PWF Golf Fundraiser is a Big Success!

Some of your know that when I’m not building cars at Factory Five, I enjoy surfing here in New England. One of my close friends, Kreg Palko, who I’ve surfed with for years, was recently been diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). Last weekend, there was a golf tournament/fundraiser for Kreg.  Factory Five’s Sally Bean’s son Tieg sponsored the tournament fundraiser and in combination with the Pink Whale Foundation (PWF) Halloween Party, they expect to raise over $15,000, with ALL proceeds going to the Palko family!

DSC_8320
My surf club buddies Chris Burns (left) and John Berkery (right) played 18 holes and did a great job raising money for Kreg.

The Factory Five community delivered huge!  Many customers sponsored holes and checks were sent in from near and far.  A few days before the tournament, I received a generous check from my friend Hugo Rodriguez in Puerto Rico!  Factory Five offered my Mk3 Roadster as a hole-in-one prize.  There was a hole-in-one!  But I was relieved to find out that it was on a different hole.  The golfer, Jen Carlson, won a vacation package to Bermuda for her hole-in-one.  At the end of the night, the ride home in my Mk3 Roadster was so cold I actually wished someone had won it!

Big thanks to everyone who participated!  This fun event was just another example of how the Factory Five community comes together to help people and to make a difference in people’s lives.  Here are some photos from the event.

Dave Smith
President

DSC_8259
Left to right: Jen Carlson, Elizabeth Palko, Eric Carlson, Kreg Palko, and Kreg’s parents who came in from Michigan!

DSC_8266
Dan Hettler (left) and Tieg Bean (right) were the event organizers.

DSC_8246
Kreg’s friends (left to right) Jay Coogan, Mike Mahoney, David Piccerelli, Dan Butts, and Chris Patton
DSC_8250
(Left to right): Kreg Palko, Chris Burns, and Matt Asarro

DSC_8265
Tieg Bean’s friends showed up to help.  These girls managed the raffle and special prizes out on the course.

DSC_8288
We had almost 70 golfers tee off at 12:30.

DSC_8393
Raffle prizes and sponsor prizes were given out at the end of the event.

DSC_8234
There was a hole-in-one!  But, it was on another hole, and I was able to keep the keys to my 427 FE powered Mk3 Roadster.

dave-roadster-keys

There were a ton of great people who stepped up to sponsor holes and who donated money.  I do not have the full list, but the Factory Five community sponsors included the following:

ZZ Customs – Tony Zullo
Bull McCabe’s Pub in Somerville
Cheney Construction
SMG Motoring
Marlo Renaud
JM Products – Joe Mascerelli
Dellbrook Construction
Ron Everitt
Sean LaMontagne
Justin at Seamless Customs
Flagship Homes – John Takvorian
Anderson Motors – John Anderson
Romarine – Dave Vargas
Thunder Valley Racing – Karen Salvaggio
Factory Five Racing
Chris Patton and Kreg’s neighborhood buddies

Sincere apologies for anyone not listed.  Here are some more pictures of our buddy Kreg.

BSC-Cape-2013
2013 Barrington Surf Club (left to right): Dave Smith, Kreg Palko, John Berkery, and Nick Ward (missing is Chris Burns and Gary Bean and the warrior princesses from the Pu-Ali Surf Club).

imported-surf-club-pics-001
Chris Burns, Nick Ward, and Kreg Palko, 2012

kreg-bro-on-cape
Last go out, Cape Cod September 2013

bsc-crew
John Berkery, Kreg Palko, and Dave Smith

 

Latest Factory Five News

Mark S. Graduates His Mk4 & Scores Magazine Cover!

Congratulations to customer Mark S. on graduating his Mk4 Roadster build! Mark came for a tour of Factory Five in March 2020 to meet Dave Smith and the team. After returning home to the United Kingdom, Mark ordered his Mk4, and it arrived at his garage in February 2021.  Marks good friend, neighbor, and fellow car enthusiast, Stuart H, helpedwith the build which featured a Gen 3 5.0L Coyote, Tremec TKO transmission, 8.8″ solid axle with 3-link rear suspension, 18″ Halibrand wheels, and of course, it had to be in right hand drive. Mark also had the chassis galvanised to…

Read More

Factory Five is Closed Today, Monday January 26, 2026.

I made the call to scrub FFR operations for the day. The drive in wasn’t bad, and most roads are clear. Unfortunately our plow crew was late, and the day dawned with 3-4′ drifts in the back parking lot! We will be at work and at full strength tomorrow. Sorry for any difficulties this may cause. Dave SmithPresident

Read More

Three Generations Embark on a Type 65 Coupe Dream Build

Dave Ryan’s Type 65 Coupe build is moving right along—and it’s become something even bigger along the way. In collaboration with Factory Five Racing, V6 Media is producing a short film documenting the build process. Recently, Dave’s father, Vaun Ryan, sat down to share his lifelong passion for performance cars and motorcycles—sparked as a young boy on the family farm in Utah, building a homemade go-kart powered by a hay-elevator motor. That curiosity for how things work turned into a lifetime of mechanical enthusiasm, passed down through generations and now culminating in Dave’s Type 65 Coupe build, which is a…

Read More
Top