The Charlotte Auto Fair Spring Show

[The Stig]

Factory Five Racing and Whitby Motorcars held the Banner High during this year's Charlotte Auto Fair (Spring Show). Jeff Collins, Barry Collins, Johnny Gill, and John Harding all made themselves available to the crowds, in order to answer countless questions regarding the Factory Five products that they build. Factory Five brought the show rig and a few of their cars down to Charlotte, for the Show.

David Smith and Gary Cheney were on hand to talk about cars and In & Out Burgers... :cool:

Here are a few pictures that I took on Saturday. Enjoy.

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When you walked into the stands of the speedway, all you could see were cars in every possible area of the track, pit road,
and the garage & infield areas. This is a huge show. In the middle of it all is the Factory Five transporter, and a sweet line
of FFR Roadsters!

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As I walked around the show, I was constantly amazed at the massive numbers of people. I'm thinking that there were
a ton of Factory Five & