formula ford rebuild costs

[anonymous-user]

about a mile from my house there is a formula ford underneath a tarpaulin with weeds growing through the wishbones. its been there as long as i have lived in the area (nearly five years) so assume that at minimum it hasnt turned a wheel in five years.

it looks complete though it isnt in ff trim as it has twin weber carbs on the engine and some different wider wheels with what look like road tyres.

i have often thought about asking if its for sale, having a look at it and ask what sort of offer might tempt the owner to sell.... is it realistic to even
this though regardless of getting a cheap project, is a car of this nature stored outside for five years going to be more trouble than its worth? granted i havent even seen it with the covers off so asking these questions is pretty dumb but will it most likely need new everything before it can be put on the track? i know it will need belts, fire bottle etc but presume it will need new fuel + brake lines, a total strip down and rebuild...

from my limited knowledge it looks like its a van diemen circa mid 80s.

[lanan]

Pablo,
How long is a piece of string ?
But I doubt you would get much change out of £5k

GO and knock on the door, may be something interesting

[anonymous-user]

thought it might be about half that as its all complete, was hoping someone had done something similar...

[morgscars]

pablo-
from experience you will needto replace / overhaul
rod ends
bushes
electrics
brake calipers
wheel bearings
engie
drivetrain inc gearbox
check chassis for straightness
for starters

unless it was given to you and had some historical significance best keep the 10K (my guess) and buy one already done. FF get a hard life and if this one has been altered and isn't standard ff spec you will then have to spend more money !
Still never stopped me doing it so who knowshttp://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/imgs/2.gif

[anonymous-user]

morgscars said:

pablo-
from experience you will needto replace / overhaul
rod ends
bushes
electrics
brake calipers
wheel bearings
engie
drivetrain inc gearbox
check chassis for straightness
for starters

unless it was given to you and had some historical significance best keep the 10K (my guess) and buy one already done. FF get a hard life and if this one has been altered and isn't standard ff spec you will then have to spend more money !
Still never stopped me doing it so who knowshttp://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/imgs/2.gif

well at least it gives me some bargaining power! havent seen it yet but i doubt it hasa any historical significance as its unlikely it would be lef tot rot if it had!...i guess he will want what he thinks its worth but if i can reel of a list of work requried before its ready for thet rack, he might be more willing to accept a more realistic figure!!!

i dont think it would go back to fford spec though, tempted to drop a zetec lump in it for reliability and run it in sprints et al...

i'll update you on what happens!!....

[TimCrighton]

Go and ask the question - if its unloved and in the way you could be doing them a favour and end up with a fun project. As for rebuild costs - totally depends on what needs doing but go and have a look and get some idea

[Firefox1]

well the first thing is can you rebuild it yourself? because if not then your funds will be stretched alot more than first thought...

[superkartracer]

Pablo - All the main stuff as above.

You don't want to take an *unknown* car out on track at 100+ and risk a failure, could cost you a lot more.

Best to get it checked over before you purchase tbh

Last car i had seemed great until i jumped in and realized i was sat in a puddle of fuel!! (rotten old bag tank)

[shortshift]

You can't really decide whether is a feasible project until you know the full story. Knock and ask. Could be a complete pile of scrap. On the other hand, could just be unwanted and in need of some TLC. Being able to do the work yourself is obviously crucial. Keep us posted.

[mat205125]

If you ever wanted to return it to a competetive state for the track you will end up renewing practically everything on the car.

It would still be a nice project to have a tinker with at home if you can get it for beer money - "Sorry guys. Can't come out this afternoon! I'm at home building my single seat racing car"

[andygo]

Forget it. Buy a proper runner with a good track record. Trust me, it's enough of a 'project' keeping an 07 car on the ball without trying to resurrect a shed. Old bangers cost more to run than newer cars.

Do you like helicoils? You'd better, 'cos old mag bellhousings etc. just love them...

Nothing to do with misuse, just age.

Bit like replacement hips, knees etc.

[mat205125]

pablo said:

i dont think it would go back to fford spec though, tempted to drop a zetec lump in it for reliability and run it in sprints et al...

.... with token gesture SVA equiptment to get it on the road too?

[anonymous-user]

mat205125 said:

pablo said:

i dont think it would go back to fford spec though, tempted to drop a zetec lump in it for reliability and run it in sprints et al...

.... with token gesture SVA equiptment to get it on the road too?

lol not quite. i do like the "road legal F1 replicas" that you often find on ebay. some are truly shocking

my brother was trying to find an interesting commuter car once though and we did think with some modification a fford might fit the bill. you could give it some side luggage storage (well enough for a shirt and a laptop) and increase the ride height...