2011 Factory Five Open House Report

Wild Weather Challenges Hardcore Factory Five Faithful

The 2011 Factory Five Racing Open House will be remembered for being the first Open House in 14 years to be held in the rain. Despite the drizzle, over 50 Factory Five customers drove their cars to the Saturday event and an estimated crowd of 1,500 filled the building to see the latest Factory Five wares, catch up with old friends, score some deals on parts, and take a tour through the facility.

The parts sale was our biggest ever and scores of guys made off with some fantastic deals. We actually sold more parts at this year’s Open House than at any other Open House to date!

The cars began arriving before 8 am, the first of whom was Factory Five customer Bob Scocca, who later earned Best Engine and Best Interior awards in the car show. A caravan of cars arrived on queue at 9 am braving periodic downpours. The parking lot was filled more than we imagined it would be considering the weather.

For the good part of the car show and event, the rain held off and we were able to judge Best in Shows and other awards.

At 10 am, Factory Five President Dave Smith introduced the concept of the 818 to a packed showroom and answered question about the new design after unveiling the Factory Five-Grassroots Motorsports design winners. We had a good number of visitors from over seas and out of town. Chris Canning, our Australian distributor, showed up as did friends from Europe and England and from all over the U.S.

The entire facility was open for inspection and an 11 am guided tour saw a crowd of about 200 make their way through the manufacturing process from beginning to end. A great highlight was the contingent of four cars who drove from Texas, Missouri, and Alabama all the way to Massachusetts for the event!

Members of the Texas, Missouri, and Alabama road trip crew.

The Factory Five tech crew was on hand in the parts sale area and some HUGE deals were made.

Brian F. managed registration and car show entries. About 50 cars attended. Had the sun been shining, we fear it would have been closer to 250!

Factory Five customer and long time friend Joe Leone was one of the car show judges with Factory Five customer Rick Lacourse and Henry Renaud.

10 am was the presentation of the 818 by FFR President Dave Smith.

2011 Factory Five Open House Car Show Award Winners:

These guys all deserve the awards they earned as well as big kudos for braving the weather. Here are the winners.

Best in Show Coupe – George & Barb Grant
Best in Show Roadster – Mike Fucile
Best in Show Challenge – Pat McMahon
Best in Show GTM – Bill Noeth
Best in Show ’33 – Roy Greenwood
Best in Show Under Construction – Gordon St. John
Best Chrome – Roy Greenwood
Most Innovative Improvement – Bill Noeth
Best Paint – John Takvorian
Best Engine – Bob Scocca
Best Interior – Bob Scocca
Best in Show all Classes – John Takvorian
Long Distance Award – Mike Covey
Highest Accrued Mileage – Bill Blackwood

L-R: Jeremy Luchini (design judge, SolidWorks Software), Marc Senger, Dave Smith, Michael Lye (design judge, Rhode Island School of Design), and Jesper Ingerslev (design judge, Factory Five)

FFR/GRM Design Contest Winner Marc Senger was on hand to receive the two awards his design earned: Most Innovative/Creative Design and Judge’s Pick – Michael Lye, Rhode Island School of Design. To view a video presentation of all of the winners, click here.

Carl’s Collision Center was one of ten vendors on hand.

Factory Five Racing President Dave Smith explains the chassis assembly process.

The Factory Five Open House is great for kids and wives to check out how we spend our time.

The parking lot held about 50 Factory Fives, some in the process of being built!

The weather cleared for most of the show allowing for covers to come off and custom paint jobs to be admired.

We ran our robotic trimming machine for people to see.

Factory Five customer Roy Greenwood scored Best Hot Rod. The car sports a 9″ Ford rear end, a small block Chevy ZZ4 crate motor, TH350 automatic transmission.