Considering the A&C

[Roadster2]

Hi everyone,

I am new here and am considering the A&C Roadster as my 3rd build. My first two were both Factory Fives. I sold the firs one in 2014 when we moved from Canada to Indiana. I immediately ordered a second and this time built it with a 390 and 4 speed toploader as opposed to the first which was a 302 with a T-5. This fall I sold it due to medical costs over a cancer diagnosis. Once this is cleared up I am looking at getting back to number 3. I especially like the gel-coat finish option. I am interested in build difficulty and overall quality.

Any input would be appreciated.

Paul W
Plymouth, Indiana

[rcobrakit67]

I have an A&C. Im almost finished with the build . Im very happy with all aspects of it. The frame and body are very strong,i have the gelcoat and its ok. The gelcoat was worth the money but definitely needs to be wetsanded and buffed. I liked the fact that i didnt have to lay out all the money at once. I built mine in stages. I have some pictures on this forum feel free to ask me any questions Richie

[saltshaker]

I've built 2 of them ...very easy build. Joe at A&C is great in answering questions and is very accessible. High Gloss finish looks great and last forever.
Jon

[PNJSNAK]

If you built F5's before you should have no problem with A&C.
Biggest plus is no body work and paint. Your color of choice no metal flake color.
No panels to poprivet, interior shell is glassed to the body, any engine size up to 460. Standard rear end is Ford 9" solid axle with 4 link suspension.
Not sure if independent could be used, but I imagine you could.
I built mine back in 2001 and still get asked if it is paint at local car shows. You can click on the camera upper left.
There is a lot of information in this Forum.
Feel better and good luck with your next project.

[H-Rod]

I`m a little over halfway through building mine.
The only "issues" I would say I had were all drivetrain related.
I`ve had to do some "nip" and "tucking" on a few things.

Being you`ve said that you`ve built 2 Factory Fives already, you should be used to modifying/changing things on a Cobra build.

I also got the colored gelcoat body.
It does require some some work to make it shine. Well, gelcoat will never shine like paint. The only catch with A&C`s gelcoat finish is no metallics, flakes or candies. Solid colors only. Still, a MUCH cheaper option then $10K in paint and body.

Joe T. is available during the week to answer your questions if you can catch him.
Sonny will be the one who you`ll be doing all the ordering through.

I went with A&C because I got a hell of a deal from an indivdual who had to get out from under his order.
I`ve had several of the Dallas Cobra guys over to my garage to see/help out on the build and everybody seems to agree it`s a decent car. (Everybody was impressed with the gelcoat finish)

You`ll find the build manual is rather sparse. (Nothing compared to the 600+ page F5 manual) If you have any questions, this subforum will help you out in a day or 2 after you post a build question.

With 2 Cobra builds under your belt and some mechanical knowledge, you`ll be able to get through an A&C build pretty easily.

My long winded ass will shut up now.

[Speedwaypj]

I'm about 1/2 way through my AC Build. Just received my Body....AC Red...Ultra Gel Coat. Real smooth, I plan to add racing stripes and the clear coat it. You'll find the frame has some of the best welding, and things line up great. Check out the body et al in my profile.

[Roadster2]

Thanks everyone for all the great input. I spoke with A&C on Friday and am leaning very strongly toward them hopefully by May or June.

[Roadster2]

I received the manual and as noted it is pretty sparse. I may take advantage of the current special they have for the stage I and Stage II combination. It is difficult to determine what does and doesn't come with all of it. I asked Sonny if these two stages were all I would need beside drive train however I see no mention of things like spindles, front strut rods, radiator, fuel tank, pedal box, throttle etc. So I am assuming that this will be extra which starts climbing the price up pretty substantially.

I will call them today to get better detail.

[Roadster2]

As mentioned yesterday I may take advantage of their sale. I know the rolling chassis option is separate and uninstalled is $2950. I have spent a few ours on the web and it looks like I can replicate what they offer for about $1900 at most. Has anyone else put together their own rolling chassis "package" and if so did you in fact save anything?

Thanks

[PNJSNAK]

Paul
I guess it depends on what you are comfortable in doing and time.
Since you built two f5s in the past you have the capability.
You probably do save but you do the work.
I wasn't comfortable with all the brake line bending and Still working 40 to 60 hrs a week.
Even with getting the rolling chassis it still took almost a year before it was on the road.
If you plan on anything special with the chassis you may want to have control of all the parts. Also, if you want specific brake components like Wilwood you don't want the rolling chassis. Not sure if Sonny will let you order special things like brake MFG.
The Granada fronts with GM calipers and Explorer rears were fine with me.
If you get the rolling chassis I would still go over everything they did, like squareness and making sure all connections are correct.
I think you will find a lot of the guys here did their own chassis builds. I did order the rolling one and it was done by Pete Clark at Fastimes Rods in Dunkirk, NY. He did an excellent job. Not sure if they outside this work like back in 2001.
I hope I didn't get to long winded.
I'm sure others will chime in.
Jim

