Sinks Family Garage Build a Mk4 Roadster on YouTube
At Factory Five, we build. We build cars, stories, friendships, and relationships. The story of Rusty and Wyatte S. building a Mk4 Roadster, and in the process, bonding as father and son is the best outcome. Here’s Rusty sharing their story so far:
“After 26 years in the Coast Guard and spending my last few years away from home, I knew when I returned that I needed to reconnect with my son, Wyatte, in a meaningful way. I asked him if he wanted to restore an old car or build something like a Factory Five Roadster — and without hesitation, he chose to build a Factory Five Roadster from scratch.” (Good choice Wyatte!)
“It took us about four and a half months to build the car to the go-kart stage. When we started, Wyatt was only 12 years old — he’s now 14 — and along the way he’s learned how to weld, grind, rivet, caulk, paint, and truly work with his hands. It’s been an incredible learning experience for him, and an even better bonding experience for both of us. He even talked me into adding heated seats, a drop trunk, and many other add-on that I can’t remember currently.”
“Wyatte jumped right in. He went on the Factory Five website and built out the entire kit himself, choosing everything from the wheels and tires to the engine, transmission, rear end and even the paint color (which we haven’t applied yet). We ordered the kit, engine, and transmission just as he spec’d them, and got to work.”
“Ironically, the hardest part of the entire build wasn’t the car itself — it was starting the YouTube channel that Wyatte wanted to run alongside the project: “Sinks Family Garage.” The build was the easy part. Learning social media, filming, editing, and putting ourselves out there was the real challenge. We’re also excitedly waiting on the final paint and finishing from Whitby Motorsports in Greensboro, NC, which will be the cherry on top of this whole journey. If all goes well, we will be at the 2026 London, Ohio event.”
“Most importantly, this project has been far more than just building a car — it’s been about rebuilding time together. Honestly, it’s the best thing we’ve ever done together, and we’re having so much fun every step of the way.”
Rusty and Wyatte even made a Christmas version of their Factory Five featuring their dog Lexi!
Wyatte’s first car show with the Mk4 under construction. Wyatte talked to more people about the Roadster than any other car at the event.
Thank you for your service in the Coast Guard, Rusty! And thank you for sharing your Mk4 Roadster story with us. We can’t wait to see you and Rusty get the body back from paint, and graduate your Mk4!
