Welcome to the Cult of Factory Five

Every one of these Factory Five kits left our company looking about the same. Take a moment to check out the craftsmanship and talent that turns a garage project into rolling artwork. Click on the image or descriptive text for a full gallery of images for each customer built vehicle or item.

Ian Hunter - Ian is the founder and MD of Factory Five Racing (UK) and the first person in Britain to convert a Mk3 Roadster to right hand drive. Under the bonnet is a Ford 351W 5.8 litre V8 engine, modified to produce about 400 bhp and roughly the same in torque. Gearbox is a Tremec TKO 500, 5 speed. Wheels are 17" Vintage pin-drive with Kumho tyres. MORE>

Todd Manni - If you had to rank all of our customers by their enthusiasm, Todd Manni would certainly be near the top of the heap. MORE>

Bob Mclaughlin - We got a great package from Bob a while back which included a nice letter of thanks and some photos of his car. MORE>

Mike Dotson - As a kid, Mike Dotson’s family was into off-roading and sand rails, so that meant growing up in the garage. He and his dad worked on all kinds of cars and projects, so while most kids were playing sports, Mike was turning a wrench. MORE>

Bill Dane - As his “single most rewarding project (he’s) ever undertaken”, Bill Dane is beyond happy with his Factory Five. Recently, we stumbled onto his website, which is a remarkable step by step chronology of his build and the pride that has gone into each step along the way. MORE>

Stephan Pohl - The dream of owning a 65 Roadster is not exclusive to those stateside. The AC, after all, dominated tracks all over the world in the 60’s, so its influence was felt in many corners of the world. MORE>

Greg Marsh - Even in grade school, Greg Marsh knew that he had a problem. He had issues with lust well before most kids his age knew what the word meant. What Greg lusted over, however was the AC. MORE>

Dave Hall - Dave Hall’s story is much like many that we’ve heard over the years – what is remarkable is that regular guys like you and me, and Dave, are capable of building a Factory Five worthy of the cover of Hot Rod magazine. MORE>

The Weavers - The future Mr. and Mrs. Weaver are very excited about their upcoming wedding. They are just as excited, however, about the Factory Five roadster they plan to build together that the only thing that the couple registered for wedding gifts was an FFR Roadster. MORE>

Steve Moriarty and Kermit - How exactly Steve has come to know everyone in LA is a mystery to all of us, but when you hear Charlton Heston call him by name in a Los Angeles fast food restaurant, you know there is something to the legend. MORE>

Rick Neveaux - Most guys who are 6’6” would shy away from smaller cars, but not Rick Neveaux. Rick has dreamed of owning a Roadster ever since he started assembling models (the recommended first step for any future Factory Five owner) as a kid. MORE>

Kara Shepherd rides to her wedding in style - We received a great email recently from Dave Shepherd of Hanson, MA, sharing his joy of Factory Five ownership, sheer pleasure in building the car, oh, and his daughter’s wedding. MORE>

George Halleck - George Halleck bailed us out of a jam this past summer and donated his Factory Five to Ron Francis Wire Works for a display at a NSRA show in Louisville. In the process of coordinating the event, we realized that George has quite an interesting story. MORE>

Bakhnov & Melnikov - Like most of us around the world, our first AC sighting is a memorable one. The image is burned into our grey matter forever, and it’s a hard memory to shake. Alexander Bakhnov and Aleksandr Melnikov, in that way, are just like you and me. MORE>

Bill Haas - Bill Haas has been messing with cars since he was old enough to hold a wrench, much to the annoyance of his father at times. At age 10, he rebuilt his first engine – a 1954 Ford V8. MORE>

Mike DeGuire - It didn't take much for Mike Deguire to get his FFR into his garage and on the road. After doing his research and talking to several people on the discussion forum, Mike's arm was twisted and he was placing his order for his MkII Roadster. MORE>

Terry Krueger - Terry and his wife Josi love to drive their Factory Five. So much so, that they find it hard to get out of the car. in fact, since they purchased the (just broken in, 6,000 mile) car from Jeff Collins and the talented crew at Whitby Motorcars, he has logged in more than 8,600 miles. MORE>

Richard Bassemir - In March of 2004, Richard Bassemir opened his garage doors as Stewart Transport delivered his MkII Roadster. Since then, Rich has been diligently working to get his car build and proud to say his build is finished. MORE>

Alec Karacsonyi - Over the Patriot's Day weekend, we received a very interesting e-mail from Alec Karacsonyi. Alec and his two sons, Alex and Eric, built a MkI Roadster and continue to enjoy it together. MORE>

Joanne Koerner - Joanne (formerly Keller) felt it was unfair that her fiancé had to fork out two months salary for an engagement ring, and her new fiancé had nothing to show off to his friends. MORE>

Steve Flaten - Steve Flaten has been a low key guy most of his life, and has never done much to attract attention – that is, until he built his Factory Five in 2003. MORE>

Phil Sprague - Phil Sprague is a lot like most of our customers. He has some experience working on cars, but an automotive mechanic he’s definitely not. MORE>

Help From the Kids - From the very beginning, we recognized that the products that we had created would foster new friendships as well as build stronger family bonds. MORE>

Mike Gentile - After many hours and a lot of money spent, Mike Gentle can only say that the first drive of his Roadster "was a feeling of a lifetime." He brought it down to the 2005 FFR Nationals this year to show off all the work he did. MORE>

