Finally finished Factory Five Cobra

[NOPANTS-68]

It was a nice day so I thought I'd throw up some pics of the FF Cobra I just finished for my dad. It took two years to build as it was our first one we have put together and we did some things that Factory Five considered "different". Quick rundown on the car:

FFR Mark III chassis- all options, 2003 Cobra based IRS with custom axles, Cobra PBR based brakes, 17x8 and 11 in. VWW V48s, 315 Nitto DRs out back, 71 Boss 4 bolt 351C block and rotating assy., 71 Boss heads, large Comp soild cam, Strip Dom. intake, 750 HP carb, custom headers, TKO 500, home made shifter assy, home made serpentine drive, DuPont straight black with semi-gloss black stripes, blah blah blah

still needs to be tuned, adjusted, and most importantly tracked!

I'm certainly no photog but hope you enjoy:

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[formula]

oh yeah!!! totally diggin' it, man. I'm building my bird with my father and it's such a great experience to get to share something like that. Congrats!

[NOPANTS-68]

here's a short vid from earlier today. 351Cs have a very distinct sound. Kind of chirpy and raspy. Crappy vids, but I only had the point and shoot.

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[Jim Nilsen]

I really like the shifter. Exactly how do you get reverse to work? I am assuming that you have to push down somewhere to get in past a lock out ? It sure is slick looking and the regular shift handles in cobras backwards always looked so weird.

[NOPANTS-68]

thanks guys for the kind words. Jim, I agree that the factory shifters in these cars are goofy. This one just uses a standard H pattern like any Tremec. Some guys convert to a mid shift Tremec, but I already had this one in the car. It's very natural to drive and super comfy.

[nicks67camaro]

Very nice. I always wanted to do a factory five.

[GBodyGMachine]

Love the offset on the rear wheels, and the shifter is nice.

[BMF Machine]

ToO SharP! KilleR RidE ya got there!

[NOPANTS-68]

thanks guys. Means a lot coming from this site.

[andrewb70]

I always loved Cobras. When I was a teenager I always thought I would build a replica. Probably still will one day. I love how those wheels looks right at home on that car.

Andrew

[MuscleRodz]

That and their GTM is on my list of cars to build before I die.

[larknut]

The car looks awesome. I 've been wanting to build a Factory Five car. How was it to to put together?

[NOT A TA]

Looks Great! Enjoy it!

[Tiger]

Very beautiful! and nice sounding.
I bet your dad is happy and very proud of you.

[tones2SS]

Looks awesome.
you guys did a great job!!:1st:

[NOPANTS-68]

The car looks awesome. I 've been wanting to build a Factory Five car. How was it to to put together?

thanks again everyone. This was an interesting build. This car was a fully optioned "kit" that would be considered a non-donor build- meaning that there were no parts recycled from a donor Mustang. The high points of these particular Cobras are the frame and suspension. They are designed with rigidity and road racing in mind. I would consider these cars as a good starting point, but require some fabrication and solid mechanical skills to complete. Best thing you can do is throw the manual out day one and follow you gut through the build. I had this complete Boss engine sitting in my shop collecting dust so it seemed like a good candidate for this build. Boss engines are typically top end powerhouses so it seemed perfect for a 2400 lb. car. After explaining to FF that this was the engine of choice, they quickly explained that they do not see this as a suitable powerplant and would have no parts to support it. We are all hot rodders through and through so when you tell us it can't be done and you are heading off the reservation- the idea seemed even sweeter. We had to fab custom headers, front drive, trans mounts, etc. It's not a typical 302/T5 install, but I think that's what I like most about it. It was a blast to build with my father- something I would recommend anyone to do.

[DvBoard]

After explaining to FF that this was the engine of choice, they quickly explained that they do not see this as a suitable powerplant and would have no parts to support it.
More like it would have been a one off build and they didn't see enough popularity in the engine choice to make and support the specific parts that would be needed.

[skeeters65]

Damn I miss my FFR Roadster...

Dave Smith Huh!! Thats a common name at Factory Five..

