I was at the Shell Valley factory before it changed hands, seemed like a first class operation. Their product at that time was a sort of "combo" including the best of the MidStates replica and the Shell Valley replica. What I liked about it was that it was pretty complete as shipped, and the one piece "tub" made the build easier.
Unique would be my choice from among the three.....I know from talking to the Weavers that they support the Cleveland engine choice (my favorite!!). I really like their FIA model.....lean and mean!
While I was at first a F5R fan, the paneling sort of turned me off. If you want a track car, though, their space frame design has quite a lot going for it. It might be the least expensive of the three, particularly if you use the "donor" route, but maybe not, depending on the condition of your donor. A low mileage donor might be a good choice, but in the end you get a F5R chassis with a bunch of used Mustang components on it. They make a "no donor" model, which obviously would most likely not include such things as ECU, engine/transmission/differential, but would probably include the suspension pieces and many other items you would harvest from the donor Mustang. Another negative I found to the donor route is that while you may think you can sell the leftover body parts for cash, it is only a reality if somebody wants them, and in the meantime you have what the city code enforcement department will likely consider a "junker" sitting in your driveway (?) or, perhaps worse yet, your yard or garage. Can't sell the body parts? Expect to pay to have a salvage yard haul it away for you.
Depends on how much work you want to do and all that paneling the F5R model requires sounds like a LOT of work to me. In the end, I KNOW from having seen the product that the Unique is a first class piece.....if it were me, that's the way I'd go.
Cheers from Dugly
