10 Years Ago Today I Joined The Factory Five Family & My Life Changed For The Better!

[GoDadGo]

Hey Gang,

As many of you know I'm very outspoken so why should today be any different.

November 10th, 1931 is the day that my father was born. November 10th, 1980 is the day I asked my wife out on our first date. November 10th, 2014 is the day that I ordered my MK-4 kit so here is the rest of the story.

My wife and I were about to take a short cruise to celebrate her 25th X 2 birthday and just before we left the house I looked at Factory Five's website only to find that they had extended their fall sale to November 10th. Not only was it my Dad's birthday, but it was a very special day for us too. All the way to the cruise ship I told my better half that we couldn't afford to take on this project. When we hopped on the boat we knew we'd be returning on my Dad's birthday which was the last day for the sale. After we got settled in to our cabin we went up to the flybridge when it was time to shove off. To our surprise we were greeted by the General Roy S. Kelley Port of New Orleans fireboat. As we looked at that amazing boat and my wife turned to me with tears in her eyes, she said, "You've Got To Order Your Car!"

What made that boat important to me and my wife was one of my Dad's favorite vessels that he had designed over his very long career.

Shown below are two links to the General Roy S. Kelly which is still in service today:

https://youtu.be/xnSJrZLnfHY

https://youtu.be/5A50WrtvJZ8

I couldn't afford to build a car with the expenses of being a father of three. We had one daughter who was engaged to be married, one daughter still in college and our son in private school. The I Got To Do's were many and building a MK-4 Roadster was a want not a need.

We love owning, driving and showing our car. It is so much fun to zip down the Interstate or meander around the back roads. The driving experience is Raw, Uncontained & Visceral. Though it is only a machine, it has become part of me so I hope I get to enjoy it for many years.

I Want To Wish My Father A Happy Birthday (RIP / 2002) & My Wife For Saying Yes To All The Madness That Was In Her Future!

What I want to say to each of you is don't put off building your car, even if you don't think you can afford it.

Come Take A Quick Spin With Us!
https://youtu.be/GpqvBPwIbzI

Check Out Some Pics From Our Most Recent Cool Car Barbeque:
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/album.php?albumid=2502

Steve

[Al_C]

Great post, Steve, and I agree with your sentiment! I, too, have made many, many friends since I started my Factory Five journey! I hope you have many, many more November 10ths in your future!

[RoadRacer]

Great story!

It prompted me to look at when I received my first email from Factory Five's newsletter. I knew it was long before I bought my kit, but I was surprised to see I signed up in April 2008! I followed them eagerly for nearly 10 years before placing my order on 2/20/2018. Isn't that crazy? Now my hot rod has been on the road since Feb 2021.

2008 to 2024.. and honestly, this forum has been consistently the best bunch of folks to take this journey with. Dave has certainly built as close to a family as strangers united by a passion can be.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Time flies Steve, and I'm glad that you took the leap (even if you did end up with your distributor on the wrong end...Heyoka )!

Your story about Mrs. Go Dad encouraging you to do it is a bit like mine. I discovered FFR over 20 years ago and had been involved in building two, had visited Factory Five with my wife while heading to Maine for a short vacation and had even begun collecting parts. But at the time I was waist deep in building a condominium project in Indianapolis which amounted to a 3 hour daily round trip commute on top of 10 hours a day on the site 5 and usually 6 days a week. It wasn't really a budgetary concern but I kept telling myself "I just don't have time right now." Nancy had seen the flyers that came in the mail, including the one for a Fall Sale in 2006. As we sat down for dinner late one evening she asked "Have you ordered your car yet?" Surprised, I said "No." She replied "You better do it. That sale ends next week." Being the obedient husband I did exactly as she said the next morning and the rest is history! As an aside, I was also the obedient husband about 8 years ago when she said "We need less house and you need more garage."

Jeff

[BEAR-AvHistory]

Really good words Steve. Caused me to look back as I also ordered my car in November 2014. Was looking at a FFR ad in one of the car magazines. Wife peaked over my shoulder & said "I noticed you checking out that car for years. How about a combined Birthday & Christmas present?"

Only thing unique about the build was as a family member came to the house I had them set a rivet in the sheet metal. That way the entire family over the course of the year got to be a part of the build. Its 10 years later and am still getting Cobra oriented items for my Birthday & Christmas.

[JMD]

I love hearing these stories. Keep 'em coming! Thanks for sharing.

[GoDadGo]

I love hearing these stories. Keep 'em coming! Thanks for sharing.

1. Always Stay Motivated!
2. Take Breaks When You Get Tired!
3. Don't Throw Tools When You Get Frustrated!

[Blitzboy54]

I love this Steve.

