Mk3.1 Upgrades and Improvements

Mk3.1 Upgrades and Improvements

Much Better than it ever was!

Once again we have gone back to the engineering table to sharpen the blade of our best-selling roadster. This time out we kept the base chassis the same (hence the revision name Mk3.1 rather than Mk4) and focused more on improving existing parts, trim, and accessories, as well as designing all-new parts/assemblies. With the performance horse already beaten severely over the years, we turned our focus to improving the quality and contents of the kit. Over the past six months we have been integrating many of these changes into the current Mk3 kit. Without a formal revision change, and since we have brought in many of these improvements in-process, most people don’t know the dramatic scale to which this car has been upgraded.

What follows is a full list and explanation of the many changes we’ve made to the Mk3 Roadster. Many of these changes were made as a direct result of the work on launching our new “Complete Kits” for the Roadster and Coupe. Still more of the changes and updates were part of the dedicated project to refine and improve the car.

This newly configured and upgraded Mk3 kit will serve as the foundation from which we will be launching our new, limited edition, “Legacy Series” models later this year slated for production in 2009.. Those plans call for a serialized production run of digitized 427 Dick Smith Tribute Models, and an accompanying 289 USRRC version. Click here for more details.

For now though, the total number of upgrades and changes we’ve made to the Mk3 are startling and deserve a thorough review! To make this easier we’ve designed this post with an outline right up front so you can see everything that is included. After that, we have descriptions for each part if you wish to read more about all of the upgrades.

Underneath and supporting all these product changes and improvements are systems and facilities improvements that have made this work possible. Our partners at Hewlett Packard have sponsored us with state-of-the-art hardware like the new quad-core HP processor technologies powering their new workstations. Our partners at SolidWorks have sponsored us with the latest versions and upgrades of the world’s best CAD software. And lastly, our own staff of tech support, customer service and operations has grown and matured, while we’ve made larger investments in inventory and the supporting systems necessary to deliver the best customer service in the business.

We hope you like what we’ve done. It feels good to improve the breed and grow our business in the face of constantly rising costs. In an economy that is, every day, forcing US companies to manufacture off-shore, we are proud to say that Factory Five’s are designed, Made and Built in the USA with American Labor.

We are proud of these many improvements, and proud of our company’s continued commitment to the simple charter of “every day doing something better”.

Dave Smith

President

Mk3.1 Changes List

· Mk3 “Complete Kit”

· All-New Mk3 Roadster seats

· All-New Aston LeMans gas cap design with integral pressure cap

· Improved Roadster Main body molds/shapes (again!)

· New design Roadster hood and hood liner

· New design Roadster trunk and all-new trunk liner

· Improved Roadster door panels, liners, and molds

· New/improved steering rack & inner tie rod ends

· New/Improved steering shaft design

· New/improved license plate light/bracket

· New/improved Three-lock set and mounting hardware

· Improved side view mirror

· New pre-flared fuel lines

· New/improved steering wheel, polished aluminum center section and badge

· New design color enamel nose, tail, and steering center badges

· New stainless steel flexible cooling hoses standard

· All-New radiator and cooling kit/assembly

· Improved design rear “traction-lock” brackets

· Improved design front upper control arms

· Improved design front lower control arms

· Re-designed rear solid-axle lower control arms

· All-New Electronic Gauge Packages

· New Koni brand Adjustable Shocks

· New Roll-bar and mounting designs

· New design Straight Tubes and Catalytic Converters

· New E-brake handle

· Improved accelerator cables

· New Shifter handle and knob

· New/improved Mk3 spacers kit

· New/improved Mk3 chrome-on-brass windshield

· New/improved turn signals and tail-lights

· New/improved speedometer sending units

· Re-designed wind wings

· New design floormats

· All-New stainless steel optional side pipes

· All-New stainless steel vintage bumpers and over-riders

· Improved carbon rock guards

· New design oil cooler

· New Car Covers

· New Key Ring

· New/improved design Tonneau cover

· New/improved design soft top

· New competition Tow hook kit

COMPLETE KIT/ADDS UPGRADES

· New Complete Roadster and Coupe kits

· All-New steel OEM fuel tank and peripherals

· All-New front spindles

· All-New 11” front brake kit

· All-New Solid axle shafts

· All-New Solid axle rear brake kit

· All-New rear solid axles/rear-ends

· All-New IRS Brake kit

· All-New IRS completion parts

· All-New Proportioning valve/Master Cylinder

· All-New selection driveshafts

· All-New Electrical system components and kit

· Revised/Larger Driver Side Footboxes & Modified Steel for new Wilwood Pedal Sets

· All-New Wilwood Pedal Set

· All-New Accelerator pedal

· New 4.6 donor kit parts

· Re-designed 4.6 Oil Pan

· “Rewind the tape” Larger driver side footboxes (back to the pre-4.6 design)

Other

· New Warehouse, Production, and Inventory systems that have improved service levels.

