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2005 FFR Open House
Saturday, June 18, 2005 |
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Click here to check out the video of the Open House, from FFR customer David Lindsey
(24.6 Megs) |
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Every year we sweep the winter dust out of the
factory, clean up the cars, dig out our pile of scratch and dent parts,
dress the employees in fresh t-shirts, and get ready to host our annual
Open House. |
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Factory Five team can’t wait for customers to show up
(Jimmy, Eric, Jerry and Jon with Kerri. Eleanore and Deven.) |
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Usually the weather gods assist us by providing us
with a clear window in which to host this event, and this year was no
exception. Although it was a cloudy morning, with rain showers seeming
ready to fall at any moment, the skies cleared by noon to deliver the blue
sky of a beautiful early summer day.
The Factory Five team arrived at work
early in the morning to finish setting up the parts sale area (which
featured some great deals on brand new parts), put up tents, tables and chairs, fire
up the barbecues so that they’re ready to grill-up some tasty dogs, and
get the band ready to entertain the crowds. Members of the team were
frantically polishing up some of Factory Five’s fleet of show and race
winners, roping off the factory for large group tours, and slicing up
watermelons to feed the masses. |
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Mark Dougherty and Dave Smith share a happy pre-event
laugh. |
Keep your hands and feet away from those bargain
hunters. |
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The Dyno-Go team brought their mobile dyno from Ohio.
It was in place and ready for all comers to test their mettle (and
horsepower) in a shoot-out for bragging rights for another year.
What
started off as a relatively quiet Saturday morning soon changed, as local
customers started to roll in with their Factory Fives bringing the sleepy
Wareham industrial area to life. It began slowly as the first cars
trickled in a couple at a time, but it was not long before they started
piling in by the masses. A steady stream of cars (several caravans came
from meeting points north and west of Wareham) rolled into the parking lot
making a line that stretched for a hundred yards. A couple cars proudly
displayed American flags, which flapped to attention as the cars pulled
into the rapidly filling parking lot, and took their place among the New
England’s finest cars. When the dust settled, 105 cars were parked on the
asphalt, an impressive showing. |
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Here come the cars – 105 made it back home to Wareham |
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A special area had been reserved for those customers
outside of the mainstream who had built type 65 Coupes. There were only a
few Coupes in attendance, but that didn’t stop them from attracting a
larger share of attention. Loads of people flocked to check out this
unique high performance vehicle.
As in years' past, we established a special vendor area. Five of the best companies who sell to Factory Five customers set
up their wares for display and sale. |
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The annual
Open House also gives us a chance to showcase what the engineers in R&D
have been up to for the past year. This year’s show was no exception, as
the latest revision and first of three production prototypes of the GTM
was showcased in the expansive FFR showroom. This was a big attention
grabber as people of all ages were fascinated with its combination of
exotic sports car lines with American muscle car macho. No one was
disappointed with the latest revisions to the body, and GTM engineer Mike
Pisani was swamped with questions and prodded for details on costs, track
testing details, and introduction/production dates. |
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R&D Engineer Mike Pisani was cleaning drool marks off of the GTM all day. |
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One of the best things, about the Open House
(or any other Factory Five show, for that matter) is the opportunity for
new and veteran FFROGs to discuss their cars, building experiences, and
features they’ve created. New customers also get the chance to see cars
that are virtually all show winners in their own right. |
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Some of the customers in attendance included:
John Kerekes (Tucson, AZ) John wins the “overachiever award” as the
long haul champion for 2005. Making the trek from Arizona is no small
feat, and yet there was still time to stop at Pike’s Peak. Is there
another Traveler in the midst ?
Bob Lennon (Towson, MD) Another long distance champion, Bob made
the 900 mile trek back and forth in a single day in FFR 1182 from his home
in Towson, MD. His experiences from a 1997 kit pick-up were also shared
with the crowd being led on one of the two factory tours.
