Factory Five Hits the Books

Coming this July, in time to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the C-car, is D. Brian Smith’s new book How to Build Cobra Kit Cars. Smith is the former editor of Kit Car Magazine, and in March 2012, he completed the assembly of a Factory Five Mk4, which serves as the subject for his how-to book.

Brian built this Factory Five Mk4 with his dad.

Brian built this Mk4 with his dad.
Published by CarTech Books, this SA Design Project Series book features 18 chapters and 510 color photos. Trim size is 8-1/2 x 11 inches and it’s 176 pages in length. Most importantly, it provides step-by-step procedural instruction for assembling an entire Factory Five Cobra replica.

Brian’s car will be at the 2012 Huntington Beach Cruise-In if you want to check it out and the book will be available in July.

The new Mk4 looks great from behind and the body style is extremely period correct.

Powering the car is Ford's 351W/427 stroker.

Latest Factory Five News

Five Deals from the Factory Five Guys Ends Soon!

2026 is off to a great start, and the team wants to keep the momentum going! They have put together a sale for all of our kits to help you build your car your way this year. Score a Free IRS Upgrade OR Save $2,026 Off Options on Mk5 Roadsters, Mk4 Roadsters, Type 65 Coupe, and ’33 Hot Rod To ensure your finest ride is possible, we are offering FREE IRS Upgrades (up to $3,199 in value). Our Independent Rear Suspension is the best suspension configuration Factory Five has to offer. This upgrade package includes: OR you can save $2,026… Read More »

Read More

22Rally Cruise to Factory Five

22Rally is a New England based organization of volunteers who raise funds and awareness for charities. On Saturday, June 6th, 2026, they cruised to Factory Five to check out our demo cars in the showroom and go for a tour of the facility. Club members started to arrive around 10:30 in the morning, and it was fun seeing the parade of cars filling our parking lot. A good group of local Factory Five owners brought theirs Roadsters by, and this was a nice addition to the cars that 22Rally members were driving. Factory Five President Dave Smith gave everyone a… Read More »

Read More

Damon P. Graduates 30th Anniversary Mk5 #11 of 30

Congratulations to Factory Five customer Damon P. on graduating his Mk5 Roadster build! Like other recent Mk5 graduate, Doug S., Damon also built one of the Factory Five 30th Anniversary Special Edition Mk5 Roadster, #11 of 30. Damon received his Mk5 in June 2025, and built it with a BluePrint Engines 427 CID Stage 2 HO, Tremec TKO 600, Holley Sniper 2 EFI, Ansen tri-color valve covers, IRS, 18″ 30th Anniversary Bronze Halibrand Wheels, Holley returnless fuel system, Radium Engineering fuel dampening system and fuel pressure gauge power steering, power brakes, and bronze Anniversary chassis with almost all other bare… Read More »

Read More
Top