· New technologies from HP, Intel and Solidworks

· New Shifter Karts training program

· New Coupe Diagonal

· New heater/defroster (coming soon)

New Mk3 “Complete Kit”

In September 2007, more than ten years of selling only “Donor-based” roadster kits came to an end. Sure, you can still build your FFR with donor Mustang parts, but now you can also buy almost all the parts, brand-new, from us in one big value-priced package (or as separate assemblies). The Mk3 Roadster and Coupe kits are now available in “Complete kit” form. Full details on this change are described later in this section, but we wanted to highlight this achievement right up front since many of the engineering and parts changes to the v3.1 roadster kit that follows are improvement that were derived from this “Complete Kit” project. The good news for donor car builders are that you can cherry-pick parts and assemblies from the new “Complete kit” to make your donor-build even easier.

All-New Design Roadster Seats

The highest quality roadster seats anywhere. Period!

The first thing you notice about the new Mk3.1 Roadster is the very seat you’re sitting in. We have changed our roadster seats to the original British manufacturer and design. These all-new seats (both vinyl and leather) are the third generation of roadster seat and don’t share a single stitch with the previous FFR versions. The new seats are made with a very rigid tubular steel frame (as opposed to the previous molded fiberglass seat inner), and a sprung supported base.

This is an all-new seat that is more authentic and can accommodate even larger drivers comfortably. We raised the back of the seat another few inches and slightly lowered and sculpted the back portion of the lower cushion. The re-shaped seat puts the occupant lower in the seat, with more back support, and the sculpted shape looks better and more authentic and generally more attractive. As with the rest of our upholstery components, the materials meet FMVSS specifications.

The result is a higher quality, better looking, more authentic and more comfortable roadster seat. The new roadster seats are made in Britain and are more expensive than the previous seats that we made in-house. Our order volumes enabled us to get the prices within reality, but they are still a significantly more expensive part.

The new roadster seats are now standard in all Roadster kits.

New Design Aston-Lemans Fuel Cap

We’ve re-designed our Aston-Lemans fuel cap to eliminate the need for the upper portion of the Mustang donor filler neck and to get rid of the spacers and complex fasteners that went with the original style. The new gas cap looks the same, but now connects directly to the tank fill tube and features an integrated pressure cap that is included (no longer requires use of a modified Mustang gas cap) The new assembly includes the same high-quality,

polished Aston Lemans vintage flip cap design, a new rubber gasket, a new copper braided ground strap, all stainless mounting hardware, and an integral modern vacuum cap that is concealed inside the vintage design. The new design is a higher quality part that is easier to assemble/install, safer, and eliminates the need to use donor parts.

This new gas cap is now standard in all Roadster, Coupe and Challenge kits.

Improved Roadster Main Body Molds

More than ten years and over 6,500 kits later we have learned a thing or two about molding. We have recently built new Mk3.1 main body shell molds that match our new panel molds better than the improved Mk3 was before it. The new molds produce parts that require less bodywork and fitment. This is the third major update we’ve made to our base molded parts and the effort included the Coupe main body (second generation shape with numerous improvements on the Coupe) and panels. From the outside the parts simply look and fit better, it won’t be until you do the bodywork that new parts will really shine. No matter what anyone says, you won’t find a better molded body in any other roadster kit.

New Design Roadster Hood and Hood Liner

We have built new and tighter tolerance molds for the hood and an improved design molded hood liner to make each part look and fit better. The hood is an all-new part that is re-radiused to fit the curve of the body even better. These new molded parts have an excellent production car fit right off the trimming robot. They require less bodywork and fitting. The biggest secret is that we finally centered our 427 hood scoop! (the older hoods were slightly off-set).

To complement the new shaped outer hood, we re-designed the inner hood liner. The new hood liner is prettier and has improved mounting bracket locations (concealed/internal aluminum brackets) for attachment of the latest revision FFR hood hinge. This new hood liner is an evolution of the original Mk3 liner and provides a very nice finished OEM look.

New Design Roadster Trunk and All-New Trunk Liner

Like the hood and hood liner, we re-worked the trunk molds and shape and added an all-new composite liner (say goodbye to the old picture framed aluminum panel… only Dave Smith was sad to see it go). The new trunk molds and parts are built to tighter tolerances and have improved fit that results in less bodywork.

The outer trunk shape was re-worked for accuracy and fit. The new molds have wider flanges that make them easier to manufacturer correctly and we re-worked the mount surface of the trunk license plate light for better flush-fitment.

