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Thread: Daily Driven

  1. #1
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    Daily Driven

    so this weekend I've had cabin fever and lurked through hundreds of posts checking out numerous amazing builds. Who drives their FF cars daily or more than just a Friday night cruise?

  2. #2

    Steve >> aka: GoDadGo
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    Quote Originally Posted by nthompson View Post
    so this weekend I've had cabin fever and lurked through hundreds of posts checking out numerous amazing builds. Who drives their FF cars daily or more than just a Friday night cruise?
    Ralph Button Is The Man!

    https://youtu.be/TYZEtcgnsU8

    I suspect he will log 1,000,000 miles before he decides to build another Factory Five!

    Ralph Button....>>>>>>>FFR 1436
    PROUD Owner of an Original Mark I


    400,013 miles as of 11/1/2009
    417,840 miles as of 8/12/2010
    435,021 miles as of 12/19/2011
    Now a well broken in 347 engine
    523,145 miles as of 7/29/2014
    601,165 miles as of 6/1/2018
    Last edited by GoDadGo; 02-11-2019 at 03:31 PM.

  3. #3
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    I have-not seen that video in a while. I needed that.

    With my mk1 roadster, I drove often but hardly daily. Now that I have my type65 coupe, I'll go in spurts. Even with air and a top it starts to takes it toll. A few days here and there around the city is all I can do. Jumping in and taking off takes a few minutes. Doesn't seem like much, but longer than your normal daily driver. The lack of creature comforts declare themselves very early on. Summer drivings just expect to arrive hot and sweaty, ie back of shirt and pants soaked. I often don't care, the kids get a laugh out of it but the wife absolutely hates it.
    It takes a special person to drive this as a primary car. I wish I was that person.
    Mike

  4. #4
    Out Drivin' Gumball's Avatar
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    For five months or so out of the year, when the weather is decent in the Midwest, FFR7074 (roadster) is my daily driver from Thursday night through Sunday night (work from home Fridays). I'm no where near the road warrior that Ralph Button is, but in the four summers it's been on the road, I've accumulated just over 13,000 miles.

    The trunk on the Mk3.1 is a bit taller than the Mk4, so it's a little more usable, but what doesn't fit there goes in the passenger seat and gets belted in.
    Later,
    Chris

    "There are no more monsters to fear, and so, we have to build our own."
    Mk3.1 #7074

  5. #5

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    If you want to have your car as a daily driver you have to give up that;
    1) chips in that paint are going to be part of the ride!
    2) you will get caught in the rain - often! You can't put the soft top on your car fast enough to avoid it
    3) compromise on what kind of parts you use! If it's a daily driver you change the choices you make for the "performance" parts as when you need a part to drive the car "tomorrow" going over to Autozone or NAPA for a part is a lot easier than ordering it from other places. Example Crane and MSD make great ignition systems BUT when out driving and the ignition box fails compare the time it takes to get a new Duraspark box compared to a new MSD or Crane ignition box!
    4) Add the wipers and heat to your car. You will need the heat on the windscreen to keep the windows clear early in the AM and wipers - stock up on wiper blades!
    5) skip the tires for looks - get tires that grip in the rain! The car is so light that on rain covered roads you need all the help you can get. The best I've found so far are the Goodyear F1 GS D3 tires! You will pay to get them but I have track raced them on the Charlotte Speedway during pouring rain! None of the other Shelby cars would go out so I had a track to myself - till I got low on gas! Those tires held on every corner as I tried to find their limit! BUT what you get for a great rain tire and an awesome dry weather tire, you give up when it's cold! That soft rubber are like bricks when it's cold out! Try driving on I40 over the mountains at Flagstaff, when it's snow and ice, on tires that are bricks! Coming down the mountain is an adventure!

    BUT you will get more smiles per mile than in any other car! Each gas stop no matter where will be a chance to actually talk to people as they come over to look at the car. I adjust any trip - short or long to give me extra time when I know I have to stop for gas! Be patient as at every stop, the people will ask the same questions. Let the kids have their picture taken in the car! If the kid breaks something by mistake getting in or out - it just gives you a project to work on later! And if you let the parent also sit in the car for a picture you may have created the seed for another car nut! I carry with me the flyers from FFR and some of the dvd's to give away. And if the kids are really interested in the car - I also carry a box of matchbox Cobra's to give to them too!

    I never worry much about something happening to the car when I run into Home Depot or Lowes or even Walmart. It's the most watched car in the parking lot! But I also have a master battery cutoff switch too!

    Stuff to add to the car for a daily driver
    1) softtop - and a terry cloth or two to wipe up too - I get a bag of them at Harbor Freight or Home Depot to carry in the trunk!
    2) add the bar to the center of the windscreen to holds the windscreen frame together when the top is on the car!
    2) turn signals - Russ makes the best ones! - it keeps your hands on the steering wheel!
    3) mirrors - I like my mirrors to all be at the level that I can look side to side and not have to look down - add the mirror that attaches to the center of the windscreen. I want to know what's around me. People will hang on your left rear of the car so they can have a look at it. You really need to know if someone is riding in a blind spot!

    I carry in my trunk a mini Harbor Freight aluminum jack that can slip under my car's frame even when the tire is flat! I also have a battery driven 1/2 drive impact gun and as backup a folding + bar. All with gloves and stored in a duffle bag. The look on someone's face, when a cobra pulls up in front of them along the side the road, when they are struggling with how to put the OEM jack together. They look up at some guy carrying a green duffle bag coming toward them! In a couple of minutes if they have a good spare I have them back on 4 wheels and ready to go find a shop for a new tire. Not quite NASCAR tire change speed but with the right tools it get's it done really quick!

    Just another fun day from the road in a daily driver!
    Ralph Button
    FFR 1436 (PROUD Owner of an Original Mark I)
    400,013 miles as of 11/1/2009
    417,840 miles as of 8/12/2010
    435,021 miles as of 12/19/2011
    Now a well broken in 347 engine
    523,145 miles as of 7/29/2014
    601,165 miles as of 6/1/2018
    615,215 miles as of 4/23/2022

    "It's not about the destination, it's the about the journey. And where is your journey taking you?"

    "... Not all who wander are lost!... --J.R.R. Tolkien

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