A Drive Down Memory Lane in a Mk1 Roadster
A good friend of mine came across an old (1997) Factory Five Mk1 Roadster and bought it for a decent price. When I saw it in his shop, close to my house, I ran thru a list of fun upgrades that could be made to bring the old girl up to speed. Then I had an idea.. if I could have the boys in tech do some upgrades on his car as “training” I would front him the parts gratis. Since more and more customers are upgrading or restoring older Mk1 roadsters, I figured the tech crew would be far more effective if they did this work themselves before helping customers make decisions about new parts and which ones are interchangeable. So we got the car in the shop some months ago and the boys have made quite a few changes and learned a lot about early FFR’s in the process.
We added a 3-link rear suspension that replaces the original 4-link Mustang-based rear. We added Koni shocks all around and updated the front suspension to Mk4 specs (wee bit o welding for the upper control arm mounts). The crew upgraded the interior including new gauges/dash, seats, and door panels.. all to current Mk4 specs. We swapped out the steel side pipes and old mustang headers for newer polished stainless steel side pipes and headers. We also updated some small trim items. Lastly we swapped out the funky aftermarket rims for a set of period correct 17″ Halibrands with stickier tires to complement the new/improved suspension.
The car came out great and I decided to drive it the 40 or so miles back to my buddies shop which is near my home. I reasoned it would afford me a good number of miles to give the car a proper shakedown and it was a chance to take a trip down memory lane at the same time. The crew did a race car checklist nut and bolt check to make sure the repairs and changes were complete and the ensuing drive home was without incident.
Driving west from Wareham at the end of the day was perfect. The sun came out just as I was leaving and the road was clear and dry with barely any traffic. That old 5.0L engine didn’t make tons of power (225 hp) but it had really good torque (298 lb ft) and I was guessing that someone put a 3.73 gear set in that 8.8″ rear cause the thing was really snappy. I noticed a few small things and made a mental note to add to the punch list. As I headed out onto 195 west, I found myself smiling as soo much of the “single Donor Mustang” kit was familiar despite the fact that I haven’t driven a Mk1 in at least 15 years, probably more. I had forgotten what a good car this was!
Driving into the setting sun I found myself shifting that trusty Tremec T5 down from overdrive 5th to 4th just to hear that unique off throttle exhaust burble. The heavy steering and light feel of the car were at odds but were also a familiar feeling. I remembered the original challenge series race cars were just like this! After 20 minutes of highway cruising, I snuck my foot under the clutch, an old trick (do not do this at home kids) to stretch out a leg since there was no room to the left of the clutch in the original Mk1 footbox.. so much was familiar.
The crew had fun working on the car and getting a close up look at the changes we’ve made over the years. I got to drive in a time machine of my own creation! The imperfections of the car were well known to me and even after the upgrades, the personality of the car brought back some amazing memories!
Today’s Mk4 versions are light years better in every metric, of performance, handling, braking, road noise, chassis rigidity, interior space, period correct proportions.. all vastly inproved… but the old Mk1 is still a great car.
I dropped off the car at Dave’s shop after the really wonderful 45 minute drive. I thought to myself that I would love to go back in time to 1997 and tell my 33 year old self working at our old shop on Kendrick road that the company would do well and the years ahead would be some of the best of my life! Then I quickly looked around thinking that maybe an older version of me might materialize out of the ether from 30 years in the future! I would tell him/me not to say a word. There are many miles to go and many more stories to write, and I don’t want to spoil the surprise!
If we work hard and do a good job, life gives us moments that we wouldn’t sell for any amount of money. Tonight was one.
Dave Smith
President