The trunk inner liner is an all-new part and is better looking than the previous gen aluminum panel liner. The new liner is a clamshell design that definitely adds to the rigidity of the part, without a weight penalty. The new composite liner has an access panel for wiring, new recessed mount spots for the trunk hinges, and a nice finished OEM appearance. Also, like the hood and hood liner up front, there is less bodywork in the new part.

Improved Roadster Door Panels, Door Liners, and Door Molds

Since we re-tooled our hood and trunk parts we figured we should at least look at tightening up our door molds and liners. Behind the scenes we re-tooled our Mk3 main body molds. This effort required us to make all-new panel molds anyway, so while we took the opportunity to develop all-new hood and trunk designs, we also went to the effort to make new and better fitting door and door liners. The new parts fit better and require less bodywork. The robot was re-programmed for more accurate cutting/trimming of all panels as well.

Like the other panels, we also came up with some cool ideas on the mold construction side to make the door parts easier to lay-up and easier to trim perfectly. With the completion of the door molds, all FFR roadster molded parts and panels are made from brand new molds.

New /Improved Steering Rack & Inner Tie Rod Ends

We have found some easy ways to improve the steering characteristics of our Mustang based kits. We are now including with our kits an inner tie-rod extension, which bolts between the rack and the inner tie-rods to move the inner pivot further towards the spindle. We have also made this important change to our new manual steering rack, by extending the inner shaft inside the rack. This feature is unique to our rack and these parts are now standard in our roadster and coupe kits.

Power Steering Rack with Outer Tie Rods and Bushings

Power Steering Rack Inner Extensions

New/Improved Steering Shaft Design

This needs some careful explaining, but the bottom line is we’ve made it easier to get your steering right. We have made a major revision to the steering shafts included in our Roadster, Coupe, and Challenge Car kits. This change makes it easier for guys building cars to interchange steering racks and use the rack they desire without confusion.

With the Mk3 Roadsters we eliminated the need for the Mustang upper steering shaft, and included it as a standard item in all the kits, along with including the intermediate double D shaft, and lower u-joint shaft. There are some challenges with including this lower shaft that has added some confusion. There are three different types of steering racks that are normally used with our kits that required a different type of connection to the lower steering shaft.

o 1987-1993 Mustang power steering racks use a ¾”-36-spline connection.

o 1994 to 2004 Mustang steering racks use what is sometimes referred to as a triangle joint, and the racks also have inner tie-rods that are too long to work with the FFR track width.

o Aftermarket Mustang steering racks, such as Flaming River’s use a 9/16”-26 spline connection.

We also felt that there was more to be desired in relation to the looks of the lower steering shafts that came with the Mk3 kits, even though they were much improved over the Mustang donor parts they replaced.

To meet all of these needs we changed the design of the lower steering shaft with a fully welded nickel plated lower steering shaft including the double D shaft with interchangeable adaptors at the end for each steering rack style. The standard kit now includes the adaptor for the 1987-1993 Mustang racks. For those that specify and are using 1994-2004 Mustang racks, we can provide the necessary tie rod ends, and the triangle adaptor to connect to the rack. For those purchasing a manual steering rack from us, we include the 9/16”-26 spline adaptor. So if you are ordering a kit, and are not sure at this point what rack you will be using, you don’t have to worry about it. If you decide later that you are going to use a 1994-2004 rack or an aftermarket manual rack you don’t have to send back your long steering shaft. You can simply purchase the proper adapters for them at any point, and if you order your rack from us you will have everything you need. This shaft will compliment any quality engine bay you decide to create.

New/Improved License Plate Light/Bracket

We changed our license plate light to incorporate the license plate mounting bracket and light fixture all-in-one. The new light fixture has a better mounting surface (matched to the new trunk molds) with a gasket that is hidden, resulting in a cleaner look. The light meets DOT photometric requirements and the lens has DOT approval markings. The wiring is soldered to prevent the loosening that was common to the original British units. The part looks like the original, but is higher quality, brighter/safer, and easier to assemble/install.

The new part is standard on all Roadster and Challenge kits.

New/Improved Three Lock Set and Mounting Hardware

The new three-lock sets have been made better in some cool ways. The original three lock sets required customers to trim a small amount of the hood latch shafts to fit. This added a wee bit of work to the build, but more importantly, we noticed that on some customer-built cars, the part of the shaft that was cut underneath the hood and trunk lids would corrode as did the un-coated trunk latch mount.

The new lock sets are shipped pre-shortened, so the whole shaft is coated. Also the trunk latch mount comes as part of the pre-packaged assembly now and is delivered with an e-coated black finish (the previous ones were bare steel).

