How much would it cost to build a working full size replica of a  P51 mustang?

Are you aware of how big these are? The prop alone is 12 feet round. Most people who build these do it much smaller.

The answer to your question, I dont know for sure.

See if you cant find something here [url]http://www.eaa.org/[/url]

More than it would cost to repair a wrecked one.  Those engines were built by Packard, who wne out of business in 1958.  2,400 HP, supercharged, water injection, high compression 60 deg. V12.
 You'd have better success building a half-scale version.  You could power it with a converted Chevy big block and have reasonable performance.

about 10 yrs

No idea, but wouldn't that be alot more fun than a C-152 [:D]?

There are about 200 airworthy P-51s right now, with more returning to flyable condition every year, there are more surviving P-51s than any other piston engined combat A/C. I have seen airworthy ones for sale as low as $750,000 when the market is soft, I'm sure building one from the ground up would cost much more than that.

There were some 7/8 sized composite high performance P-51 kits on the market about 5 years ago, priced around $50,000, that used a 350HP Oldsmobile Aurora engine IIRC(engine sold seperately of course). If that is too rich for your blood, there was a company producing a "5150 Mustang" 1/2 scale A/C kit built from steel and aluminum tubing with cloth covering. It had hand cranked retractable landing gear and cost about $10,000 without engine IIRC.

I've flown in a TF-51 (two seater Mustang) and it is really small compared to most other fighter A/C, I'm no giant (5'11" 200lb, 48" chest) but my shoulders were almost touching the sides of the cockpit (The Spitfire cockpit is even smaller, and [b]DOES[/b] touch my shoulders when the door is closed, Corsairs and Thunderbolts are very roomy though [;)]). A 1/2 scale P-51 would be a tiny mother, I'd have to pull it on like a pair of pants.

A while ago, there was a commercially built (nor experimental) airplane called a Swift, that looked about like a 1/2 scale Mustang.  Saucy looking as hell, just sitting still.  

Parked in a hanger with a bunch of Cessnas, etc. it looked like a leopard among the cows.  Did I really  just type that?

Norm

There is a company, in Floriduh, I think, producing a replica called the Thunder Mustang, I think it was either full sized or 3/4, but it was big.  It was powered by a V12 purpose built motor, can't recall who made the engine, but that thing was major bucks.

My dad is building an experimental aircraft, while he was shopping, he borrowed the promo tape for the Thunder--that thing is major cool, very powerful, and sounds just great.

I'll ask him for info, but you better have a FAT wallet.

[img]http://www.thundermustang.com/_borders/index1.jpg[/img]

The price of the Thunder Mustang kit is $285,000.00  The engine is a Ryan Falconer V-12.

[url]http://www.thundermustang.com[/url]

From scratch?  Over 2 million.

Rehabbing one, much less.

Aren't there more F-8 Bearcats still flying  than Mustangs? Or does it just seem that way because they win so many races?  

There are less that 20 airworthy F8F Bearcats. The Bearcats show up in the winners circle so much because they are the ultimate piston engined A/C, it isn't possible to squeeze any more performance out of a prop-driven A/C. An F8F holds the world speed record for a piston engined A/C, I don't recall the exact speed, but it is well over 500mph.

One word:RAREBEAR!!![:D]

I thought it was the GEE BEE that holds the record.

A Gee Bee held the record in the mid 30's IIRC, around 300 MPH.

Holy Cats! It would cost a fortune to build one from scratch. Let alone, finding an engine, etc.
I think PAPA 51 tried to manufacture kits and went out of business just this year.
Your best shot is the warbird divison of the EAA. I hope you have a very large checkbook because those are very big toys for very rich boys.

I sat in one at Oshkosh one year when I flew up there for the annual convention, it's a remarkable piece of hardware. I had one follow me to the taxiway and I could hear him over my engine noise, radio and my headphones.

You should hear that Packard Merlin from the cockpit, well over 100db I'd guess. And hot too, 110+ degrees under that canopy.

The first engine for the P-51 was the dependable and very underpowered Allison V-12 1250 hp. V-1710.
[img]http://www.aviation-history.com/engines/v1710-4.jpg[/img]
[url]http://www.unlimitedexcitement.com/Miss%20US/Allison%20V1710%20Engine.htm[/url]

The Brits then took 4 of the Allison powered P-51's and re-engined them with the more powerful Rolls-Royce Merlin engine.
[img]http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/engines/eng33.jpg[/img]

The US AAF was impressed with the performance gains and a deal was struck with Packard to manufacture a liscensed copy of the Rolls-Royce Merlin. It was known as the Packard V-1650-7.
It produced 1600 hp and is what made the P-51 the aircraft it is.

The same engine also powered two of Britons best fighters of WWII, the Hurricane and the Spitfire.
[url]http://www.spitfiresociety.demon.co.uk/engines.htm[/url]

If you are really wanting that Allison or Rolls-Royce / Packard Merlin engine you might give these guys a call:
[url]http://www.mysteryaire.com/[/url]
They have a Crankcase and bearings for a Merlin for sale at $25,000.
[img]http://www.mysteryaire.com/images/v12right.jpg[/img]
You might also try the Hydro guys.

On a personal note, where I grew up our next door neighbor used to race the Hydro circuit in the late 50's and early 60's.
He stopped racing in the late 60's, in his garage he kept a complete Rolls-Royce Packard Merlin 100, brand new in the crate, never touched. He died in 1987 and his wife died the next year. My dad was the caretaker of his property untill their next of kin could come by and liquidate the property. My dad was shocked when one of their relatives sold everything in the garage for $15,000. I am talking a complete machine shop, welding shop, tools, a Model-T Ford, that Merlin engine, gone for $15,000.

If you want to build your very own scaled down P-51, here is the web site for you:
[url]http://www.precisionaeroeng.com/[/url]
and:
[url]http://www.kitairplaneforum.com/gal/nhstewart/index.html[/url]

Some general info:
It features two seats, dual controls, all aluminum construction and is powered by a V-8 engine.
There are approximately 50-60 active builders of the S-51D and 13 aircraft are already flying. You can expect to pay around $215,000 for a kit which includes propeller, reduction gear, engine, accessories drive case and all accessories.
The S-51D will be powered by a Sabre V8 engine which is an aluminum block derivative of Donovan Engineering's big block Chevy racing motor.

Sounds like fun!

P-51 Trivia:
The last P-51 derivative to be "built" was the Piper PA-48 Enforcer in 1983.
[img]http://www.wpafb.af.mil/cgi-bin/quiz.pl/annex/pa48.jpg[/img]
[url]http://www.wpafb.af.mil/cgi-bin/quiz.pl/annex/an2.htm[/url]

If you are trying to replicate an A/C, I think the easiest and cheapest way would be the way these guys did it:

[url]http://www.web-birds.com/miller/[/url]

They built molds to produce composite parts, kind of like a giant plastic model, then assembled them over a tube frame.

There's a guy here in Savannah that has 3 of them, & he'll tell you that he has an average of about $1 million in each one.  One of them is one of [u]very[/u] few in the world that still has all 6 .50s operational!