Customer Profile – Russ Thompson

FFR 2893CP, FFR 1269K

forum handle: russ thompson      

 

One of our favorite parts of the Factory Five product and the FFROG community is that every one of the 6000+ Factory Fives on the road is different.  Not just different colors, different wheels and different gauges, but different builds entirely.  Every customer, it seems, creates something unique to his or her specific build.  One need only to check the vendor listings on the owner’s group forum to see the diverse range of changes, upgrades and improvements one can make to a Factory Five.  Since our inception nearly 12 years ago, many of these improvements have made their way into our current kits.
 

 

Russ Thompson is the poster child of the custom build!
 

Russ has done so many custom modifications to his two Factory Fives that they are held by many as the benchmarks of perfection in the FFROG community.

 

His story is similar to the other 6000+ owners we have shipped kits to, the difference is how his kits have ended that makes them the consistent envy of other FFROGs.
 

Back in 1998 Russ was looking for a new project, as he had just finished restoring a 1965 Mustang.

 

He had narrowed his research down to the Factory Five roadster, as he really liked the donor car concept (the concept of borrowing parts from multiple sources was a turn-off to Russ) his goals were simple and straight-forward – a hassle free package which could be built quickly and affordably without having to spend time scrounging around junkyards to cobble together parts that were not designed to work together, hoping that they’ll fit on the kit.

 

Seven months after getting his Mk1 Roadster, he was finished and on the road!  Russ’ feedback still rings true, “the car went together pretty smoothly, very much like the model cars I built growing up. I learned how to do the bodywork from my brother-in-law who also helped me paint and buff the car in my garage.”

 

Since finishing the car he has met dozens of fellow builders at the track and various shows, it's been one of the biggest perks of owning a Factory Five. “Getting involved in the one day build Roadster was something I'll never forget.”
 

After getting lots of seat time he started making some personal improvements and developed several items for sale within the FFR community.  He also added a supercharger to give the stock 302 a bit of a boost.

 

“The car has been a joy to drive and as dependable as any car I've ever owned.”

 

“The range of builds that came along after mine inspired me to build another car so this time I decided to build the FFR Type 65 Coupe.  I took all the things I learned from a huge group of talented FFR customers and put the knowledge to use in my coupe build.”

 

The Coupe took a bit longer to build, as he made quite a few changes along the way to better personalize the kit.  

 

Included among the customizations he added: A/C, power steering, power brakes, front and rear sway bars, double skinned footboxes (to hide the insulation), anodized aluminum panels.

 

The engine is a mild 351W with Very Cool Parts stack injection system, Tremec TKO tranny, FFR’s Independent Rear Suspension and 17 pin drive wheels.

 

He loves tearing up the pavement in northern California, and plans to race this dual-purpose bullet on the track as well.