We changed the keys as well, to be more substantial than the older style ones that were kinda dinky. The new keys have the FFR logo imprinted into the key heads and are beefier (the original British ones felt like those keys you get with office cabinets). We changed the original paper gaskets to a higher quality rubber material (these gaskets are placed between the latches and the painted body surface). The handles fit more flush and are still the same high quality chromed parts.

The new three lock sets are standard on all Roadster and Challenge kits.

Improved Polished Side View Mirror

Many of our engineers, along with our racing and street customers have been purchasing convex mirrors from their local auto parts stores and have been attaching them to their side view mirrors with double stick tape to improve rear/side visibility.

We asked the original mirror manufacturer to simply change from flat mirror glass to convex. The new mirrors are safer and more useful without detracting from the originality of the part.

The re-designed mirrors are standard in our Roadster, Coupe and Challenge kits.

New Pre-Flared Fuel Lines

In the 2005 Mk3 revision we changed from bulk hydraulic tubing that required cutting, flaring and installation, to pre-flared brake lines. As an evolution of this thinking we have now changed the fuel lines to match.

The Roadster, Coupe, and Challenge Car kits now come with pre-flared lengths of fuel line with barbed ends to connect to the flexible lines.

New/Improved Steering Wheel, Polished Aluminum Center Section and Badge

Back in 2005 we made a hard choice and left the original British Moto-Lita company behind. While we loved the cache of the original manufacturer, the modern day versions of these wheels were getting worse and worse. Peeling varnish, different colored woods, and aluminum that was thin and oxidized quickly (for lack of proper surface polish and treatment). The wheels were a source of customer complaints, that no amount of “that’s the way the original cars were” could explain away. Better still, the official policy of the company was, “you bought it, you own it”.

We finally got mad enough to do something about it. We invested the money, tooled up, and began making our own FFR steering wheels that were stronger (with thicker

aluminum), safer (with softer radius on the edges), and had better and longer lasting varnish. As part of the v3.1 effort, we made a few other improvements to the design, notably adding a new polished aluminum (matches the inner aluminum) boss and center section with machined badge recession, and color enamel badge.

The new assembly is stunning. The quality and finish of the parts is great and there is not a single person who, when showed both steering wheels, will select the old one.

The new steering wheel, boss, center section, and center badge assembly is standard in all Roadster, Challenge, and Coupe kits. Challenge kits receive the leather wrapped rather than wood rimmed steering wheel.

New Design Color Enamel Nose, Tail, and Steering Center Badges

The badge mentioned in the previous section is our new design FFR logo badge. The new badge carries the old stylized 5 in a surround that highlights our racing heritage and is made from quality enamel and polished metal. The badge is 2-3/8” in diameter and made of cast zinc with the enameled logo sealed under a clear domed coating with 3M trim adhesive tape on the back. The new badges are standard in all FFR kits.

Roadster and Challenge kits receive three badges (one for steering center, and two for nose and tail), Coupe kits receive two badges (one for steering, one for nose), and GTM’s get one (2-1/2") for the nose.

New Stainless Steel Flexible Cooling Hoses Standard

In an effort to make our kits work more universally with all the different combinations of parts our customers like to use, we decided to make our optional corrugated stainless steel coolant hose kit a standard item on Roadsters, Coupes, and Challenge cars. We have been using these hoses for years on our race cars with flawless operation. They look great, and we provide you with more than enough (7 ft length).

The hose also comes with a six neck adaptor kits with multiple line adapters and fasteners so they are customizable to most any engine being used. This flex hose kit eliminates the need to splice Mustang donor cooling hoses.

All-New Radiator and Cooling Kit Assembly

We developed the new cooling system/assembly as part of the “Complete” Roadster kit. This assembly is standard in the complete kits, and can be ordered separately as an option with the base kits. The new cooling system includes a 2-core heavy duty custom aluminum radiator fully capable of cooling engines from a stock 302 to a big block. This radiator is similar to a Mustang radiator, though differs in that the inlet is tilted to allow the upper coolant hose to remain in the engine bay, not having to enter into the RH wheel well. Additionally the filler neck has been removed, to take advantage of the cool new inline filler neck which is included in the package. This allows for a much better filling ability compared to use of standard Mustang radiators in older FFR kits. The supplied inline filler neck is a beautiful billet piece manufactured by CSR. Being fully machined, the radiator cap maintains a great seal unlike some of the other aftermarket filler necks.

The cooling kit also includes a nice OEM style plastic overflow tank with mounting brackets, cap, hardware, overflow tubing, a 16 lb radiator cap, 185 degree thermostat (ground) switch, and fan mounting brackets. The brackets are designed to allow the FFR standard radiator fan to mount directly to the radiator.

Improved Design Rear Traction-Lock Brackets

FFR three-link and four-link rear suspension kits use a bracket to mount the trailing end of the lower control arm axle mounts, and in the case of the three link, they provide the mount for the panhard bar as well.

