hard at what you want.

Radar

They can get a ride in the car when it's done. I think they are doing this just to get away. I have one other support team member that is not in the photo and that would be David, the technical guy.

I received some good news a couple of days ago and that would be for some donor parts that I require. I placed my last order for parts so that means all I need now is the transaxle. If things go well, this summer would be a very good possibility to get it on the road. I should have all my miscellaneous parts by next week, the engine by the end of January and hopefully the transaxle is not to far away.

The big thing now would be, how much detail do I want to go into for the interior and exterior finish. I think this will be the longest part of the build because things here have to be perfect.

I have been very lucky with my build in regards to availability of parts and also the deals I have been getting. This would certainly account for the time frame on the build. I'm certainly not overworking myself and have no specific deadline, just that things happen to fall my way. I'm doing this for a hobby and personal satisfaction, no speed records intended.

Any chance that will be seeing you on the forum with your build. Still deciding?

Radar

Here we have the routing for the corrugated cooling line to the radiator on the drivers side. Pretty simple.

This picture shows the corrugated and rubber hose lines for the cooling system. Behind the corrugated hose, the aluminum tube would be part of the A/C unit. This was a tight fit but with some care and patients, all went well.

This is were things started to get really cramped up. Not much room to maneuver. At the top of the picture, just above the red cap, you have the heater control valve. You have to make the bracket for this installation. This picture was taken from the driver side.

This picture was taken from inside the car looking down. You can notice the corrugated and rubber hose run underneath the steering linkage. Originally I had these hoses running over top the steering linkage but did not look clean. The accumulator was very difficult to work with and locate with the short stiff rubber hose but with a bit of persistence we had it installed. You can't really see to clearly, but I'm a little concerned about the battery location. With all the hosing, the accumulator and the crosser bars, difficulties in removing the battery will be an issue. I may consider in fabricating some kind of stool to locate the battery more towards the center but still have the hosing run underneath the stool.

This would be a picture of the hosing running through the tunnel.

Here we have part of the support team. On the right, Steve, the electrical guy, on the left, Pat, the parts guy. (Thanks for all your help guys.)

This part of the car build was a little challenging for me in trying to keep things simple and neat. I did have to do some slight modifications to the hoses to prevent any binding. I think things turned out OK.

I got some news on the engine, I won't be seeing it till the end of January. I did get some good news, I received a call from one of my suppliers and all used parts that I requested have been found and ready to go. I placed my final order for parts so now we have everything except the transaxle. I'm working on this one and hopefully I'll have some good results by Christmas.

Next, electrical. (I think!)

Radar

No, I'm not going with the crate engine. I have a supplier down south, Cambridge area, that I'm getting a custom build engine. Originally I was going with an LS7 but the price was way up there. Around $18,000.00 and that would be crate. A lot of missing parts. The second option was the LS3 crate engine for about $9,000.00. Again, not all parts included. This fellow is supplying an LS3 engine completely build for $9,000.00. This includes everything plus the computer, engine harness, engine mounts, throttle pedal and fly by wire. In other words, drop it in, plug it in and you are ready to go. After the extra mods that I will doing to the air intake and the custom exhaust, I should be pushing around 530 to 550 horsepower and about 500 foot ponds of torque. I took the time to make an appointment with him and spent a complete day with him going over what would be the best for this project. He was extremely helpful and excited about the car build I was doing.

As far as the brakes go, I have a lot of options, not sure which way to go. Originally I was going with the standard Corvette set up and I still may. I may later change to a high performance system. I'm really not looking at doing lots of track so I figure for now the Corvette arrangement would suffice.

Right now I'm preparing myself to complete the plumbing, should be by the end of this week, then prepare myself for the electrical.

I should have more picture up on Sunday for the plumbing on the car.

Keep in touch.

Radar

Most of the work on the car is at the front end. I'm looking at doing all the plumbing first then tackle the electrical.

This picture would be of the rad and condenser installed.

