Factory Five

[band1t]

Hey all,
I have a couple question.
Anyone here ever built a KIT car??
I am looking at buying a GTM Factory Five road and track car.
is it a Kit Car the averge joe like me can build or would I have to take to a shop?
its close to a $20,000 kit and I am temped to have it be my next project.

[MoonMan]

The guy I bought my LS1 from was building one in his garage. He bought a wrecked 2000 Vette with 10k miles and used the suspension, brakes, etc. and was going to run the LS1 but made enough parting it out that he bought a crate LS6. It looked pretty straight forward. The only thing he was going to have a shop do was working the fiberglass body and painting it.

[absintheisfun]

I want to build one badly, but it will have to wait until I have more space, time and money! lol. If you go for it, please post progress here. All the research that I've done says that FF is the best.

[Samckitt]

I was helping a friend today put the exhaust on his. He is building the GTM (? I think), with an LS376/480, Mendiola trans axle, & all new parts. He is building it to sell.

[band1t]

thanks for you guys input
Also seeing how its a home built Kit car
do they have VINs and stuff?
aka are they DOT approved
or is it only a track car
not street legal ?

[Tig]

Man I love FFR, some of the nicest people and the owners are great guys.
They are pretty straight forward to build.
They are both DOT approved. Street legal as well.
You should hop over onto there forum and browse around. You'll meet some pretty cool guys that are willing to share any and all info.

Good Luck

[Ron S]

The Daytona coupe they produce is one of my favorite cars ever.

[chevnut55]

I have a factory 5 cobra and built 4 other for costomers they are great and are built close to the real deal but with performance in mind.
they are a good company around 20 miles from my house..I dont know why the company is in ma. since its close impossable to register them here .
the gtm is great and been dorrling over them for a long time since I always wanted to build a ultima gtr.
I sat in a few they are low and feel like a exotic but do have a cheap kit feel to it ,so I decited to just build a cool new vette instead.
I was hooked when they but one on battle of the supercars on speed..but the looser owner re named it after himself! the malangtm.
the parts and everything is somewhat easy the body is what moast come to me for..not as good as you think and need alot of tweeking, re -shaping,filling smoothing,the only good thing is you can do anything you want to fiiberglass.
check ot ffrcars.com and you will get alot of info and ideas.

[gsxrken]

I've lurked around these for years. First, it is recommended that you have a FFR or two under you belt before you tackle the GTM. And it looks like a GTM will cost around $65k all-in. More than one guy doesn't know that going in and taps out when he realizes he's never going to be done. If you're patient, one will pop up somewhere and that's the car you want to buy.
There's two insane builds on corner-carvers of both a FFR GTM and a GT40 (not FFR, IIRC) that will school you on just what you are getting into.

[19,69camaro]

IF you are going to be building a midengined kit car and laying down that kind of dough why not get a Ultima GTR They blow the FFR GTM out of the water in just about every way performance wise
http://www.pistonheads.com/pics/news/19051/UltimaSmall-L.jpg

[SLO_Z28]

thanks for you guys input
Also seeing how its a home built Kit car
do they have VINs and stuff?
aka are they DOT approved
or is it only a track car
not street legal ?

In CA it would be registered as a specialty construction vehicle, and they would issue you a VIN. These are street legal, just be careful for any applicable smog laws where you live.

I would love to build one of these, but I dont think I ever will. Factor in it will cost you at LEAST another $10,000 to get it going, and more likely closer to $20,000+ depending on what you do. It is very buildable in a garage by an average gearhead, and it is worth every penny when its done!

[chevnut55]

The ffr gtm and ultima gtr are built about the same with different looking bodys. the ffr is just alot cheaper and easy to buy.
there are some for sale with donor parts or 1/2 finished. a lot of guys buy kit cars because they make it look cheap and easy..then find out what they need to do and all the parts needed. paint alone on a kit car is between $8-$15 k .
If you can do everything yourself and find a good donor vette cheap you can do it for under $35k. even if you finish it for under $50..thats cheap for any supercar.

[preston]

I'd put a GTM up against an Ultima any day. The GTM's have a few problems that need fixed with the suspension but compare that to the Ultima with those super short little control arms. I know it was designed by Lee Noble but that was eons ago. Plus the GTM's can be upgraded to power steering and roll bars.

Except for storage space - the Ultima's do a lot better in that department. The GTM has NO storage space whatsoever, keep that in mind. I fell in love with the idea of building a GTM as well but am too sunk into my project to ever escape.

The primary problems are you are always tied to that expensive transaxle (limited slip, gearing, clutch, are all expensive if you plan on big power).

For me I would leave it in sanded or rattlecanned gelcoat and call it a rat rod - a 2400 lb mid engine supercar rat rod ! No worries about fiberglass.

AS one guy said, hang out and read every post on FFCobra.com for a few weeks and see how you feel then. And it will cost more than you think.

[jerhofer]

My former neighbor was building a GTM. He made quite a few modifications to it because he felt it would not hold up if he built it like it came to him. The frame looked good but I thought the body and fittings were sub par. He had the mechanical part done and was still working on the body when he moved. Don't know if he ever finished it.

[Steve Chryssos]

I've toured the FFR facility. The engineering and manufacturing capability is impressive. Also, they have learned quite a few lessons about suspension design over the years, so some of the internet noise is no longer applicable.

[parsonsj]

I nearly went the GTM route before I picked up my Z06. I've recently been impressed with the RCR Superlite -- I like the styling a little better. The GTM is just a bit "off" from the front. Not sure why.

[preston]

You know, I have my doubts about the RCR as well - a welded aluminum tub ? What about crash repair ? That thing has tiny short control arms too (all fancy billet aluminum though !). I don't know, something about that thing kind of scares me too, can' really put my finger on it but one is that over on the GT40 forum where the RCR guy hangs out he is a big internet bully, I just don't trust people like that. The nice thing about the GTM is other than the FG body, you can repair the chassis, you can source the transaxle, engine, suspension, rack, everything is available. THe RCR everything is custom and not easily duplicated.

(Says the guy who has built 3 cars from scratch. Ha, what am I worried about !)

[parsonsj]

I hear ya, and your argument is compelling. If only the GTM didn't have that yawning goofy-looking front fascia.

[jeff s]

I have an Ultima GTR that I built in 2002. It's been a great car. I've also done work on a number of GTM's. My next one will be an RCR.

[jeff s]

BTW the build cost of a decent GTM or Ultima is about 100k if you do most everything yourself.

[zombiekiller]

I'd love to build one of a type 65 coupes one day. I'd be interested to see some details on the chassis before dropping that kind of scratch. It appears that sans paint/body, 50K is a nice round number for completing one of these.