It’s finally happening!! My brief history is as follows: I was researching kit cars in the early 90’s and became interested in Factory Five. In 1996, I was in Boston for a wedding with my wife and test drove an early roadster with Dave Smith when they were just starting out in Dartmouth if I remember right. How cool was that! I was hooked, went home found an 87 Mustang GT and was getting ready to order and start. Child number 2 delayed my plan. Children numbers 3 and 4 sidelined my plans. I am a small farmer in Indiana and 4 kids necessitated a second full time job to make ends meet. I was a volunteer firefighter and was able to hire on as a career firefighter in Lafayette, IN. Somehow 21 years flew by. This fall my third son started college and I started bugging my wife for the thousandth time about building a ffr roadster. She said go for it and here I am. Over the years I have kept my distance because I have a tendency to become obsessed with projects. I got on their website, read through the complete kit order form, had some questions about this and that, made an appointment to order in person to lock myself into a schedule. Then I discovered the forums. Wow what a lot of good info and a great community! On 11/9, I spent 3 hours with Dan Golub going through the options. Here is what I ended up with.

Mk4 complete kit
Powder coated frame
4x1x4 headers
Full IRS
Auto meter gauge set
Sway bars
12.88” Wilwoods on both ends in black
Wind wings
Dash support
Leather wheel
Coyote kit
Etc.

Coyote and tko500 kit is ordered. I will have details on this soon. Waiting for permission to say where I got it!

This is the plan.

Power steering, ask ffr about part #16473 guys, I hope it’s going to be great
Manual brakes
Hydraulic clutch
Heater and foot box vents
KIRKEY highback seats without the shoulder bolsters
Single custom roll bar that is full width
Boig or gas N pipes
Mid shifter
Drop trunk
Herb’s door panels
Front battery
Breeze radiator surround and mounts
Custom wheels in 17”
Russ Thompson turn signal stalk
Seat heaters
Trunk cubby and custom glove box around the dash supports

My plan is to powdercoat everything black including the windshield frame, all trim rings, pipes and wheels. Paint color will some variation of dark cherry red with shadow stripes. Projected completion date of the kit is 12/23 and I will pick it up in person in early January. I have a fair size farm shop that is well stocked with tools and a lift.

Questions for the readers:
Are the ball joints worth replacing right out of the gate?
I am considering a fuel cell but can’t justify ffr’s price for their competition version. Anyone found a better option?
What small pieces and parts do you all end up ordering and waiting for? I’d like to have as much as possible on hand when I start so I’m not waiting on UPS for much.

I’m headed to the shop to start building the body buck and a frame dolly. More soon.