2005 FFR Open House
Saturday, June 18, 2005

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

R&D Engineer Mike Pisani was cleaning drool marks off of the GTM all day.

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.

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. 

Factory 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).

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.

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:

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

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. 

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.

• View Last year's Open House '04
• Other What's New Features