My Adventure Begins

[Mike Bautsch]

I am getting ready to join the ranks of Cobra owners. I've ordered my Factory Five Kit and attended the build school in Michigan. Yesterday I went to Team Ford and purchased a 2000 4.6L Cobra Crate engine assembly.

I get to pick up my kit on Sept. 25 up in Massachusetts. Unfortunately, I have been informed that I can expect at least a dozen items to be back ordered and it can take 4-6 weeks to receive all of those items. I actually have the luxury of committing myself to this project full time and was hoping for a fairly quick build, I guess I can forget that.

Now I get to find out if I can actually put it together.

[xlr8or]

Mike congrats on car. There is loads of support for the build process over at www.ffcobra.com
They have tons of FAQ's and pics there as well as a somewhat rabid following. Don't worry about the backorders, take your time on the build and do it right the first time

[svobud]

Congrats!

[FattyBri]

Congrats Mike! Welcome to the madness. I have an almost complete FFR (351 carb) over here in Roswell. We'll have to meet up sometime.

Dont worry about the backorders, i had about 6 items that were backordered and all showed up within a couple of weeks. I'd say not bad for a package that comes with thousands of parts.

[Mike Bautsch]

Thanks for the support guys. Now that I have the Kit and the engine on order I need to start gathering all of the other items I will need. I hope to have as much of what I need in place before the kit gets here. I got a pretty good idea about what I need when I attended the build school but I'm sure there will be a few things I will overlook.

I think the next step for me will be the rear end, spindles and all of the brake system. The guys at diskbrakesareus.com have been very helpful with selecting my braking system. I plan on ordering my brakes and then picking them up when I pick up the kit, apparently they are only about 30 minutes from Factory Five.

Any suggestions about how to proceed will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Mike

[bk347]

Hi Mike, congrats on your purchase. I know you'll have fun during and after the build. If you think I can be of any help, just e-mail or come by anytime. I have an FFR shop in Cumming off 306 north near 369; 1 coupe on display and a spec and roadster on order. Have done tours at the factory for abourt 5 years and have built 3 cars of my own. Recently moved here (retired)to play with cobras. Good luck...Bob Kay

[keithlang]

Hey Mike,

Congratulations!

Do you have a rear end yet? If not, I still have an 8.8 IRS out of a t-bird that I never used. It is in Ohio though. Just thought I would mention in case you needed one.

Keith

[Mike Bautsch]

Hi Keith,

How much do you want for the IRS? I'm using a solid axle in this one but I will be building more than just this one and I'm sure I will want to do an IRS eventually. It never hurts to get parts when they come along.

Thanks,

Mike

[keithlang]

Hey Mike,

I got a good deal on it. I paid $150. Everything is there except for the brakes. A friend of mine has it in his garage- he is close to Columbus, OH. If you can get it some how - how does $100 sound?

If you want to call me sometime to discuss, my phone # is 770-329-4585.

Take care,
Keith

[ToyCollector]

Congrats Mike. Assuming the parts you mentioned are direct FFR parts, just get as much done as you can without them. If not, the many different boards always have some neat items for sale that can help out.

FattyBri, you almost done with yours?

[bk347]

Mike I don't think the disc brakes R Us people are close to FFR. The only address I've seen from the vendor list on FFcobra.com is in Baltimore. Maybe a stop on the way up but it's not too close.

[FattyBri]

Toycollector- Im getting there!