New Owner - Detroit, Michigan Area

[jswigard]

Hello -

I just bought a completed FFR. Still trying to get more on its lineage. FFR thinks it was kitted in 1999. I'm still digging and trying to find the original builder. Here's what I do know:

Silver/Black Stripes
289 HIPO - The guy I bought it from says it makes 385HP. I'll get it dyno'ed at some point to see if that's the case.
5 Speed

It's cold here and so really haven't had the right weather to give it a run. In the process of trying to find a local shop that works on these who can give it a once over before I try it on. Read the initial thread that advised to be careful so I don't get into trouble "right quick" as the post said. I'll heed that advice!

Would be great to find other FFR owners in the Detroit area. I'm on the West side in the Northville area.

Look forward to learning more about the car and to meet some other owners. And, if anyone has someone they trust to wrench on this thing, would appreciate the referral. Would prefer to find someone who I can work alongside. Been awhile since I've worked on my own car. Really looking forward to it.

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[Jeff Kleiner]

Welcome!
You have two extremely qualified owners and builders reasonably close to you; Scott Shumaker in Clio and Todd Baumann in Howell. Both are instructors at the build school and have built multiple cars. I'd bet one or both of them would be willing to meet with you to evaluate the car. They are members here as well as on the other forum; search their names in the member lists and shoot 'em a PM.

Cheers,
Jeff

[jswigard]

Thanks, Jeff. Really appreciate the referral. Todd is about 30 mins away. I'll look him up.

Thanks again!

John

[edwardb]

Welcome! I'm about 40 miles north of you in Lake Orion. My experience is way more limited than the two guys Jeff recommended, but do have two builds under my belt, so here to try to answer questions or give support. Your car looks good. Mk2 probably? The HP claim seems a little high based on the description and picture, but still should give loads of fun. Check out the Great Lakes Cobra Club. http://www.greatlakescobra.com/ Great bunch of guys with lots of activities both driving and social through the year. Many brands represented including Factory Five. AC-Tire Service Center in Waterford is quite familiar with these cars. Have a dyno, do carb setups, tuning, alignment, etc. Many in the club recommend them.

[jswigard]

Thanks, Edward -

Agree on the HP claim so will get that checked out. I have some photos of the engine build. Looks like some nice components but the proof is in the dyno! You can definitely tell it's got a punch but really won't get after it until it's been fully checked out. One thing that I'm wondering about is the gearing. It's reported to have 3.55 gears - not confirmed. It's running around 3000 RPM in 5th gear at 55 mph so don't know for sure. Seems like the car would perform better with a different ratio - it runs through the gears so fast even under moderate pressure that I'm wondering if something different would be a better match. Not an expert here so would appreciate your thoughts.

I will contact the AC-Tire center - thanks for the referral.

John

[Jeff Kleiner]

...It's reported to have 3.55 gears - not confirmed. It's running around 3000 RPM in 5th gear at 55 mph so don't know for sure.

No way---something doesn't jive. With 3.55 gears and a .68 fifth gear you'd be at approximately 1,750 RPM @ 55 MPH. 3,000 RPM would have you at almost 95 MPH. Even in 1:1 fourth gear 55 MPH would only be 2,600 RPM.

Good to hear that you are close to Todd; you'd be in good hands with either him or Scott.

Jeff

[skullandbones]

Hi JS. Welcome to the FFR forum. You can get a lot of info here and there are other forums like ffcars and club cobra. Each has it's own strong points.

Based on your area, I would say you will probably need a heater/defroster and a top if you plan on using it in a more extended season. The wipers are a good start for that aspect of the car's usage. I like the way the guy laid out the engine bay. If surface appearance detail was carried on to the engine build, it should be good. You have five bolt hubs/wheels which is good. You didn't mention what rear end you have. You can put it on a lift and look at the rear cover. If it has an OEM tag, it will say what the final gear ratio is on that. You can spin the wheels and count the drive shaft revolutions and figure it that way, too. You should have about 308 to 319 hp at the rear wheels if the 385 hp estimate is accurate. Most people mention rear wheel hp (rwhp) when talking about that stuff. If it is not stated, then fly wheel hp is assumed. That's normal convention. If you have 385 rwhp then you could have a trans issue with the T5. That's another reason I think it's not rwhp. Anyway, you have a real nice start for a great adventure.

Good luck and stay in touch,

WEK.

[riptide motorsport]

Congrats and welcome to the madness!

[jswigard]

Thanks for the replies everyone! My wrenching days date back to the late 70's so will need to brush up on everything. Can't wait. Really appreciate the thoughts, what to look for, etc. One thing I haven't mentioned is that the carpet has not been installed but I have all of the pieces from FFR as well as some material to layer between the carpet and the body to absorb the heat. Is there a thread on how to install the carpet?

Thanks again all!

John

[edwardb]

One thing I haven't mentioned is that the carpet has not been installed but I have all of the pieces from FFR as well as some material to layer between the carpet and the body to absorb the heat. Is there a thread on how to install the carpet? John

The subject is discussed some, but nothing magic about it. You can use 3M spray adhesive, like in the FFR instructions. Some use contact cement. Some use outdoor carpet adhesive. Some use Velcro so they can remove/replace at will. Or a combination of all. Each has advantages/disadvantages depending on your preferences. First order of business is to get it insulated for heat and sound. The car will be more friendly with that.

[gtaroger]

Welcome!I'm running a 3.27 gear and if I were running 3000 rpms I would be hauling *** . It runs 2000-2200 and the speedo shows 70 mph. It sounds like you have a higher gear ratio than 3.55.Maybe a 3.73. Roger