Michael Sorrentino (Springfield, PA) Mike finished his car in
2002, and happily made the 300+ mile despite threatening weather in both
directions. Michael told all the admirers of his car that he did not find
that it was hard to put together a Factory Five, as FFR Tech Support was
just a phone call away to help solve any problems that he encountered.
Rick LaCourse (Weare, NH) Rick and his wife Marie, have been
active Factory Five customers for six years, and brought their (pre-Mark
II) Roadster. They drive their car as often as possible, amassing over
30,000 miles on it.
Always a big crowd pleaser at the Open House is the
Mobile Dyno. This year the team from Dyno-Go (www.dyno-go.com)
raised the professionalism bar a great deal by bringing their rig
outfitted with computer monitors for all to see. Bragging rights being
what they are, everyone wants to see where their car ends up on the
horsepower pecking order.
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Five’s own Dave Riha quickly took an early lead, starting things off with
309 rear wheel horsepower. George Sturgis, Brian Dinsmore and John Stoukides heated
things up with a battle above the 340hp mark (clocking 341 hp, 342.4 hp
and 342.1 hp respectively). |
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Strategically waiting at the back of the line, Tony
Muzzi wanted to be sure that his car would make an impact (featuring the
Mass-Flow system, it had already made an impact in the show field). By
the time the Dyno had run Tony’s car through its paces, it had reached a
show-stopping 381 hp and won the competition, hands down.
Factory Five
employees had a shoot-out of their own after the show had ended, keeping
the Dyno-Go guys busy all the way until it got dark. |
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| FFR employees ran their personal
cars to net the following: |
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Car Type |
Rear Wheel HP |
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FFR engineer Jim Schenck |
BMW m coupe Supercharged |
310 hp |
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FFR owner Dave Smith |
Mk2 Roadster, 427 FE |
365 hp |
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FFR owner Dave Smith |
Type 65 Coupe, 402 carb. |
358 hp |
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FFR owner Dave Smith |
Challenge Racer w/ 331 Roush motor |
310 hp |
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FFR intern Aaron S. |
Mk2 Street Roadster, 302 carb. |
256 hp |
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FFR Engineer Jesper Ingerslev |
Mk3 4.6, DOHC 4.6, Ford V8 |
281 hp |
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| Ford Motorsports'
Jesse K. w/FFR's Jim S. |
Joe &
Steve perform the Star Spangled Banner |
Dave
Smith keeps them riveted |
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The Dyno was not the only competition being held at
the open house. Awards for the Best of categories were given out. The
proud winners, as deemed by a crack team of customer judges: |
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Best Unfinished Car
Best Engine
Best Paint
Best Use of Chrome
Most Innovative Design
Best in Show – Challenge Car
Best in Show – Coupe
Best in Show – Roadster
Best in Show – Overall |
Dennis Collari
Todd Buttrick
Robert Sholtes
Sean Lamontagne
Sean Lamontagne
Eric Jacobs
Mike Everson
George Sturgis
David Sheehan |
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All in all the 2005 Factory Five Open House
was a huge success. While the early morning mist and threat of rain may have kept a few people from
showing up, it was still a fun show. Everyone in attendance appeared to
have a great time, grabbing lots of good stuff, from deeply discounted new
parts, to an awesome pile of slightly scratched and dented parts, artistic
quality GTM prints, and Factory Five promotional gear. |
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One of the
best reasons to attend a Factory Five Open House is the opportunity to
meet other FFR owners, learn from their experiences, and gather clever
ideas to improve your own build. The reason that the community of Factory
Five owners is so special, is the same reason why the Open House has been
a huge success every year. Each person gains the collective knowledge of
those who have previously built their cars, and each new customer brings
his or her own experiences and perspectives to their build. In nearly
6000 kits sold, there have never been two Factory Fives built identically,
and that makes each one special. |
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Special Thanks to Joe Leone and all the FFR Customers and family who
helped with this year's event |