Thoughts after building 10+ FFR kits.

[wallace18]

I have been blessed to build 10+ FFR kits so far. 7 of them I built for myself and the rest for a customers. I get asked a lot of which is my favorite and which one was the hardest to build. So here I go and I hope not to bore anyone with my answers. I will have the build threads here so I won't go into details on each one. My first build was a 33 hot rod kit. I did a lot of video watching as well as reading posts on this forum for help and ideas. It took me 199 days to complete. Great car, my wife's very favorite. Very practical as well as fun. I wish I would have kept it. But the new owner loves it and we stay in touch all the time. Super handling and good creature comfort IMO. I had so much enjoyment building this car. It set me on a course to build lots more of the FFR kits for sure. I would say this was the second hardest to build for me. I have since built an LS3 33 for a customer. Fast is not enough to say about this one. And now another Gen-1 33 for my wife Marsha
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...e18-s-33-build
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...d-by-wallace18
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...d-by-Wallace18

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Next was the 818S. A totally different build than the 33 for sure . Much easier to build and yet challenging at times. I was one of the early builders to finish one and reaped a lot of awards and such. The car was stunning IMO and extremely fast. Not as practical as the 33. IMO the 2nd easiest to build. I sold the car to a great pair of guys up in the NE. My wife was scared of it. Too fast she said, LOL. Took 283 days to build. Since I built several more including an all electric one.
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...ot-s-818-Build
http://www.factoryfive.com/whats-new...-tom-w-s-818s/
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...S-Build-Thread
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...E-build-thread
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...d-by-wallace18
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The GEN-2 Type 65 was a cool kit to build for sure. I would rate it the hardest one for me. It had a lot going for it IMO. Looks, speed, storage, etc. Body work was the hard part. Car drove great and was very fast. It always drew a ton of attention anywhere I went. What is it? was the most asked question, LOL. A little hard to get into. But rewarding once you are seated. 340 days to build. Sold this to a great guy in Oklahoma.
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...e-build-thread

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Next was the one I just finished the MK4. By far the easiest to build. Great overall car. A ton of fun to drive without the top on it. It is my favorite of all of them. 135 days to build. Kind of the best of all of the others rolled into one car to me. Since I built many more. By far the easiest kit IMO.
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...4-Build-Thread
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...4-build-thread
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...d-by-wallace18
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...d-by-Wallace18
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...d-by-wallace18
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https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...d-by-Wallace18


The GTM was the hardest to build IMO. The go-cart part was fairly easy. The body, doors and side windows are a real PITA. I won't build another. A customer actually bought this from me before I finished. He did a fantastic job finishing it. Figure 500-1000 hours IMO.
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...d-Thread/page3


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The 35 Hot Rod Pick-Up is about the same difficulty as the 33, IMO. I really like this kit and it is my personal Kit car. I like the bench seat so we can bring our dog on cruz-ins and shows. Figure 150-200 hours.

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https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...Hot-Rod-Pickup

Everyone of these kits was rewarding to me to build and drive. I can not say enough of the customer support from FFR, the forum and vendors on the forum. The build times reflect total time till done. Some of the time was waiting for parts or personal time away from the build. I did not keep a total hours spent but would say from 150 to 400 hours before paint would be a good estimate. Feel free to contact me for any type of question you have.


I hope this will help someone who is deciding on which kit to buy and build. IMO you can't go wrong with any of them. Take care and God Bless. TW