One request we have had from customers using the three-link is that they wanted to fit larger rims. The older passenger side traction-lock bracket would interfere with that. The new design brackets now allow the use of rims up to 11” wide. They also are designed for increased strength, incorporating new double-shear mounts for coil-over shock attachments. They are manufactured by “Hal”, our new welding robot, and now come powder coated gloss black (they were sent bare steel before).

Improved Design Front Upper Control Arms

We keep tweaking these parts and have yet again improved our standard front upper control arms. The new arms are stronger, they have a cleaner look, and most importantly, they are easier to adjust. The new upper control arms now have a forged end in which the ball joint threads into. This was done primarily for simpler manufacturing, but also results in a better part. The adjustment sleeves are now shaped to fit a wrench so you won’t risk scoring the sleeves with a pair of vice grips. Also we made the pivots out of billet aluminum since using big wrenches when releasing the jam nuts can put a lot of pressure on the inner pivots and can potentially damage them.

Improved Design Front Lower Control Arms

We made a very small but important change to the front lower control arms. We have reduced friction in the joints with a changed inner pivot sleeve and fluted energy suspension polyurethane bushings to reduce surface area. These changes allow more free movement of grease throughout the bushing. Our engineer Jim Schenck proved these parts work better on the skid pad, and enable easier drifting of the car… if you’re into that sorta thing. The arms still come finished in black gloss powder coating and assembled with the ball joint and polyurethane bushings installed.

The new tubular front lower control arms are standard in the complete kits and optional in the base kits.

Re-Designed Rear Solid Axle Lower Control Arms

The rear lower control arms (used in three and four link suspensions) have been changed for a cleaner look. We deleted the sway bar mounts and coil spring perches (used when adapting older Mustang coil springs). As customers have asked for a cleaner design, we simply deleted those mounts and ended up with a prettier part. Hardly worth reporting perhaps, but there it is. The arms are otherwise unchanged, and are made of DOM steel tubing, gloss black powder coated with fluted energy suspension polyurethane bushings, and grease fittings, with all chassis mounting hardware.

All-New Electronic Gauge Packages

Let’s face it, gauges have always been a challenge! The variety of connections, fuel sending units, different resistances, capacities, and voltage, wiring harness variations… all have combined to make the right gauge selection and installation a real challenge. We’ve done our best over the years and had some pretty good packages, but we never had the whole plug-and-play assembly… Until now.

Our engineers were given a clear mandate to develop new gauge packages that were easy to install and wire, high quality, and satisfied both vintage and modern enthusiasts. They met the challenge and then some, with our all-new vintage and modern sets. These new gauges are sold as complete sets, and made to plug and play with the new FFR wire harnesses. These new gauges are electric, for use with any engine, transmission and ignition system, and use high quality transducers. Using advanced circuit board controls in each gauge means improved responsiveness and accuracy vs. mechanical gauges.

We now carry two all-new gauge packages for Roadsters, Challenge cars and Coupes. The first set is the modern performance gauges made by Autometer. The Ultralite electronic gauges deliver a clean modern look for your car and feature a bright silver face, silver trim ring, and orange needle. This gauge kit uses an electric speedometer with a digital odometer. 96-04 cars need the tach adapter, #13892.

The second set are a custom made set of Vintage-style electronic gauges, complete with reverse read speedo, and a clock, made by the guys who make gauges for Kirkhams.

Both sets are sold complete and include 7 gauges. They work with all the Ford 8 cylinder engines. The Ultralite gauges have a 3.5” diameter speedometer and tachometer, whereas the FFR vintage gauges are 4” in diameter. The Roadster standard cut dash is designed to work interchangeably with either set, without the need for cutting new holes. The starting holes are for the 3.5” gauges, all you will need to enlarge to the 4” gauges is some hand held tin snips. We laser cut in both diameters with just a few snips necessary to remove the excess material for the 4” gauges. For those desiring to do a custom dash layout we also offer a blank dash.

The Factory Five Racing Vintage gauges are very compact in design and the tough molded plastic case is only 1.1”deep providing a lot of space behind the dash. The gauges mount to your dash through a locking spin ring. Trimmed with traditional vintage style bezels, these gauges are available in sets and are made in the USA. They are backed with a lifetime warranty on the Gauges CPU and a five year warranty on all other moving parts. The electronic tach is fully programmable and is able to be used with any ignition type so a “Tach Adapter” is not necessary for the newer coil pack or coil on plug 4.6L engine ignitions. The electronic reverse speedometer also features an LCD display for speed, trip miles and is fully programmable for easy calibration with any tire size and axle ratio.

These new gauge sets are revolutionary in the way in which the gauges are wired. All of the gauge power wires plug together for a pain free and clean set up. Each gauge has two plugs that plug into the wire harness that is provided.