I saw a Cobra for the first time in 2002. I was born in '75 and had no connection to the original. I was obsessed as it was simply the sexiest car I had ever seen. A buddy of mine said "check out this company Factory Five. You can build your own". My mind was officially blown. I almost pulled the trigger on a Loan Star Classic because they let you do it in stages at that time. My wife was pregnant a few months later with our first and all of it got shelved. This was for the best, I wasn't ready. I had no money or patients and would have done a terrible job.

For decades it was always the dream. One of the few upsides of Covid was our expenses disappeared. We had saved a lot of money. One night at dinner my wife suggested I finally do it (seems to be a theme). I ordered it in the teeth of the parts shortage but loved every second of it. I now have what my wife calls "a condition" This has always been a team effort in my house. She really enjoys that I enjoy it. I am incredibly lucky that way.

[OB6]

Steve, great thread. In the late 90's, maybe 2000, I was at a Spec Miata race in New Hampshire and someone showed up with their FFR. I was mesmerized, but back then my funds, time, and patience wouldn't have been a good mix for a project like this, so I parked it in the back of my mind where it remained for decades. A few years ago we sold our boat because it wasn't getting used much, and we were left with a big empty space in the garage. A few weeks later, the FFR brochure shows up in the mail and my wife quickly realized what the garage space would be used for. She's been super supportive ever since, despite humoring me when I show her progress (and rolling her eyes more times than I can count). Like so many others, support from family and significant others is so important.

Yes, it's expensive. Even "budget" builds aren't cheap. But the beauty of FFR is the flexibility you have to make it your own, and most of all, the community to help you get there. So far it's been an experience I can't put a price on.

[JCB52]

So Fun, these are so great stories. So here’s mine in the Readers Digest version.
The first time I saw a Cobra was in 1966 parked in front of a Bar in Poughkeepsie, NY. I was a newly minted driver who obsessed over the C2 Corvettes, but this car hit nerves that I didn’t know I had. That dream stayed with me my entire life. In 2002 I received a sales brochure from FFR and I then knew this could be a reality. However, at the time I was in the process of 3 car projects and my garage was full. But then I was surfing through EBay and came across a 1988 5.0 Mustang that was an hour drive away. It had been T Boned and I got it really cheap. Got it home pulled everything I needed out of it and sold the remaining good parts for a profit. All these parts set in the corner of the shop for a long time. Something always came up stalling me from pulling the trigger on the kit order. Then in 2019 Christmas Eve I had a massive hart attack and was not expected to survive. Well I did (I’m a 1%) with 5 bypasses. That kind of thing can really motivate you to get going on your dreams. So in 2020 I ordered the base kit and picked it later that year. Took my time with the build and had her on the road 2 years later. I just love this car as it’s so much fun. Especially now that my drag racing hobby is winding down. I will always have that “need of speed”.

[GoDadGo]

Hey Gang,

1. I fell in love the the Cobra when I saw the movie "The Gumball Rally" which was released in 1976.
2. Though I was only 13 years old, the cars in that movie mesmerized me especially the Cobra.
3. I knew then that I had to have one; however, I found them to be totally out of reach.
4. Roughly 15 years ago I started checking out quite a few Cobra replica companies.
5. When Factory-5 came out with the MK-4 Roadster I was 100% hooked.

Steve

Graduation Link:
https://www.factoryfive.com/whats-ne...-mk4-roadster/

[John Ibele]

Great thread, Steve, but you probably have gotten that picture by now. I love the connections I've made on this forum and also hearing the 'origin stories' of these hand-built cars.

For me the timing and content of your note couldn't have made a stronger connection. Mom was born on November 11, 1924. Dad was born in NOLA, and grew up on St. Peter St. just two blocks from city park. Grandpa started as a boilermaker and went up the chain at Dixie Machine and Welding, where Dad swabbed out ships during his summers in high school at Warren Easton. I'd be surprised if one or both of them didn't maintain or service the boat your Dad was so proud of.

I'm sure I fell for these cars by growing up around my older brothers. They were raised on James Bond and Road and Track, but since Aston Martins were too expensive and too rare they ended up with a TR-4 and a Sunbeam Alpine. By 7th grade I just knew what an open roadster 'ought to look like' - not sure I was even trying to draw the Cobra specifically but clearly I'd been borrowing those used Road and Tracks enough.

