Factory Five customer Harry V. has announced the graduation of FFR #7646, a Mk4 Roadster that he picked up in late October of 2011 during a snow storm here in New England.

Harry first learned about Factory Five in 2003 and knew that he would build one in his garage someday. After several years, the build got underway with Harry picking up his kit on October 28, 2011. He got the car registered and street legal in Maryland on May 22nd, 2012 and immediately headed to his first autocross on May 26th, 2012. There are already 900 miles on the car, with many more to come.

The Roadster is a non-donor build with a 347 stroker mated to a TKO-600 with 3.55 gears, manual brakes and power steering. Everything was done in Harry’s garage including bodywork and paint (Malibu Sunset Metallic by Eastwood). “The standard summer tires are not sticky enough,” said Harry, “but they sure are fun to spin!”

“I had planned on making the car a winter project,” wrote Harry, “and my goal was to have it done and ready for driving and maybe autoX by summer. I completed my kit a little differently than some folks, as my first engine start was only minutes before my first go cart. I had told myself there was no real reason to have it running if I couldn’t drive it. It was cold and dark, but we did it anyways.”

Harry also mentioned a fun reaction from some kids while on a short road trip through Gettysburh with his wife the other week. “We made a wrong turn which went into a neighborhood. On the way out, a couple of little kids started waving and yelling, “Nice Car!” as we puttered by at 15 mph and I revved up the engine. They hooted and hollered and I waved some more, giving each other high fives. As we pulled up to the stop sign my wife says to me “You know you just made those kid’s day”, to which I replied, “That’s why I do it, honey…it’s for the children… Including us…”

Congratulations on an excellent build! Hope to see you at next year’s Factory Five Open House!