Average Build Time

[aarvig]

I recently had the opportunity meet Mike, John, Jason and Monty in Lake City, IA and test drive the Hurricane.  First of all, they are a great bunch of guys and they build a really nice car.  I'm leaning heavily towards a purchase and am wondering what guys are seeing for build times? 

[Paul Proefrock]

I've seen them done in as short as six weeks, some a couple years of weekends and some never get finished. A lot depends on the time you allocate to the build and if you get side-tracked by modifications or upgrades.

Not knowing you or your situation, it is really hard to forecast. I think I had about 1800 hours in mine but I very heavily modified the car

Welcome to the group - you'll really enjoy owning one

Paul

[aarvig]

Paul, Glad to see you respond.  I actually looked at your website just the other day.  You have a beautiful car!  I was actually recommended to reach out to you as I spoke to Dean Lampe last week about the Hurricane.  He had nothing but praise regarding the Hurricane. 
My signature shows that I am an owner but I'm not quite yet.   Jason kindly gave me access to the site so I could see what was going on in the Hurricane world.  I was actually tied between the Hurricane and the FFR MK4 but after comparing the two the quality of the body in the Hurricane is miles and miles beyond the FFR.  Looking over the bodies, the Hurricane body is much more period correct AND it would save hundreds if not thousands of dollars on body work because of the superior quality of fiberglass.  I was actually astonished at the difference.  Not only that but I really like the interior of the Hurricane.  Its much more roomy than the FFR and that makes for a much more enjoyable ride and since I am just going to be cruising it....well roominess and comfort are important. 
I wouldn't mind chatting with you sometime if that is a possibility.  I have a lot of questions about the car and the build process if you would be willing to give me a bit of your time. 
Personally, from what I have seen of Cobra replica's the Hurricane is one of the nicest ones out there. 

[s_reynolds]

If you go for the Hurricane, you won't regret it. Paul is a great resource among the Hurricane builders and is always willing to help as necessary. I have consulted with him several times. You didn't say where you are located, but I am sure any of us in your area would be willing to talk with you about our Hurricanes. Good luck.

Sam

[s_reynolds]

PS..it took me 5+ years to finish mine, but that is not average. A lot of "stuff" got in the way during my build.

Sam

[Paul Proefrock]

Aarvig
Sent you a PM  call me at your convenience.

Sam only took 5 years but he doesn't hold the record, does he Fuzzy?

Paul

[Bob Worley]

I may be challenging Fuzzy's record, but not by choice ...   things just happen

[MFE III]

Welcome top the Hurricane family.
My build time was about 2 1/2 years with only weekends and occasional evenings. It could have been much shorter, but I enjoyed getting side tracked on re-engineering.  Truthfully, I enjoyed the build probably more than driving the car.

[Russ Rittimann]

I've been working on HM-2005 for 5 years now.  Being an engineer has it's disadvantages as everything has to be done to 3 decimal places.  I've made lots of new parts/modifications and worrying about details that most people wouldn't bother with.  I'm totally enjoying the build.  Hopefully, I'll have it on the road before the end of the year.

-- Russ

[Paul Proefrock]

Hope you "long build" guys don't scare him off 

Aaron, it can be done as quick as you want to, or can be extended to any length. Depends on your wants and needs

I don't know how universally this forum is read, I'd be curious who has the shortest build?  I seem to recall one guy doing it in 6 weeks

Paul

[Dan]

I think you're seeing that there really is no "average build time."  People take such different approaches in terms of level of customization, then there's the variable of knowledge and experience you bring to the project.  If you're doing the body and paint yourself, building an engine, etc. that's going to take up a significant amount of time. If you build the car to with no mods, have a motor and transmission ready to drop in, will have someone else do the body and paint, I can see you getting it done in 500 hours. At least that's what it took me, but with 5 kids and a high maintenance trophy wife to keep happy, it was a three year project. Ran into some issues that required me to pull the motor and have the builder tear it back down...that caused a six month delay. If you have all the tools you need and someone provide an extra set of hands when you need it, that helps. As anxious as you become to actually drive the thing, building it was a lot of fun. You'll find they're never really done...something can always be tweaked or improved upon.

[aarvig]

Thanks for the replies guys.  I'm sure there are varying lengths of build times but it seems that if you work on it regularly you can finish it in reasonable time, which was my biggest concern.

[mandmGuys]

What do you consider reasonable? Background, and abilities factor in for sure. I'm Hurricane all the way but if the build process does not interest you, then FFR is an option, its a little easier to build but pretty generic (most all Cobra people can spot one before walking up to it). Mine took 3 years 10 months but again that was just weekends for a few hours here and there.
Your talking to the right guys to help you in your decision. Here is my photobucket link from start to finish.

http://s1060.photobucket.com/user/TMark390/library/

Mark

[BIGDADDYFROG]

Took me 2 years and I still hold the record for the least expensive build! And y'all don't give my "Bowtie" any crap!

[danc30]

9 months to build in my garage and 2 more months at the body and paint shop.  All while holding down a 65+ hour a week job. Nights, weekends and I even took my 2 week vacation to work on it instead of going to Vegas.