A picture of the top of the rad assembly. All parts where put together piece per piece then the complete assembly was installed. You will also notice some of the wiring for the front electrical just placed for now.

The overflow tank installed. The flexible hosing from the overflow tank to the radiator also installed. Looking at shortening the hose line at the top of the overflow tank to make it look cleaner.

The initial installation of the Painless harness. As you can notice we have a few wires that will be sooner or later connected. This will take some care, planning and time. This would be the part that I'm not really familiar with so research will definitely be a big part for this section.

The underside of the Painless harness on the drivers side. Things don't look that bad from this angle.

A shot at a distance. To the left of the box we have three relays. These have to be installed for the high beam, low beam and tail lights to not overload the switches.

An overall view from the drivers side showing some of the wires.

 Picture from the back of the car trying to show some routing for the electrical wires.

The plan is to have an idea of where the wires have to go. At this point I can finish the plumbing on the vehicle locating the hosing to one side of the tunnel to have ready for the engine. Also the brake hard lines are to be installed.

Still a lot of work ahead. Getting through the electrical and the plumbing will be a big accomplishment. We have a lot of hosing for the cooling and A/C unit at the front end so I'm expecting some really tight runs. The battery will also have to be installed in the front.

During the elctrical installation, my plan is to make complete schematics for future use. Marking the wires will also be part of the plan.

Well, that it for now. I hope you enjoy what I have done so far. Any comments or questions are welcome.

Radar

I would like to thank Al Biex for his help and assistance in purchasing my GTM Supercare. I'm sure it was a trial period for him since the dealing was at a great distance. (Sorry for driving you crazy.) The most critical part was the shipping where the delivery and off loading of the car is to be very timely. With Al's help this was pulled off without a hitch. I have been in contact with him several time after the delivery and still received the best of best service.

Al, thanks for bringing my dreams to a reality.

Looking forward to our continuous dealings in the future.

Radar

The passenger side showing the upper and lower control arms and the knuckle. The shock is now installed to the lower control arm.

This is the installation of the vertical and bottom panel for the radiator/condenser arrangement. The openings in the bottom of the vertical panel is to allow for the hosing for the cooling system. You will also notice the cut out on the left in the vertical panel to allow for the overflow tank for the cooling system.

This is a shot from the front showing the passenger side suspension components.

This shot is on the drivers side. Same procedure as the passenger side. You will notice some green tape on the lower control arm, this would be a reminder that the cam bolt are to be adjusted and torqued. We have 2 cam bolts. I will be doing this at the very end for wheel alignment.

This is a side shot of the steering linkage and master cylinders. We have three master cylinders. One for the front brakes, one for the back brakes and one for the clutch. Yes, we do not have power steering.

We have a front shot of the master cylinder arrangement. The bleed valves are located on the top but will later be relocated to the front of the master cylinders. This will allow for ease of installation for the brake and clutch lines.

This is a picture from inside the driver side showing the foot pedals for the brake and clutch. Again you will notice the green tape on the steering linkage identifying that bolts are to be tighten. My intention here is to install a telescopic steering.

Now getting to the back of the car, we have a similar assembly to the front suspension. You will notice that an additional bracket (black) is installed to accommodate the relocation of the shock. For the rear we only have one cam bolt that would require adjustment.

This would a picture from the back of the car showing the fuel crossover tube (2 running right to left) and at the center of the car you can see the rigid coolant lines. These items must be installed prior to installing the engine.

This would be a picture of the rear suspension on the passenger side. Here you can clearly see the modification to the shock location with the bracket.

This picture is from a distance to give an overview of the assembly of parts.

Things are starting to come together. During this stage of the assembly, I was truly impressed with the assembly and fit to the frame. Some of the brackets on the frame had to be slightly opened to allow for the parts to slide in but that would be very minor. A good rubber hammer does the trick. At this stage all parts that have been assembled are new.

Preparing for the next stage. More pictures to come.

Radar