Pardon my ignorance

[Aaron]

Gentlemen, I have been lurking and creeping around for some time now while devoutly saving money. I have a dream and that dream has a name. SL-C. I shrug my shoulders at big name cars but the concept of the SL-C sounds so personal, rewarding and financially appropriate at that. I however have never done more than swap a car battery and change the speakers out of my wife’s car. I have conceptual knowledge of how mechanical things work but zero experience. I call upon the gathered wisdom here to direct me. How would a dreamer such as myself prepare himself for the task of building the car. I’m shooting for a 65k budget when it all begins. This won’t be for another two years because I just had a daughter but in the mean time what can I do to get ready? Am I just reaching too far?

P.S. I’m from NYC so I have more experience with subway systems the car world. I will be moving out of the city soon.

 

[Doc Kaler]

Welcome Aaron!

You've certainly found the right place to dwell. Amassing a fund of knowledge will help a great deal and this is the place! You might try to enlist a local mechanic to help out when the build starts, but the SL-C is pretty straight-forward. Check with Fran for some "head start" assembly at his place for portions of the build you can't come to grips with. When the time comes, start asking questions here and we will do our very best to help out. You can get great performance from the new GM LS crate engines without having to find an engine builder.

 

[Jim Craik]

Aaron,

Welcome, congratulations on being a dad!

You should fit right in, we are all "dreamers"

 

[Jack]

Aaron, welcome to the forum! This is the right place for plenty of advice and knowledge. The SL-C is really a work of art, the chassis is like jewelry! Enjoy.

 

[Mike Christian]

In my experience, every goal I ever reached starts just like this....

 

[Howard Jones]

I would advise you build the "standard" model. You could save a lot of money by sourcing you own LS series Chevy. Don't get yourself all wound up dreaming about huge power. 400hp is a huge amount of power in a 2400 pound car, and don't let your eyes get bigger than you stomach if you know what I mean. Buy the motor last. There will be plenty for along time used or from a damaged car. Lerk the Chevy forums. Learn about them.

The Riccardo's are not cheap but at least they are coming down somewhat. You might want to begin with a gearbox purchase if you can really come across a super deal. You will need to really follow prices on these over the next couple of years and try and pick one off as cheaply as you can.

65K will cutting it close but if you do everything yourself and find a way to paint it under 2K you might only go over budget a little. Stay with the as delivered build, follow the other SLC guys with a special eye out for avoiding mistakes. Buy a used set of wheels and tires from craigslist or something. I have seen a full set of Corvette wheels and tires go for less that 800 bucks.

As far as ability goes. You can do whatever you really want to do. How bad do you what it? We will help, just ask. If you want to talk, drop me a email and I'll send you a phone number.

 

[Jack]

I would echo Howard's statements here. There is an abundant amount of assistance available on this forum.

 

[Paul Osborn]

What HoJo says.

Just get it rolling. You can get a junkyard motor if you need to.

Although, there is a build on site with 130 hours that looks fantastic.

Good luck in your quest; you're among the like minded.

 

[Jim Craik]

Aaron,

Pay no attention to his avatar, Howard is a very smart guy who has done it before.

 

[Peter]

Aaron,

My situation is very similar to yours...except the waiting is over for me and I just started a build! Reading every post on this forum is a great start. PM me if you want to talk about what I did to get ready and I'll share my VERY positive experiences with the forum members, RCR and Fran.

Regards,

Peter

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

Peter
thats not a bad first picture to post...

Aaron,
welcome to the forum and please dont hesitate to get in touch...anytime.
I have many customers and potential customers that spend a couple of years talking and planning prior to taking delivery...you are not alone..
This forum has a great bunch of guys and whether its wine tasting or car building...regardless of brand ..wine or car I guess...they are one of the best online crowds you could wish to meet.
Enjoy...