Mirko Chardin - Mirko Chardin is an over-achiever – he’s a 24 year old History Teacher at one of the new Boston pilot middle school in Dorchester, MA. In his “spare” time he runs a men's support group called "Gideon's Army", and also serves as a mentor/big brother to many of his students. MORE>

Ralph Button - As owners of Factory Fives, we all wish we could get more driving time in our cars - more road trips, more weekend getaways, more seat time, more track time. Unfortunately, real-life gets in the way, families demand time, and well, what if it rains? MORE>

Robert Karlen - A native of Southern California, Bob Karlen, grew up during the years Duke Kahanamoku introduced surfing to the mainland. Along with surfing, the Beach Boys, girls, sand and going barefoot, came his love of cars. MORE>

Joe Laporte - Joe LaPorte built his Mk3 Roadster in only four months to the day. His kit arrived at his house on November 6th and he got right to work on the 7th. By March 7th, he had completed his build. MORE>

Ken Bush - When you’re not married, the “honey do” list is much shorter, but the drive for projects is still just as strong – only their all yours. Ken Bush, still single at 46, for example, is one busy guy. MORE>

Chuck Tatham - Chuck Tatham put together this video to show us all how it’s done. Now there are no excuses why you can’t finish your build tonight. MORE>

Randy Jones - My name is Randy Jones and I’m a genuine car nut, airplane pilot, and Chevy guy from the high school days (but that wasn’t too long ago considering I’m in my mid thirties!). MORE>

Rob Byrnes - With the exposure Rob received from his extended family, it’s no wonder that he caught the fever early in life.The combination of a detail-oriented grandfather, a father with a penchant for flying, and a speed freak of an uncle, meant that Rob had the opportunity to learn all ends of the spectrum. MORE>

Joe Leone - Joe Leone has built a really beautiful Mk2 Roadster that stands out everywhere it goes. House of Kolor painted the car with a Black Sparkle Pearl that really catches your eye. It has a 385 hp 351 Ford engine with the Tremec 3550 transmission. MORE>

Bill Scholl - Bill carries on the FFR customer tradition of winning at Run and Gun. This tradition dates back to guys like Greg Lapoint (the original wheelie man), Pete Tork, Don Gibson, Richard Oben and others (oops, forgot FFR’s Mark Smith King of the Hill in the wrecked X-car from 1998). MORE>

Carl Johnson - Just to prove that it can be done right and done on a budget, let us introduce you to Carl Johnson. He and his wife, Sue, decided to build a Factory Five Roadster, but knew that it had to be done for less than $25,000 for everything. MORE>

Dan Gark - Dan Gark, from St. Catherines Ontario in Canada began his project more than 20 years ago, and although the details were not yet defined, he knew what he wanted. This was back before he started his family, before children, before he even knew what he wanted to do for a career. MORE>

Horst Geist - Like many of us, Horst is busier than he cares to be. The proud owner of a successful welding/construction company, and an active member of an ambitious skydiving team, he has little free time for his hobbies. MORE>

Michael Koerner - Men around the world have been fighting the “two month salary” engagement ring rule forever. Whoever came up with this “guideline” clearly has never taken into account the importance of other things near and dear to men’s hearts (like cars). MORE>

Tim Mundy - Tim tells it best in his own words (excerpts form a nice letter...). “When I began the pursuit of fulfilling a dream to build a (roadster) replica, I originally made contact with Factory Five Racing to get information." MORE>

Craig and David Lindsey - For years now, Craig Lindsey and his son Dave, have been talking about building a car. Craig has always been a car guy, but David needed a car project to begin his initiation. Little did he know how “initiated” he would be. MORE>

Bill Converse - Factory Five customer Bill Converse stopped by the other day to show off his completed car. While this isn’t an unusual occurrence to have proud owners stop by the factory with their newly built rides, what made Bill’s visit memorable was that it was near freezing here in Wareham the day he stopped by! MORE>

Phillip Deal - Mark & Dave recently received this letter from Phillip Deal: "From Kay and I, our sincerest...THANKS FOR THE CARS! Two years ago at VIR I met Dave and in passing yelled back..."Thanks For The Cars". MORE>

Henry Renaud - One of our local role models also happens to be one of the more active FFROGs over the last five years, building two roadsters, doing a stint in the Middle East, a photo spread in Kit car magazine, and winning the best in show award at the biggest roadster show in the country. MORE>

Jim This - We received this nice note and killer photos of FFR customer Jim This from Florida. Jim did his car in a bright white with accented blue stripes. Contained in the stripes are some ghost flames which are carried thru to the air cleaner. MORE>

John Tolve - John Tolve ordered his original FFR Mark I roadster kit in January of 1996! John’s FFR1031 was one of the first 25 FFR kits sold! The kit chassis was built by Mark Smith. The kit was packed by Dave Smith and shipped on April 17, 1996! MORE>

Judge John Phillips and Rick Lacourse - Here Comes Da Judge: John Phillips from Jupiter Florida bought FFR 1152 back in 1997 and started a five year 50,000 mile odyssey. We've gotten to know John Quite well over the years. MORE>

Chuck Robertson - We're kicking off our Customer Profile section with the man who won Best of Show at the FFR Nationals 2003. Chuck Robertson, of Las Vegas, NV, is one of those few guys who were actually driven to this project by their wives (those of you who still have to convince the wife that this is a good idea, take note). MORE>