Customer Profile – Steve Moriarty and Kermit

FFR 2367RD, Pomona, CA

forum handle: Steve Moriarty

email: moriartyclan@comcast.net
 
How exactly Steve has come to know everyone in LA is a mystery to all of us, but when you hear Charlton Heston call him by name in a Los Angeles fast food restaurant, you know there is something to the legend.
 

 

Coincidentally, Steve’s number one companion, nicknamed Kermit, seems to have the same trait, and since Steve uses him to commute everywhere in southern California, it’s no wonder that Kermit has established a following of his own.

 

Steve first adopted Kermit (FFR 2367) in 2000 after it had been built in 90 days by Roger Stine (the wire diet guru, and owner of www.WireDiet.com).  Soon thereafter Steve and Kermit started acquiring autographs.
 

If it hasn’t already been admitted, his dash is a sure fire Automotive Hall of Fame exhibit.  Kermit has more than a dozen autographs already, from automotive pioneers, legends and luminaries to the behind-the-scenes guys that most people have never heard of.  In fact, the demand to sign Kermit is so prevalent, that Steve has had to turn away a few notables in order to maintain the automotive related theme.
 

 

A veritable who’s who of automotive history is represented in Kermit’s cockpit – including:

 

Alain de Cadent 

(24 hrs LeMans driver, SPEED channel announcer)

Jerry Grant

(one of original Shelby team drivers)

Dan Gurney

(has done it all! Grand Prix, Indy Car, NASCAR, and SportsCar racing wins)

Tommy Ivo    

(Hollywood movie and television star began campaigning a twin-engine Buick dragster in the 1950s and was the first to reach 160, 170, and 180 mile-per-hour)

Parnelli Jones

(races won - six Indy Car, 25 Sprint Car, 13 Stock Car, Sports Car, Indy 500)

Jay Leno

(Late Night host, automotive collector)

Jeff Miller

(FFROG favorite, Batman alter-ego, painted Kermit)

Lynn Parks

(Trigo wheel CEO)

Jim Rathman

(1960 Indianapolis 500 winner)

Phil Remington 

(Shelby team Chief Mechanic)

Dave Smith

(flipped FFR at Gateway Int’l; spun FFR Coupe into wall at Waterford Hills)

Dick Smith

(multiple 60’s USRRC championships; CSX 3035, attained 198mph at Daytona)

 

 

There are still other automotive autographs that are in his sights, including a few that he has scheduled for 2007, including:

George Barris  (King of the Kustomizers, i.e. Batmobile, Munsters Truck)

Bob Bondurant  (1965 Manufacturer’s Champion, premier racing school owner)
 

   Kermit w/ Jay Leno
Kermit w/ Parnelli Jones
 

Steve with Dick Smith (FFR 3623) & Roger Stine (FFR 1225)
Steve, Kermit and Alain de Cadent
 
Like many of us Factory Five guys, Steve doesn’t like car shows (one of his favorite show experiences was summarized with “while Jason (his son) & I were away looking around the show, someone undid & stole my Raydot side mirror”).  Nonetheless, he seems to always be at the center of any car crowd, keeping everyone in stitches with hilarious stories of days flying, filmmaking, automotive adventures and other exploits.  The stories are too numerous for even the Library of Congress to categorize, yet Steve tells them as if they occurred yesterday.
 

Steve with his wife, Kaye, and son, Jason
Tommy Ivo, Steve, and Kermit
 

One has to believe, that Steve and Kermit’s life is one big adventure after another. 

 

Kermit was built with a slightly modified, fuel injected 302 and a standard T5 transmission - the standard donor car fare that have made Factory Five the number one selling component car manufacturer.  Not surprisingly, Steve and Kermit have run six years straight with nary a hitch.  Nonetheless, Steve (like many of us) is itching to let the horses run, so he has seen a drag strip or two.  Kermit is always up to the challenge, and has been clocked running a 3.68 second 0-60mph.
 

Steve and Kermit hit the track at Willow Springs
3 FFRs, 2 originals and 2 GT350s meet at Monterrey