Not Ranked
jcooper:
I can second much of what has already been written on this topic, but still I'd like to add a little to it.
First, do go through the manual several times. It's well written and generally put together in the same order as a full build. Try to think through how you and your son will be able to handle each step. Peter, Bob, and Doug at ERA can answer many questions for you in quick phone calls and believe me they're willing to help!
If you're anywhere close to New Britain, it's well worth a trip to see the shop, meet the team, and get first-hand ideas about how things go together. I did that and it was well worth the time.
One place I can offer a different suggestion concerns bonding of the body. I did this myself, for two main reasons. First, there were some things I wanted to do to my car that could best be done before bonding, and second, I just wanted to do as much of the build as I thought I possibly could. Bonding and mounting the body turned out to be much less difficult than I imagined; I think that came mainly from the fact that my car was from the new molds (done in about 2008). Everything fit together perfectly and went very much like the manual describes. You just need to have 4-5 people help with the actual placement of the body - which takes about 15 minutes - everything else can be done by you and your son.
In the end, it's all about what you feel comfortable doing yourself and your mechanical abilities. Either way, the whole build experience is a great one and would be especially enjoyable with your son there!
Again, good luck and enjoy the experience! And be sure, there are plenty of us on ClubCobra ready to help you through the whole thing!
Hal
|