IRS or Solid axle....

[301Customs]

Was wondering which might be better for my build for this particular vehicle, IRS or solid axle?  This car will most likely be mostly street use with maybe a little track time.

Unfortunately, due to agreement with my better half, I must sell the car when I am done building it so I would like to get the best resell value as well. This is one fo my considerations for this build.

Just looking for input before I order.  Figured owners and drivers would have the best feedback.

Thanks!

Dave

[jwd]

   That was the hardest decision I had to make. After talking with Mike at Hurricane and Dean Lampe (who helped design the first IRS install and has alot of racing experience), I went with the solid axle. There are pro's & con's with both set-ups.
  I think the added value of the IRS upon resale would be equal to or less than the initial cost of it. Which brings me to the next point. Why are you building the car just to sell it? Have you looked at the price of Cobras? If you do all the work yourself, including paint and body work, you'd be lucky to break even at best. I've seen cars that took $40K+  to build sell for mid $20's to low $30's.
  Good luck with your decision.

Jim

[Rich Burroughs]

Solid vs IRS is a good question. I think if you were going to do a lot of track time, IRS would be a no brainer. IRS will increase the resale value to the right buyer and you should get your money back out of it when you go to sell it. On the flip side the solid axle performs very well and is very robust and is by no means a bad choice either.

I think the approach to your purchase is a common one. In our experience, you should get the money back that you put into the car if you do a lot of the work on the car and don't go too crazy with drivetrain and paint. Mid thirties is a reasonable expectation. I am sure kits from "other" manufactures sell in the 20's, but that has not been our experience with Hurricanes.  Of course there is an exception to every rule, but if you pay attention to your engine choice and are willing to invest sweat equity, you should be able to find the buyer for your car when the time is right. If I had to sell this to my wife (and I was not an owner of a replica manufacturing company ), this is the exact approach I think I would take. Buy a kit, put my labor into it, build it smart, drive it, enjoy it. Then I have the peace of mind knowing that I should be able to get most or all of my investment back. What it comes down to is that the total cost of ownership should be very low if I ignore my labor. In the end, that is what will sell the wife IMHO.

[YerDugliness]

[njbigblock]

Having owned and drag raced many big block vettes and ripped hell out of everything in the rear , half shalfs, spindles,universal joints etc I happily went with the reliable ford 9". Its all about what your running under the hood ,how much traction will be available and will it stay together under power. If I was going to road race it i would go for the independent rear ,but not for drag racing.(and actually i would rather have a 4 link for that.) Just my 2 cents. Randy  

[LMH]

Watching the values of FFR's, I see that an IRS car usually brings about $2000 more than a live axle car, on average.
Larry

[301Customs]

Well seeing how I am viewing this car as more of a track/road race/driver car I think the IRS will give better handling and response.  Overall better ride.

I am not planning on doing major burnouts or drag racing the car.

Dave