Returning Member - Funny Story

[Logan]

Hello FFR family,

The last time I was following the forum on a daily basis it was called ffcobra... so some of you will know that it has been a few years now. Life took a wild turn of events, I moved across the country and got a new job. Getting back on my feet was priority number one. Also, the more time I spent on the forums the more I wanted to do irrational things like order a kit before I was truly prepared. As much as I want to build my dream car, I need to ensure I have time, space, and a budget to at least have a chance at success.

I've been following F5R since about 1998 or so. I remember seeing the print ads in the back of Car Craft and Hot Rod magazine. The picture was an orange/copper colored roadster (probably an MK1 way back then) with the $8,990 + Fox body Mustang donor ad print. A few years later when I received the first promotional DVD they released, I watched it so many times I might have worn the disc down to nothing! I can still hear the song "My Favorite Game" by The Cardigans and know every word

The fire was re-lit yesterday when I was at a local autocross with my Mustang and lo-and-behold a Type 65 Coupe rolls in. After I picked my jaw up off the ground (I mean this thing is gorgeous), I had a chance to talk to the owner during the course walk before the driving began. He introduced himself by first name only and mentioned he had built a few FFR's before, which is not unheard of for someone with the 'bug'. However, when he showed me a collage photo of all the cars he had built prior to this one, one of them immediately jumped out at me. I recognized the blue/white roadster with matching hardtop and molded front splitter instantly. I was a bit surprised, but said to him "I used to have a picture of that very car set as my computer background, and I know who built it because he used to be on the forum all the time with the name Erik Treves." As I finished speaking, in that moment I had not yet figured it out. He looked at me with a quizzical yet intrigued look and all of a sudden it hit me like a ton of bricks. "YOU ARE ERIK TREVES!?!" I stammered in disbelief. And that is the story of how I met one of my idols from the forum. I had no idea he lived in the same city as me, or how many cars he has built since I was last active on the forum. Just crazy...

Anyway, glad to be back. Thanks David Hodgkins for resetting my account. I realize none of you even know who I am, but this feels like home to me. And I remember many of you and your cars still. One day I'll join the fun

Logan

[Ray]

I remember you from the old Forum.

Welcome back,

Ray

[bil1024]

Feels good to be home huh !

[Clover]

That is awesome and I love seeing things like this. My cousin has a somewhat similar experience of the coupe renewing interest from the past. A long time ago when I was a kid, my cousin was in town visiting and got me interested in building a car. He had a Factory Five booklet with him back then, which is when I fell in love with Cobras. I was a kid back then with very little car knowledge but I knew that big American V8s were awesome, chicks dig convertibles, fast=cool, and sidepipes!!! It was the perfect car for the kind of guy I wanted to grow up and be. My cousin is older then me and has always been the cool cousin that I looked up to. He quickly got married and started a terrific family which he has correctly prioritized. I now live about two miles from my cousin and just ordered a Gen 3 Type 65 Coupe kit like Erik's new car. My cousin knew I have been interested in building my own car but did not know that I had been saving for a Factory Five for a few years now. I wanted to have him come over and surprise him with it but I got so excited after I ordered it that I just had to reach out and talk to him about it. If figure it was still a surprise and I think he is excited. Once it arrives, my cousin and his son are going to come over and help me build it.

[David Hodgkins]

Welcome back Logan! That Treves story is funny. It's always great to finally meet the guys you read about on the forum.

Soon, somebody will be reading and following YOUR build!



PS you missed the yellow build on the left, and I finally had Jeff Miller paint the Blue MKIII painted in 2012:

[Garry Bopp]

Logan,

Yeah, Erik Treves is the "real deal" when it comes to Factory Five builds. I had the pleasure of doing the Hot Rod Power Tour with Factory Five in 2016, along with Erik. Hard work with difficult weather but fun times!

Garry

[Logan]

All/Ray/Bil1024 - Thanks for the welcoming words!

Clover - it sounds like your excitement levels are just like mine, you just HAVE to talk to someone about FFR and even more so when you just ORDERED one!! Congrats, keep us updated with a build thread from the very start (with plenty of pics). You'll love it when you go back and read it after the car is on the road

David - the yellow car looks good, and that's a nice shot of the pair too.

Garry - you couldn't be more accurate with the "real deal" comment. Erik said he daily drove his roadster as an only vehicle for something like 11 years?! Now that sounds like something I would do...ha!

[AC Bill]

Hello FFR family, The last time I was following the forum on a daily basis it was called ffcobra... so some of you will know that it has been a few years now.
Logan

The FFCobra web site, had to change it's name to FFCars, because of a law suit on using the "Cobra" name. It still exists under that name today, and is likely the one you belonged to previously. This forum started much later. Many of the members now belong to both forums.

[mburger]

Question. Why are there two forums?
(ducking behind a big tree)

[Logan]

The FFCobra web site, had to change it's name to FFCars, because of a law suit on using the "Cobra" name. It still exists under that name today, and is likely the one you belonged to previously. This forum started much later. Many of the members now belong to both forums.

AC Bill - I am quite familiar with the Shelby litigation and the dispute over the "Cobra" name, which unfortunately soured me on the old chicken farmer in some ways, although I still respect his legacy. I joined the original forum, ffcobra.com, many MANY years before the lawsuit (when it changed to FFcars.com). Most of my time spent was on FFcobra.com (sometimes several hours a day!), where I watched and learned from so many folks from the early 00's to probably 2012 or so when I stopped following for a while. I even received a build manual as a gift from a special friend for the Roadster which I read cover to cover, and still have safely kept in an oak memories chest which sits in my bedroom. I still have an account on FFcars.com as well, but I will say the charm of the original forum is hard to duplicate..

At any rate, I'm glad to be back in the fray and having a forum at all is a blessing we should appreciate. Thank you to those that maintain and moderate this place!

[gtaroger]

Welcome back. Roger