Haha

[NOPANTS-68]

More like it would have been a one off build and they didn't see enough popularity in the engine choice to make and support the specific parts that would be needed.

It certainly isn't a popular choice so I can understand not offering headers for it. Looks there's more people doing it though especially as Yates and CHI heads make their way into the marketplace. I just loved the "why would want to stick that in there" response I got at SEMA last year.

Yeah Dave Smith is a popular name over at FFR. lol

[Young Gun]

my father and I have thrown this idea around... how often did you really work on it over the two years... was it every weekend for 8 hours a day or what? I wanna throw a BBC in one of these just to piss a few people off haha

[lvrpool32]

Love the black on black stripes and the wheels (have a soft spot for the V48's myself) very cool car.

Nick

[vp23271]

Love the black on black stripes and the wheels (have a soft spot for the V48's myself) very cool car.

+1

I also like the blacked out side pipes. The car looks and sounds great!

[sik68]

Fantastic car and excellent choice of wheels...although I am biased as well ;). I think I will build a cobra when/if I ever call my Camaro "done."

[1969CamaroRS]

Fantastic car and excellent choice of wheels...although I am biased as well ;). I think I will build a cobra when/if I ever call my Camaro "done."

Hehe, you aren't the only one :idea:

[Damn True]

What is your assessment of the quality and fitment of the parts they provide? I've considered doing the daytona coupe someday when the Camaro is done.

[NOPANTS-68]

What is your assessment of the quality and fitment of the parts they provide? I've considered doing the daytona coupe someday when the Camaro is done.

The frame is very nicely constructed with lots of triangulation and two main 4 inch tubes like the originals. The suspension is excellent with lots of tuning ability for different conditions. Our car came with a revised version of the Bilstein coilovers that they had some trouble with, but quickly came up with a solution. This car's rear suspension is classified as a "pin drive" setup which is made up of shorter uppers and lowers and custom axles. This allows for the minimum backspacing on the rear whels and obviously the 6 inch rear lip. The 315 Nitto fits with enough room to maybe squeeze in a 335. The parts of this car I felt were lacking were the aluminum cockpit tins. They fit like crap and I ended up making a bunch of my own parts to make it all jive. The fun part is making it your own. There are a bunch of guys out there that won't like my gauge layout, will say the wheels are incorrect, will say the Boss engine isn't supposed to be in there and on and on. If you like cookie cutters- build a blue one with white stripes and a 5.0. The black car here is what happens when hot rod dudes build a replica. lol

The one thing I have heard about the coupes from a couple of owners I know is that it gets pretty stuffy in the cockpit. AC is a must in those cars as you are surrounded by tin and tiny windows. Dynamat helps, but it still makes for a fair weather car without air/heat.

Here's a couple pics of the car naked:

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custom headers
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[subtlez28]

NICE!!
Great color scheme, especially blacked out pipes!

I'm also a "someday" guy. I want mine with LSX power!

[compos mentis]

Great job Dave!

Nice to see its non-cookie cutter. Those builds have made a very cool car uncool.

What made you and your Dad choose Factory Five?

[funbnme]

I miss my FFR too. The Camaro I have now gets used more, but the FFR was a rocket-ship and handled like a slot car.

I may look into building one of their 33's in a couple years.

[NOPANTS-68]

Great job Dave!

Nice to see its non-cookie cutter. Those builds have made a very cool car uncool.

What made you and your Dad choose Factory Five?

55, we chose FF mainly for the frame design and the price point. I was able to see a couple of Superformance cars in various stages and didn't like what I saw, so that ended up cementing the deal. The kit starts at 14K or so, but when you start ckecking the option boxes it jumps to 24-25k in a hurry. Things like the IRS, pin drive axles, bigger brakes, powdercoated suspension etc. make the bill jump up. The ERA and the Superformance cars are nicer as far as fit and finish, but if you spend the time and finess it- you can make an FFR car look pretty sharp. Those cars can be double the price and you won't see many ERA owners making the car work hard.