The gauge sets are standard in the new Complete Roadster and Coupe kits, and reasonably priced options in the base kits.

New Koni Brand Adjustable Shocks

Over the years we’ve constantly upgraded our suspensions. These latest Koni brand coil-over shock kits were custom engineered by Koni in conjunction with FFR engineers through computer modeling, track testing, and use of Koni’s own testing circuit. These efforts resulted in a great balance between street and track driving. A smooth ride is maintained on the street, and the performance numbers on the track are truly impressive. You’ll find that these shocks will give your car an even better and more precise feel in handling than the Bilstein shocks. The Koni shocks are rebound adjustable for those who desire to do some fine tuning of their own. The shock body has a red finish, and the shaft is 0.539” in diameter. The larger size of the damper body requires the use of 2.5”diameter springs, and in the concern for weight and fitment we chose an 8” spring height. With the change in dampening, we also found some ride and handling improvements by additionally changing the spring rates. As a result the solid axle coil-over kits include 350lb springs, front coil-over kits include 500lb springs, and IRS coil-over kits include 750lb springs.

The new Koni Shocks are standard on Complete Roadster and Coupe kits, and a reasonably priced option in the standard kits.

Review Powder-coated Mk3 Roll Bar and Mounting Designs

Review: We are surprised how many people aren’t aware of our roll-bar mounting options, so we figured we’d review them here. When we introduced the Mk3 a few years ago, we made a pre-welded passenger side roll bar mounts standard on every roadster frame. What we did was move the outer legs of the roll-bar out of the trunk area, and into the wheel wells. Also the rear leg mount on the chassis for the passenger side was converted to be a bolt-on item with chassis attachments that are hidden behind the trunk walls. This left one roll-bar mount all the way up in the front of the trunk, which takes up a miniscule amount room from those not using a passenger roll-bar. So today, if you want to add a passenger roll-bar even AFTER you have finished your build, you can do it without any welding, it will bolt right on.

All roll-bars are now delivered powder coated gloss black standard (at no cost). They come coated, whether or not the frame/chassis was ordered powdercoated. We know the roll bar is a very visual part, and for most customers it is difficult to get it to look nice without paying for a coating service. We still offer optional chrome roll-bars for both driver and passenger. The gloss black powder coating will also give you a lasting finish we use a UV resistant powder, so it will not fade over time in the sunlight.

Straight Tubes

Catalytic Converters

New Design Straight Tubes and Catalytic Converters

Review: This improvement was done on the Mk3 version kit we have included it here since so few people know about it.

To open the availability of newer donor vehicles we had to develop many new parts, and make some parts universal. To do this we engineered two new style straight tubes and catalytic converters 1987-1995 and 1996-2004 versions. The 1987-1995 versions have an O2 sensor bung on each side, and both have ball-socket joints where they attach to the Mustang headers.

The 1996-2004 versions for the 4.6L engines have two O2 sensors bungs on each side, and they have a flat flanged mounting surface on the right hand side with a ball-socket joint on the left hand side. There is a difference however between the 2 valve, and 4 valve engine headers. The 2 valve headers have a smaller ball-socket joint on the right hand side, so we provide a thick stamped copper gasket to take up the space for those that may be using a 2 valve 4.6L engine.

The straight tubes are standard in base roadster kits. The complete kits allow you a full selection of straight tubes, and headers.

New E-Brake Handle

Previously customers had to procure an older Mustang emergency brake handle. We now provide these parts (brand-new) standard in the complete kit and as a reasonably priced option in the base kits. The emergency brake handle that we offer is the original 1987-1993 OEM Ford handle, and we include the OEM Ford T-junction equalizer bar.

Improved Mk3 Accelerator Cable

Along with our efforts to make our kits work more universally with all the different combinations of parts our customers like to use, we now include an accelerator cable with an adaptor that allows you to customize its length. As it sits, the cable will clip directly into a 4.6L engine throttle body. If you’re using a fuel injected 302-351 you just clip off the cast post on the engine side of the cable and attach an adjustable retainer that will attached directly to the throttle body. If you have a carburetor there is also an included ball stud that will bolt on to the carburetor for the retainer to attach to. Another particularly nice feature of this newly designed cable is that the firewall and the throttle bracket mounting portions of the cable are threaded with nut to fasten them securely.

These new cables are standard in all Roadster, Challenge car, and Coupe kits.

New-Designed Shifter Rod and Shift Knob

We have upgraded the shifter rod and knob. The shifter handle is made stronger and better looking. The new shift handle is a forged polished stainless part for superior strength and looks. It still comes with the rubber boot and chrome base ring, but the base ring is now a higher quality and heavier duty, polished stainless steel. Another great change for purists is the cool new shift knob and shift knob base ring. This new “dished” vintage style black shift knob with polished base and marked gear indicators is all-new and a big improvement over the old base round plastic knob.