[H-Rod]

I received mine as a rolling chassis also.
Although I did tear everything off to get the chassis powdercoated.
(you`ll receive the frame with a coat of primer on it)
I re-assembled everything using the existing chassis and brake parts it came with. (minus the Wilwood front calipers I installed)

[PNJSNAK]

Paul
I had Pete Clark prep the frame, then he put on a couple of coats of gloss black epoxy paint.
Not sure if A & C offers that now.
You might want to give Pete Clark at Fastimes Rods a call.
He can offer the same kit.
www.fastimesrods.com mention Jim from Ohio.
Jim

[PDXLee]

Hi Paul,
I went with having Sonny ship me all the parts for the rolling chassis and put it together myself. As you can see, the manual is pretty sparse and a couple of the components they sent me were incorrect, which slowed me down but Joe was really helpful over the phone and replaced the parts pretty quick once he figured out that they were wrong.
The extra few hundred $$ to have them put the chassis together is probably worth the money if you can spare it, unless like me you want the learning experience of doing it all yourself. It took me 3 months to be ready for the body but knowing what I know now, and if I had really managed when I ordered the engine etc I could get to this stage in about 3 weeks - it isn't much work.
I have just ordered the Stage 2 kit and have once again ordered as much as possible from Sonny, so basically all the options as well. I don't have time to properly figure out what donor parts I have to find and then actually source them all. All in I will probably drop twice as much as the "package" with A&CA.
Lee
Good luck!

[saltshaker]

I built my own and it has changed a few times. I started with pinto front calipars and explorier rear brakes and a corvette mc. Braking was marginal.... I switched to 12.19 Wilwood dynalites front and back... stops on a dime, 7/8 mc. Replaced shocks with qa1's and put 170 lb springs in the rear for drag racing. Don't put a panhard bar on it.... it will bind with a triangulated 4 link. If you have adjustable control arms you need to make sure your wheel base is 90" or the 3rd member will hit the cross member behind the rear firewall. Most important is ride height My car sits a little higher then I wanted but the suspenion lines up... meaning pinion angle, lower control arm angle and front alinement is where it should be. Lower control arm is 3deg down. If I raise it the rear gets loose. In the end I had a buddy who builds sprint cars set the suspenion and it now handels it's best. All 4 corners are within 7lb and front to back wt is 50.2/49.8.... with me/fuel/Fe motor and insulation 2720lb
Jon

[Roadster2]

Jim,

I have been trying to speak for the last few days with Pete Clark but we keep passing in the night so to speak. I have looked at his brochure and it seems the prices are in line with A&C. I do like the elimination of front strut rods that he offers.

[PNJSNAK]

You can try his email at niteowlwelding@aol.com
Jim

[Roadster2]

Still trying to connect with Fast Times but since I am in no hurryI will keep trying.

Superficial review seems to indicate that while both A&C and Fast Times offer their kits for about $11,000 it seems Fast Times puts most into the chassis and less into the body as far as additional components. A&C needs another $3k for the chassis parts plus more for 11" brakes. Either way there seems to other common extras that seem quite pricey.

Steering system including steering wheel about $1,000
Pedal box and throttle $525
Radiator $425
Wiring $440
Side louvers $100
Side Pipes $500

I could either outsource all the A&C suspension parts and save about $1,000
or the Fast times body parts such as windshield, latches, headlights, tail/turn lights etc.

What did all of you do?

[saltshaker]

Go ith A&C.....Joe is very easy to reach and the use the same parts for the build.
The parts are easy to get and a steering column isn't $1k. I bought the frame and body from A&C, my own choice for brakes, diff, trans & motor... Used their headers and side pipes and my own interior.
I have a parts list of what I used on my builds...
Send me your email and I will send it to you
Jon

[PNJSNAK]

Paul
You can purchase a lot of the body parts from places like Finishline, Tony Branda and others.
Shell Valley and even Ff5 can sell parts that would work.
I would buy the pedal box and throttle linkage from A&C or Pete as well as exhaust manifold and side pipes. They are designed to work with their body.
Once you decide on inlet and out let locations and possible AN or hose connections with one or two petcocks, you can order it direct from Griffin for less than above.
Steering system you can order a ididit or flaming river tilt column with a couple of knuckles and a piece of steel rod for less.
Wiring can be gotten from Summit, decide on how many circuits and get a painless product.
Or you can buy the same harness direct from American Wiring as they supply.
When you finally get hold of Pete tell him Jim from Ohio said you could get a good deal from him.

[H-Rod]

The parts I got from A&C:
Gas Tank
Pedal Box
Headers
Sidepipes
Gas pedal

I got a flaming river steering column, adapter and radiator from Summit. (Considerably cheaper than what A&C sells all that stuff for)
Leather wrap steering wheel off the Factory Five forum.
Transmission slip yoke and nice wiring harness from Autoplicity.com

Keep an eye on the Factory Five forums.
Guys are ALWAYS selling off stuff.