Introduction...(June 1999)

Okay, I KNOW Factory Five Cobra replica build sites have been done to death, but hey, this is my car and I�d like to document it�s progress. It�s also an opportunity for my son to teach me some of his web page design tricks.

As a bit of an intro, My name is John, and I live in small town in eastern Ohio with my wonderful wife and two great kids. I�m a computer geek by profession so I don�t get a lot of opportunity to "get mechanical" at work. I�d say I have average mechanical ability, but not a lot of experience with cars. I used to rebuild dirt bikes on a regular basis and I do most of the maintenance on my daily driver, but I�ve never pulled an engine, or replaced a rear end. I�ve been assured by my buds at the CobraForum and the new FFCobra.com forum that this is not a problem, so here we go.

I started checking out cobra replicas about a year and a half ago after I saw a Factory five ad in a mustang magazine. At that point I had a 95 3.8 liter mustang that looked nice, but was seriously lacking in the performance department. So, my options were to upgrade the mustang, or get something new. I loved the performance of the fox bodied 5.0 mustangs but was never too wild about their styling, so the FFR replica seemed like a good option. Awesome performance with classic styling and a very reasonable price. How can you go wrong? I started doing research on FFR and other replicas and found Thomas Christoph�s web site at http://welcome.to/my427sc just as he started tearing down his donor. As I followed Tom�s progress and checked other resources, I became convinced that FFR was definitely the way to go for me. Yes there are more accurate replicas, yes FFR has had some issues with their fit and finish, but the bottom line is that this is a great, affordable kit, backed by a customer oriented, growing company that is constantly making improvements to their product. They also have some of the most rabidly devoted customers you will ever meet. The guys at http://www.ffcobra.com are more than willing to go out of their way to help prospective and fellow builders with everything from the dumbest basic questions to serious customizing tips. They also have a pretty good time doing it.

So in September of 98 I�m perusing the classified ads and come across an 89 Mustang GT with 55,000 miles. Turns out the guy selling it was an amateur body man who had put it back together after a collision with a deer. Later inspection showed that it must have been a John Deere since the floor pan was creased and the roof replaced. Anyhow it was butt ugly, but ran and drove great so I picked it up for $2500. I drove it until June of 99, which brings us up to the present. I finally started tearing it down June 26 and I hope to get the kit ordered by the end of the month. On with the adventure!