Customer Profile – Ralph Button

FFR 1436RD, Cabot, AR

forum handle:   Traveler

email:   ralph@rbutton.com

 

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?

 

Ralph Button is the exception.  In customers’ eyes worldwide, he’s a Factory Five super-hero.  He’s the energizer bunny of the FFROG world, the guy who is the first AND the last guy on the track, the one who always seems to be on a road-trip, and the guy that you KNOW will be at every major event, regardless where it’s held.  Like the intrepid postman – neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor gloom of night will keep Ralph from a good excuse to hit the road.

 

While most FFR owners boasts an average of nearly 10,000 miles (which is a lot in the replica world), Ralph has over 250,000 miles on his ’98 vintage Factory Five, and yet he shows no signs of slowing down.

 

Ralph started his journey in July 1998, with a trip from his home in Maine to the factory to pick up his kit.  Luckily for us all, Ralph’s rented trailer made it home prior to falling apart or this story may have turned in a different direction.

 

In less than two months the car was complete, and ready for registration and titling.  The folks are happy to help a fellow Pine Tree stater, so when it came time to have the car inspected, a friendly local Maine State Trooper came by the house to inspect the car and certify the serial numbers of all the major parts.  Once all was confirmed the trooper riveted a new VIN number plate to the chassis, and Ralph was ready to roll.

 

 

“When I first built the car it was to see if I could build a car from parts, as I have described it, I call it my Henry Ford Syndrome.   What I was not prepared for was how much I would enjoy driving the car.”

 

Ralph first envisioned a simple, basic build – by the book.  He felt that this was the best way to get a feel for the car as well as to determine if everything worked properly.  Like so many others, however, the need for speed soon bit hard.  Working with Gordon Levy in Phoenix, he installed a used Powerdyne Supercharger with 9 lbs. of  boost.  Once you go down that path, the additions start snowballing –also added were Edelbrock aluminum heads, 65mm throttle body, 30# injectors, 75mm mass air, 1.7 roller rockers, Crane ignition system, upgraded fuel kit, and Crane cam.

These upgrades were done over the long winter in Maine.  Ralph set up a workspace in an old barn on his property, turn on the large construction heater and in about 10 minutes the place was warm enough to sustain work in just a t-shirt and jeans.  Often times, fellow FFROG Hal Kolp (FFR 1566) would drive up from nearby Portland to help with the work.

 

After the “go fast” modifications, Ralph started his stream of road-trips. 

 
 
 

 

The first big trip out of Maine was for the Texas Triathlon event just outside Dallas, Texas, in March of 2000.  “I had been traveling around the east coast making 2-4 days trips meeting with clients about database issues.  By the time I headed out for Texas the speedometer was showing just about 30,000 miles.” 

 

In the spring of 2001 came the legendary Stooges Across America Run to race at the Northern California Muscle Car Autocross Challenge.

 
 
 

The concept was pretty simple – four fearless guys from various parts of the East Coast were going to drive west to show the Nor.Cal FFROGS just what they were made of.  Considering the journey, it’s no wonder the nicknames stuck - the pack of four included Ralph (Moe), John Phillips (Shemp – FFR 1152) and Ron Hasenbuhler (Larry – FFR 1738) of southern Florida, and John Hannaford (Curly) of eastern Ontario, Canada.

It’s not every day that one plans a 3000 mile journey (each way), but to top it off with some spirited racing is just not for the feint of heart.

 

Results:   “Well to be kind we got our butts whipped!”, Ralph recalls.  “Although our collective excuse was that we had recently made some changes to the rear control arms. The result was not working well for autocross usage.”

Other major trips included more journeys between Maine and Chicago, Cleveland, Jacksonville, and short hops to Boston and New York City sprinkled in-between.

 

Weekly trips between Maine and Raleigh, NC really added the miles to the car as Ralph’s wife worked toward her graduate degree at NCSU.  Along the way, Ralph and Laurie hosted Jake, a foster child inflicted with Cerebral Palsy, and Ralph and Jake would make the 18+ hour trip down from Maine in rain or shine.  At the end of each trip Jake would still ask for more.
 

 

 

Like the traveler who comes for dinner, and then never leaves, Jake became a part of their family and was eventually adopted.  Over the years, Ralph and Laurie took in more than 80 medically needy foster children, all as a result of Jake coming to live with them.  “At times our home looked more like the wing of the acute care ward of a hospital with IV poles, and diagnostic monitors running 24-7. It all started with a gentle kind little baby boy, named Jake, that no one wanted.”

 

In 2003 Ralph embarked on another cross-country journey, making the trek out to the first annual FFR Nationals in Las Vegas, with a short side trip to San Francisco before the trip home.  All the while having a video camera in his face the entire trip out while unknown to him Jim Colman was making a documentary video for an award he was to get at the Nationals.

 

 

Through all this his car has performed flawlessly.  It still has the original engine block that came from the 1990 Mustang GT side hit donor, with about 64,000 miles on it.  The main, rod, and rings are all still the original ones. It gets regular Mobil 1 oil changes as the miles pile up on her.

 

The miles are not adding up in large numbers now, but in a slower, steady pace of about 50 miles a day – Ralph and Jake still make the daily trip from our home to work each day in her.

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“The car just runs... and runs... and runs - with very little trouble along the way.  A few things are starting to wear out - sensors on the engine which I just replace as needed.  The carpet is getting worn and the body is really getting a beating on the front with all the stone chips.  Over all, the car has been trouble free.  It still amazes me at how well it is running - idles smooth, none of the jerky idles so many complain about.  No bump steer problems, just a good alignment.  It tracks straight down the road, with the steering wheel rock steady. 

I may need to get an other set of door hinges (third set of them) as the drivers side especially has worn the bushings.  Other than that no rattles, shakes, or squeaks!  It's really a joy to drive.”

 

Over all those miles, the repairs have been few:

3 windshields

Water pump (“replaced at a NY State Turnpike rest stop”)

Rear pinion seal

Front inner and outer Wheel Bearings

7 sets of Brake Pads (“open track events wear them out quickly”)

Hole in top of radiator (“clamped and soldered”)

4 sets of front Headlight bulbs

1 Right Rear inner fender aluminum (“real dumb move backing out of the shop”)

1 set of Shocks

1 pair tie rod ends

1 set of tail light screws

2 rear license plates

U joints

1 driver’s seat (“original one from the kit – I seem to have worn a hole in it”)

Hole in the Soft Top (“where it folds”)

T5 Transmission (“I only replaced it as I had a deal on a really good rebuilt one”)

3 Clutch Cables (“after the second one I finally moved it so it would not melt”)

2 Pass. Cats (“I had mounted the side exhaust solidly so no flex – installed a rubber bushing

for the hanger and that fixed the problem”)

1 pair of wind wings (“ok, so in the cold you need to move the wings slowly!!”)

TPS sensor

A few belts

A LOT of spark plugs, caps, rotors and TIRES

 

What’s next on the schedule for Ralph ?  we’re not sure, but we can say, that if there’s a big event coming up near you, keep an eye out for FFR 1436.