Each week we'll update our Web visitors on our progress right here with photos, video, and diary entries. Check back weekly as we share our progress, tips, anecdotes, and more while we assemble our Factory Five Racing roadster right before your eyes. And don't forget to get the full story in an upcoming issue of Mustang & Fords.
May 23, 2007
Total Build Time: 411 hours
We're happy to be back with our web diary updates on our FFR Roadster project. Between transport time from (FL to IN and then IN to NE) and then plugging our project into the body shop's schedule, things are just getting under way at KR Performance and Restorations. Bob and Aaron not only have the fun task of prepping and painting our project for us, but Bob promised to send us photos and updates for our web diary. So far Bob and Aaron have washed the body with Scotch Brite pads and Comet cleanser, ground down the body seams, and have started working on our hidden trunk hinges.
Once the project arrived in Nebraska Bob and Aaron covered the engine and dash with plastic and proceeded to clean the fiberglass body of any release agents and grease by using a combination of wet Scotch Brite pads and a healthy layer of Comet cleanser, as described in the FFR build manual. Once the body was rinsed and dried you could see the gloss of the body had been scrubbed down.
Next Aaron and Bob grabbed the pneumatic sander and ground down the main body seams and inspected them for any bare gel coat areas that need to be ground out and built back up. We'll certainly be seeing more photos of the body with filler on it in the coming weeks.
Finally, Aaron and Bob removed the side pipes and removed the body mounting bolts in order to lift the rear of the body slightly to begin the assembly and fitting of our replacement trunk hinges. The stock external hinges that come with the kit work fine, but we like the smoother look of inside, or "hidden" hinges, thus we picked up a set from Breeze Automotive (www.breezeautomotive.com) made just for the FFR body.
Factory Five Racing
For more information about the 65 MK3 Roadster from Factory Five Racing, contact them at www.factoryfive.com
Factory Five is even following along with our build. Check out their story!
Factory Five Racing Discussion Forum
If you're thinking about a FFR roadster, you might want to look at the great forum hosted by Bill Pierce at ffcobra.com. This site has many answers to building these cars, events, insurance, registration, and more!