I'll start by introducing myself. My name is Hugo a life long car enthusiast with a 12 year old kid. I would love to introduce him this car hobby thing and all the skills, patience, sense of accomplishment, friendship building etc that building something like this teaches.
Sometimes my grammar won't be as it should as English isn't my primary language. So, bare with me.
I plan on making this post a build log for my family's XTF.
I'm a repeat customer of FFR. This would be my second FFR build having previously built a GTM more than 13 years ago.
Ever since FFR unveiled the XTF it caught my attention. I've been researching for months in here, on FFR's website, YouTube, Erik's and John's build logs etc. Then SEMA arrived and the stage 1 was introduced. That's when I realized that the stage 1 can be the perfect project to build with my son.
Showed my son a few pictures and videos and he got all excited about it and affirmed he was willing to be an active part of it. A few days later I commented on a Facebook post made by Dave Smith that this really looked like the perfect father and son project. His reply? " I can help with that" and I can tell you guys he has gone above and beyond for this project to be a special one. He contacted a mutual friend of ours Jim (Kalstar in the forum), and asked him for my phone number. We got talking and made plans to take my son to FFR so we could see the XTF.
Fast forward two weeks, we flew out, Jim picked us up at the airport. We spent a few days visiting Jim and went to FFR.
Jim took us to FFR, we arrived sometime around 10am. Nate (plant manager) was outside with not one but 3 XTFs. My son and I were amazed when we saw them. Trust me, pictures and videos don't do justice as to how this trucks looks. The thing is mega wide, Two inches wider than a Hummer H1. We skipped seeing the trucks in detail and went inside to say hello first.
Once inside we were greeted by Dave. He introduced us to everyone in the administrative offices, sales, tech support, engineering department etc. we immediately felt welcome. We were shown a few "secret" testing videos of the XTF. All I can say about those is that this things are capable beyond what we can imagine. Way more than what the publicly made videos show.
After that Nate took us on a factory tour. We were AMAZED!!! AGAIN!!. The amount of equipment, tooling and technology that has been added since my last visit 15 years ago it's impressive. Everything from laser cutting machines to automated pipe bending machines. After the welding floor we went to the R&D department where Jim S. was working on a special new update project.
I truly would recommend anyone thinking about buying any kit from FFR to go visit the factory. Really adds a lot to the experience of building your own car. My kid was excited beyond words. He even asked me what he would have to study to work designing cars. So, this might even have sparked an interest in engineering on him.
We then went for a test drive on one of the XTFs. Nate took us off road. HOLY ****!!!!!! that's when we felt how capable the XTF is. We were doing 50-65 MPH on a bumpy, full of water between bumps roads. We would hit the standing water so fast that the whole windshield would be covered in water.
Nate would turn on the wipers and kept going at the same speed. Not once did the truck feel out of control. As a matter fact we almost didn't even feel the bumps inside.
After that ride all our plans had changed and we hadn't realized it yet. What seemed to be a father and son trip to see and maybe buy a stage 1 evolved to buying the full kit.
This was due to two reasons. The initial plan of building it with my son is to have the experience of building it together over an extended period of time. The stage one does not offer that. What the stage one offers is that it can be built in a weekend or two by someone with the tools and knowledge required. Although it is still an extremely capable truck does not meet my plan of an extended build with my son. The other reason is that the full kit offers so much more for an extra amount of money.
Some of those extras is the chassis WOW!!!! that thing is rock solid. You can't feel any flex at all like you feel on Ford's ladder chassis. The huge Fox shocks again, WOW!!!!
Later we went out with Dave on his red V6 turbo XTF. His XTF was parked in front of FFR instead if going straight to the street he did a lap of the parked cars in the parking lot. This was done at a high rate of speed, the truck felt solidly planted on the asphalt, he went out the parking lot and instead of staying on the road he went over a curb doing like 50-60MPH. The suspension did its job and dealt with it as if it was a 3/8" twig on the road. We barely felt it inside.
When we returned to FFR we did the paperwork and put down our deposit for a kit. Estimated date of completion is Jan/4/25.
My kid also received from Dave a cool Traxxas R/C hot rod. Thanks again Dave. I also want to thank the whole crew at FFR for their hospitality and making us feel as part of the FFR family.
Want to also publicly thanks my friend Jim for picking us and taking us to the airport at some extremely late and early hours and welcoming us to your beautiful home again.
pictures will be added soon.
Sorry for the long post guys but want to document as much as I can from the build.
Excellent story Hugo. Thanks for taking the time to document it for everyone to read.
Cheers,
Nige
Mk.4 FFR supplied Right hand drive
Received 12/2012 completed 12/2019
Gen1 Coyote / TKO600 / IRS
Lots of mods to make compliant for Australian design rules
Today UPS made the first parts delivery for the XTF. It was a heavy one. Ordered a new set ring and pinion and rebuild kit for the differentials. Due to the larger that stock 37” tires I decided to upgrade to a 4.88:1 ratio. IMG_1153.jpgIMG_1152.jpg
Our donor came with the larger 36 gallon fuel tank. The XTF requires the smaller 26 gallon tank and it’s pump/sender assembly. The pump assembly arrived today as well.
Sounds like a great father/son project. I did my first FFR cobra back in 1998 with my 12 year old son and it was a great experience. It was also the car he learned to drive in, not that I would recommend that again. Dave , again, has shown how a great guy and business man he is! Keep us informed of your progress!
Your story is awesome. So cool that you and your son made the trip to FFR together and then bought the kit. Must have been an exciting trip back home as well.
MK4 complete kit Nov 2024, Blueprint 347, TKX, Hyd clutch, IRS, 3.55, touring shocks, 17" wheels, 11.65 brakes
I have two boys, 3 and 7 years old. I'm enjoying sharing our Coupe build experience and it will hopefully be a positive memory for them.
I was your son's age when my Dad and I restored a '68 mustang fastback. Still remember that one-on-one time fondly
That's exactly what i would like to accomplish, not just build a vehicle but give my kid the gift of those memories and the skills he will learn.
As Dave said to me, we wont be just building a car, we will build a time capsule that will live in my kids mind long after we are gone.
BTW, I clicked on your build link and WOW!!! Your attention to detail it's impressive. From the garage remodel to everything on the coupe. The powder coat oven is as amazing as the coupe details.
Your story is awesome. So cool that you and your son made the trip to FFR together and then bought the kit. Must have been an exciting trip back home as well.
Thanks, doing the trip with him was definitely exciting. On the way back all he could talk about was FFR stuff. Even a week later it was all FFR and car building stuff. So far mission is being accomplished.
Our donor F150 is a 2018 5.0 V8 with 54K miles. Although it is in excellent condition the brakes had been neglected and needed to be replaced. The rear pads were so worn out that the backing plate of the pad had already made contact with the rotor. We decided to replace them before the XTF kit gets here and the disassembly of the donor begins.
Seemed like a good opportunity for my kids first maintenance lesson. We replaced all 4 rotors and pads. He now understands the basics on how a braking system works and how to service it.
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Originally Posted by JimStone