 

[Aaron]

Thank you so much for the responses. I am looking forward to learning as much as I can before pulling the trigger when the time comes. Putting so much money (at least for me) into something like this should be done right or not done at all. Even if I had the money today I would still take my time to plan and prepare myself to take on the task. Anything other than that would be an impulsive mess.

I have considered books and even a build school clinic I saw on the FFR website. I just don’t know how to start an efficient learning process. What are the commitments in terms of tools and such? I imagine that installing an engine will take more than just a set of good tools so what’s the chance of that happening in a garage? Is there a build manual that I will follow or will I just have to know what I’m doing? I apologize for the silly questions but remember that my point of origin regardless of my determination is still that of a common consumer. What is basic build information for knowledgeable people like you guys is beyond the understanding of average mortals that might be interested in the product. After lots of research I am convinced the kit car industry is missing out on potential customers discouraged by the lack real basic information and skill. Fran think about that!

Thanks again for being so welcoming. This was the best forum I found. I registered and crossed my fingers. I have to admit that reading about the power you guys put in these cars sounds great. I would love to be able to tune and eventually have a scary beast. The reality though is that that isn’t my priority. Neither is it driving a pretty painted shell. What I want is a beautiful and respectable sports car damn worth its price that I built with my own hands.

Sorry for the wall of text and Thanks again!

P.S. While I figure things out Im gonna go ahead and start PMing you guys with trap questions that loop infinitely. Like "Hey HJ hows it going? Hey man how can you objectively define taste?"

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

Installing the engine in an SLC ...

One engine hoist with leveller..(can be rented)
one tie down strap..to support transaxle
two 7/8 wrenches or one wrench one socket...
one 3/4 wrench and one 3/4 socket...
its that easy....those are all the tools needed to install the engine and transaxle into the SLC....

7/8 wrences to tighten the engine mid plate to their mounts and the 3/4 wrench/socket to tighten the engine mount bolts.

There are quite a few guys that had very limited experience and now have fully functioning and driving SL-C's...

Dropping the drivetrain into the SLC takes about 30 minutes...and if you do a straight forward build using a NEW GM crate harness you can have it running in a day or two easily.....seriously...

 

[Terry Oxandale]

Welcome Aaron,

This project will be like walkiing to the other side of town. Seems incomprehensable at first, but it's really just a series of a lot of small steps. Keep the target in sight, but make your steps count. And try to avoid my 'two steps forward, one step back approach', and you'll be fine. You'll see and experience a lot of neat things in this journey.

 

[Jack]

Aaron, bring 'em on! There is really no great inventory of tools and machinery needed to build the SL-C. Mostly common hand tools, some items such as a jig saw, electric drill/drill bits, a couple of files are handy. Abrasives and such may be purchased as needed.

Alex (Efnfast) has carefully sanded and polished the gelcoat on the body and it looks better than some paint jobs that I have seen. No real magic, just hours spent. Alex is
a neophite too, he's learning rapidly and doing a fine job. There are no silly questions.

Assembly is pretty straight forward,and we SL-C builders all share experiences, hints and
"how do you do this or that". Some of us have gone off on a few tangents to personalize
the cars far beyond what would be considered a "standard" build. Right, Rob (Mesa).

Everyone seems to be really enjoying thier respective progress no matter how fast or slow we go with it. Will you meet with some frustrations - yes, can you overcome them - yes again. We're here to help however we can. We have shared specialty tools, fabricated parts for one another, etc. Great bunch! When you're ready, jump onboard and enjoy.
Meanwhile, continue to ask away.

 

[Jim Craik]

P.S. While I figure things out Im gonna go ahead and start PMing you guys with trap questions that loop infinitely. Like "Hey HJ hows it going? Hey man how can you objectively define taste?"posted by Aaron

Aaron, I like your style.

 

[Aaron]

Thanks for the replies guys and thank you Fran for your accurate answer on the engine concern. I wrote down the info in a note book where I have been keeping notes for all of this. (Keeping notes in an actual note book instead of a Word document gives the project a more tangible feeling). Thanks again for your time.