New/Improved Mk3 Shock Spacers Kit

One of the many changes that we made when we introduced the original Mk3 that many people are not aware of is that the suspension spacers included in the kit were upgraded to aluminum. The original Mk1 and 2 spacers were bare steel that, if not coated, could rust over time. We changed all the spacers that could be changed without affecting design requirements to aluminum. Today all those spacers have been changed slightly to a better grade so they look great in bolt-on form and last a long time without corrosion.

New/Improved Mk3 Windshield and Windshield Base kit

Some of the parts sold today by kit car makers (lighting, glass, upholstery, etc) do not meet the Department Of Transportations (DOT) specifications. Several years ago we went through our kits and made sure that the parts we sell do.

While our previous windshields did indeed meet the DOT requirement, they didn’t have the markings to prove it. We changed our glass supplier and our new Mk3 windshield glass has been tested and has the proper markings. We also made some changes to the side bars (no more cutting/trimming) and now the base plates come in polished aluminum with new rubber gaskets.

New/Improved Turn Signals and Tail Lights

The Mk3 saw revisions to our turn signals and tail lights to meet DOT lumens standards. We have improved the parts further with new internal reflectors to increase side visibility and, along with minor quality changes to the housings, changed the lenses to pass photometric DOT testing

New/Improved Speedometer Sending Unit

We now carry the speedometer gear and electronic sending unit with pig tail that 1987-1998 Mustang transmissions came with. The speedometer gear included is for use with 3.55:1 rear axle gears. If you are using a different rear axle ratio, and you have one of our gauge packages this 3.55:1 speedometer gear will work fine. Both of our gauge packages are electronic, and programmable, so they don’t require a speedometer cable, and will work with any speedometer gear. If you use this sending unit with a mechanical speedometer gauge you will need to obtain the proper plastic speedometer gear, and a speedometer cable.

Review Wind Wings

Not huge news to report here, but we did design all-new wind wings. Unlike most wind wings on the market (and the ones we used to carry), the new FFR wind wings do not require drilling of the windshield side posts. The chrome hardware uses a set screw to attach to the back side of the windshield posts. The new wind wings themselves are made from a higher quality Acrylic and have nice polished edges with the “Factory Five” name and small logo tastefully etched in silver along the lower edge at the base.

The wind wings are an optional part.

New Factory Five Logo Floor Mats

Hardly earth shaking news here either, but we did redesign our Mk2 and Mk3 floor mats. The new ones carry the cool new color FFR logo and are made from flame retardant materials, have a nice grippy, non-skid backing, and are seamed along the perimeter.

The floor mats are optional.

Improved Side Exhaust

New Optional Stainless Steel Side Pipes

We’ve made some good changes to our side exhaust assemblies. First we have lengthened the mufflers that are part of the side pipe assembly. The new muffler sections use a uniquely laid out mesh of stainless steel wire and glass strand inside for a marginal reduction in sound levels without losing that great rumble that everyone expects from a Roadster. Another change is that both side pipes come with all the necessary hangers and hardware necessary to mount them. Previously the pipes required the rubber hanger from a donor car.

We have also replaced the optional ceramic coating for side pipes with an upgrade to an incredible set of mirror finished polished stainless steel side pipes. The polished stainless pipes aren’t cheap, but they stand head and shoulders above the older ceramic coating.

These new designed side pipes are standard in the Roadster and Challenge kits. The stainless steel are an optional part.

New-Design Optional Bumper Kit/Over-riders

We have changed our bumper kit and over-riders the old chrome parts to all new polished stainless steel for lasting durability. The bumper parts are optional on Roadster kits.

New-Design Carbon Fiber Rock Guards

We changed our carbon fiber rock guard design to reduce work and improve the fit and finish of the part. The new rock guards are an adhesive backed layer of carbon fiber that is infused with a flexible resin. The older style rock guards were rigid molded parts that required some sanding and finishing, and they sat slightly raised. These new carbon rock guards attach right to the painted surface, are removable (NOT cling-on, but can be removed without huge risk of damaging painted surface), and can be trimmed to final fit perfectly. They also have a cool glossy finish.

These parts are optional and despite the fact that the material is quite expensive, we were able to reduce our prive from $75 to $59.

New-Design Optional Oil Cooler

We changed the look of our oil cooler with black AN fittings compared to the traditional blue and red fittings. We feel that the black fittings provide a more functional and classy look that will better compliment any Coupe or Roadster. The kit still includes braided stainless steel line -10AN fittings and an aluminum Setrab® cooler.

