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I’m excited to announce that David Smith, from Factory Five Racing, has asked us to host a 2-hour live chat section with FFCars members! This will be a great opportunity for David to tell us about his mid-engine supercar and for you to ask him questions about his FIA 289 project, California Spider program, etc.
This special event will be held on Thrusday April 11th at 3:00 PM eastern time. Watch the front page of FFCars.com for more details in the next few days. If this works out, he may do this again. So let’s be nice and keep the chat section positive.
Other things he discussed:
The aluminum body has been test fitted to a normal chassis and it fits pretty good so far; only a few places would need some minor mods. Like the front cockpit hoop needs to be moved back an inch. This can be done to old chassis’, so this shouldn't stop FFR. They just used a hammer, but they will figure out a proper way to make it work before selling it to the public. The doors have not been mounted, so he's not sure if they will fit without work. Surprising to me, the rear end fit over the trunk without any trouble even though the rear is obviously different than a stock FFR car. The hood was within 1" of FFR's, so it should mount fine. Basically, the body will mount the same as a fiberglass/composite body. Will it retrofit to past cars? He can’t tell yet, but they are working on that answer as we speak. It looks promising. I want one just polished with brillo pads and pro liquid buffer!
He said that this body isn’t for everyone; it may not even be “better” than the stock body because it requires more work to finish. The aluminum body weights less than the stock fiberglass composite. It is about the same weight as the carbon fiber body. But he said that aluminum bodies would require more bodywork. As an example, a stock body my take someone 40 hours to prep, while an aluminum body will require closer to 200 hours. The body is 0625 thick.
David said that the body would be for buyers who are looking for something a little different. He explained that the replica industry has a group of old school guys who swear by ERA, Shelby, jag IRS, FE engines, etc. and a new school buyer like the typical FFR guy/gal. This body should appeal to the old school group. He thinks that buyers of the aluminum bodies will be doing builds with FE engines, top loaders, pin drive IRS, Wimbledon white stripes, etc. He feels this is a good step in the evolution of Factory Five Racing and I have to agree.
The cost? Well, a buyer of an aluminum body would expect to pay $15,000 today. That cost keeps most replica builders away from going aluminum. He plans to offer the body for about half the normal retail cost today, around $7,500. At that price, he expects to sell 75-100 aluminum-bodied kits a year. That’s about 10% or more of the current production schedule. The maker of the bodies was not signed a contract with FFR yet, but when they do he will let us tell you who builds them. But I don’t think it will be a surprise to anyone.
I have some good news about the mid-engine car. He will send us some pictures soon. Hopefully before the live chat.
You Texas guys need to watch the Southcentral forum for some exciting SPEC Racer news! As soon as I work out the details, I’ll post it on the SC forum.
Factory Five is really kicking butt and I’m so excited to be an FFR Roadster owner! The future looks bright!
Thanks,
Bill
This special event will be held on Thrusday April 11th at 3:00 PM eastern time. Watch the front page of FFCars.com for more details in the next few days. If this works out, he may do this again. So let’s be nice and keep the chat section positive.
Other things he discussed:
The aluminum body has been test fitted to a normal chassis and it fits pretty good so far; only a few places would need some minor mods. Like the front cockpit hoop needs to be moved back an inch. This can be done to old chassis’, so this shouldn't stop FFR. They just used a hammer, but they will figure out a proper way to make it work before selling it to the public. The doors have not been mounted, so he's not sure if they will fit without work. Surprising to me, the rear end fit over the trunk without any trouble even though the rear is obviously different than a stock FFR car. The hood was within 1" of FFR's, so it should mount fine. Basically, the body will mount the same as a fiberglass/composite body. Will it retrofit to past cars? He can’t tell yet, but they are working on that answer as we speak. It looks promising. I want one just polished with brillo pads and pro liquid buffer!
He said that this body isn’t for everyone; it may not even be “better” than the stock body because it requires more work to finish. The aluminum body weights less than the stock fiberglass composite. It is about the same weight as the carbon fiber body. But he said that aluminum bodies would require more bodywork. As an example, a stock body my take someone 40 hours to prep, while an aluminum body will require closer to 200 hours. The body is 0625 thick.
David said that the body would be for buyers who are looking for something a little different. He explained that the replica industry has a group of old school guys who swear by ERA, Shelby, jag IRS, FE engines, etc. and a new school buyer like the typical FFR guy/gal. This body should appeal to the old school group. He thinks that buyers of the aluminum bodies will be doing builds with FE engines, top loaders, pin drive IRS, Wimbledon white stripes, etc. He feels this is a good step in the evolution of Factory Five Racing and I have to agree.
The cost? Well, a buyer of an aluminum body would expect to pay $15,000 today. That cost keeps most replica builders away from going aluminum. He plans to offer the body for about half the normal retail cost today, around $7,500. At that price, he expects to sell 75-100 aluminum-bodied kits a year. That’s about 10% or more of the current production schedule. The maker of the bodies was not signed a contract with FFR yet, but when they do he will let us tell you who builds them. But I don’t think it will be a surprise to anyone.
I have some good news about the mid-engine car. He will send us some pictures soon. Hopefully before the live chat.
You Texas guys need to watch the Southcentral forum for some exciting SPEC Racer news! As soon as I work out the details, I’ll post it on the SC forum.
Factory Five is really kicking butt and I’m so excited to be an FFR Roadster owner! The future looks bright!
Thanks,
Bill
