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Customer Profile Randy Jones FFR 1004114RD, Fairport, NY
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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!) I had Camaro’s back then but was lucky enough to have a great friend that got to own about any type of car he wanted. He was mainly a Chevy guy but had Fords and Mopars also so every make was well represented. We worked endless hours on his collection and I learned about every gearhead related thing. Camaros, Corvettes, and Chevelles were always some of my loves, but my favorite body style of all is the Roadster.
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Winter 2003 – Make the decision:
I did more research into the FFR concept, but since I had a friend that had an FFR, I already knew I liked the frame, completeness of the kit, and the company as a whole. Everyone that I mentioned this idea to would not think twice about building another FFR kit. That told me everything I needed to know.
One evening, my wife (Julie) and I were watching TV and Julie, a big convertible advocate already (her toy is a BMW Z3) saw a Roadster in a movie. She knew what it was immediately, and said that it was one of the coolest cars ever. She went on and on about the fact that she had been in love with them since she saw one in the movie ‘Romancing the Stone’.
I jumped at the chance. I couldn’t have planned that moment better if I had scripted it. “I’ve wanted to build one of those for years” I exclaimed. “What do you mean, build?” she responded, and as I went into a description of the Factory Five concept, complete with a magazine advertisement that was (conveniently) waiting on the coffee table nearby, she cut me off with “Ok….let’s do it!” With that short exchange, it was decided.
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July 2004 – Commence the build:
We went to the factory to pick up the kit and had a great experience! We were treated like royalty by all the guys that were there that morning!
I set the kit on jackstands in our garage on July 1st 2004 and started right in. My plan was to put a Small Block Chevrolet in it that I had in a crate since the mid ‘90’s. I also had a Chevy TH700R-4 four-speed auto transmission that I planned to use.
After some minor fabrication and painting the engine mounts and transmission cross-member, the engine and tranny dropped in like the kit was designed at the factory for them specifically. Even the custom set of four into four headers I created mated with the FFR sidepipes better than I could have ever imagined. In truth, there were no real issues putting the “old school, blasphemous bowtie” powerplant in there at all! Realistically, setting up the seats and seat harnesses for both my wife (4’ 10”, 95lbs) and I (5’10”, 175lbs) was more of a challenge than dropping in the “square peg” motor into the “round peg” engine compartment. With careful positioning of the seat sliders and adjustment of the belts, we now both fit comfortably in either seat!
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September 2004 – enjoy the first drive:
When I finally drove it for the first time it was everything that I had hoped it would be.
Now, one summer later and still driving in gelcoat, I still can’t get that dumb grin off my face!
The plan is to pull the body when it gets cold and send it out to my body man to do the paint. I have about 1200 miles on it so far and have had no real issues at all.
Our goal is to use the car to discover new places, meet new people, and put on as many miles as we can. We’re also going to plan trips back to the factory for get-togethers and open house events.
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The Webpage and the Webcam:
At the start of the build, I knew I wasn’t going to have the time to do an Internet build site like so many do so I thought that the next best thing would be to put up a Webcam so that everyone could stop in and see what I was doing from time to time. Basically, there is a 1.3 megapixel digital camera mounted on the wall in the garage that takes a picture once a minute and it reloads automatically. As the build continued, I found time to upload tons of build pictures, captures from the webcam, and even a few videos. At the time of this writing, we’re at 20,300 hits so it seems that people are enjoying stopping by!
Our web page is www.gpsconnection.com and if you have questions or just want to send us a quick note to say ‘hi’, the ‘contact us’ page is there. I try and reply to everybody as quickly as I can..
It’s been said before but I’ll say it again - if it wasn’t for Factory Five, I wouldn’t have my dream in my garage right now. Their vision, product, and customer service are second to none.
I’m having the time of my life!
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More detailed information on our car:
FFR Mark III: Powdercoated chassis 3-Link Rear Suspension Autometer Ultra-lite Gauges Dual Chrome Rollbars. No Engine Mounts.
Engine: 1969 Small Block Chevy 350 stroked to 383 (just over 500 hp) AFR heads (match ported to the DZ replica intake)
Transmission: Art Carr built TH-700R-4 4 speed automatic with lockup torque converter. (rated for 450ft/lbs of torque - we’ll see!
Front suspension, brakes, and steering: 1994 Mustang SN95 spindles and brakes FFR Tubular Front Lower Control Arms Jeep MC Flaming River 18:1 manual rack.
Rear end: 1988 Thunderbird TurboCoupe 8.8. 3.55 gears and disc brakes. FFR 3-link deluxe bundle (including Rear Coil Over Kit and Rear Lower Control Arms)
Wheels, Tires: FR500's
- 17x9 front and 17x10 rear
Amenities: Windshield Wipers Seat Tracks Heated Seats Heater/Defroster
Paint codes: 2006 BMW Imola Red |
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