All-New Optional Car Covers

We now carry beautiful indoor car covers for our Coupes and GTM’s. The new covers have a precise fit and look that just screams “high class.” The exterior is made with shiny silk like Lycra, and is lined with a very soft fleece that will protect your cars finish. These covers were made exclusively for Factory Five and fit like a glove! We anticipate the Roadster covers will be done in mid 2008.

These car covers are custom designed exclusively for FFR cars and optional.

All-New Key Ring

Probably the smallest piece of news yet, we have made some cool new key chains. The new design incorporates the killer new FFR enamel color logo and is made with a genuine leather back, and a cast zinc badge back.

New/Improved Optional Tonneau Cover

We upgraded the material that our tonneau covers are made from. The material is called “Stayfast” and it’s the same material that we are using in our new soft-top designs. The new material is very durable and mildew resistant. It also has a nice rich feel to it. Just like our previous tonneau cover, it can stay attached while driving. The driver portion has a zipper that opens up. This cover is specifically designed for low back seats with a single driver side roll-bar.

The Tonneau cover is optional.

New/Improved Optional Convertible Soft Top Design

Our new soft top doesn’t share a single stitch or part with our first gen soft top. The new tops are made by the good guys at Whitby Automotive and are vastly improved over our first design. They are made from a material called Stayfast, which is very durable, mildew resistant and has a wonderfully rich feel to it. The new top has a cleaner look and fits better. The rear window is much larger than our previous top for enhanced visibility. The internal hoops are zinc coated, and all the necessary hardware is included.

The soft top is optional.

All-New Optional Competition Tow Hook Kit

While mostly a race part, this cool new tow hook can be used by street car guys as well. New rule changes to the National Auto Sport Association (NASA) require that competition cars including the FFR Challenge Series cars must have front and rear tow hooks. To make it easier to add to the cars we designed this bolt-on kit for those needing them. The package includes a heavy duty 5/16” welded bracket that extends up through the hood, and a large eye bolt that attaches to the rear cage. The front bracket bolts to the X-member of the chassis in the engine bay, and is powder coated red. The rear bracket is galvanized and extends out just below the passenger tail-lights. Also included are aluminum trim plates and vinyl decals to meet the NASA specifications.

New “Complete Kits” Mk3 Roadster and Coupe

In case you haven’t already heard, we have launched “Complete Kit” versions of our Mk3 Roadster and Coupes (Sept 2007 What's New post). Many of the Mk3.1 changes have come from this effort. The complete kits are fundamentally new versions of the famous Factory Five Racing Mk3 Roadsters and Coupes. We spent more than a year designing these newly configured kits, assembling and testing the parts and putting them in a package that guys could afford.

All new parts and everything you need…

…without a donor car!

The new “Complete Kits” give you everything you need to build your car, in all-new parts, except you provide your own engine/transmission, wheels/tires and paint. That’s it.

These new kits are our best effort. They aren’t just a bunch of re-conditioned parts thrown together. We leveraged our relationship with Ford Racing, we committed engineering resources to designing new parts like a matched wiring harness and gauge sets. We tooled up to have the rest of the parts made new, and we invested a pile of money in inventory.

The complexity of the complete kit roadster and Coupe project was so much more than meets the eye. Director of Engineering, Jesper Ingerslev personally managed this entire effort which involved our engineers and many others for the better part of a year and a half. The parts involved, the regulatory effect, the sheer size, space and financial impact of this offering has virtually doubled our company efforts. We could’ve done this on the cheap and matched what some other companies are doing, but we wanted to do it better.

The following parts and assemblies are all related to the “Complete Kits” project. Many of these parts can be ordered separately.

All-New OEM Mustang Fuel Tank

For those building cars without donor parts, finding a fuel tank, sending units, gaskets and lines was a chore. Now we are providing the entire fuel tank assembly at a reasonable price. The parts include a lot more than just a new gas tank. We thought it every detail so you don’t have to.

The whole package consists of…

· 1987-1998 OEM style Mustang fuel tank. Comes in a fuel-resistant black finish

· High-impact black plastic debris shield (with moisture drainage holes)

· Clear zinc finished steel mounting straps and fasteners

· Nickel plated fuel level sender with gasket and locking ring

· Fuel vent with gasket

· Large 3/8” fuel filter with corrosion resistant stainless mounting bracket

· Click-on tank to filter nylon fuel line and click-on filter to barb fitting, and all necessary hose clamps.

· Tig-welded stainless filler neck with tank gasket and safety retaining ring.

· Custom nickel plated fuel pick-up with return and 3/8”send lines and an in-tank filter gasket with locking ring are included. This pick-up is specifically designed to work with either a fuel injected engine or a carbureted engine. It requires and an external fuel pump, and the send line has been enlarg