Fast forward several decades. While on a walk with my wife in about 2010, we were talking about getting a boat project out of the garage, and after she remarked about how nice it would be to have the garage freed up, I said there would always be a project in the garage. There was a long quiet spell after that, but she ended it with, "well, at least if you built a car the boys will be out there with you." I've been married long enough to know you don't ask for permission or clarification after a comment like that! She's been a sport - and supportive - about it ever since.

[UpNorth]

3. Don't Throw Tools When You Get Frustrated!

That one made me smile!

Thanks for this thread Steve!

[Bob-STL]

Steve,

Great thread. I love these stories!

Here's mine for those that haven't seen it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBMk3U6oARw

Thanks.

Bob

[Dave 53]

I got a ride in a real Cobra race car at Sears Point Raceway (now called Sonoma) in the 70's when I was 12 or 13 and knew I'd be getting one someday.

During Covid, I was looking for a project, so I went to the Factory Five website to look at Cobra kits. Then I saw the 818. Respect to the Cobra, but the idea of an analog purpose built track car spoke to me. It was enjoyable to build and it's a blast on the track. As a hard working track car, it needs constant improvements, maintenance and repairs, so it will never be "finished" which is fine. It's the perfect balance of track miles and wrenching.

Between the FFR community in the San Francisco Bay Area and the mostly Northern California track community, this car has introduced me to many new friends.

PS I add this part only because this video about the 41 Ford just came out from Lemons HQ as I was typing this and I had to pause to watch it. I also do 24 Hours of Lemons racing and this is the car I'll be driving at the Sonoma (always brings back memories of that ride) race the weekend after next. Not FFR related, but I assume the FFR community can respect and enjoy other home built cars. We had the advantage of a kit. Paul truly built this car ground up from scratch!

[Rebostar]

Thanks for the post Steve.
I'd like to share a bit about my Cobra story. It all started with the 1969 Mach 1. Thats my white whale! The car I've wanted since high school. That would be 1969. Try as I might I've never been able to have the funds when I found one that was in good condition. Either rolling junk with a new paint job or way out of my budget. So I accepted my fate and built my second wish list car. A 1964 Ford Fairlane built into a Thunderbolt Clone. That car was my opus. I put all my skills and 3 years into it. As a result It won 48 awards, including 4 Best of Show & 4 Peoples Choice. My wife absolutly loved the car as did I. There was a down side though. I built a race car! ala' Thunderbolt. Open headers, low gears, loud and nasty, and very very fast. NOT a cruiser or a "take the wife to the coast car". So 6 years after finishing it I put 200 miles on it. On the 427FE Forum I kept seeing the Cobras. I looked into the possibilities. Found and ordered the Factory Five packet which I took to the ship. I worked on an MSC Ammo/Supply ship as a helicopter mechanic six weeks on and six off. Every rotation I'd pour over the FFR broshure. I decided to sell the Thunderbolt on BAT and try to buy a 69 Mach 1. No sale! bummer. Did I say white whale? Months later a guy from GA calls me out of the blue and offers my reserve price for the T-Bolt. I shopped for a Mach 1 for 3 months. Over priced junk or 65K and up. Way more than what I got out of the T-Bolt. Then I retired. Then I found the FFR broshures, faster than the Mach1, completely new car, whats not to love. Decision made. Checked with "the chief" made the call and paid cash. One last tid bit, I do have another 427FE stuffed into my 1970 Cougar Eliminator, though its not my "white whale" its close. This spring should see me in my new Brandywine 427W powred "missle" that will blow the doors of ANY 69 Mach 1, AND I can take the wife to the coast in it!
Happy trails!
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[jengum]

I first saw the AC Cobra's in the mid-70's and always admired their simple beauty and raw horsepower but no way to afford the real deal. Fast forward 50 years with being 5 years into retirement I discovered the FF kit cars and said here's the next best thing to owning one. I spent close to 2 years on the forum taking careful notes and lessons learned following several builds but was still sitting on the fence. I finally decided to jump in the water after convincing myself I had the mechanical aptitude and financial means to pull it off and ordered a complete MK4 kit with IRS on my birthday last September. It was delivered on Halloween and included a Charlie Brown pumpkin. Thanks to Jesse (Blitzboy54) for letting me see and sit in his 1st build (the car was stunning) and participate in the Stewart Transportation offloading for his 2nd build. Now the hard work begins but it's good to know the forum is here and there is a local community of builders in the Capital District area. My neighbor reached out to me a few days after the Stewart delivery and said he was contemplating a FF coupe build and was jealous about my birthday gift! BTW...my first car was a 64 Ford Fairlane Sports Coupe with a 289; dead simple to keep running. It looked just like Rebostar photo's above with Cragar spoke rims in midnight blue without the Thunderbolt package...what memories. Cheers!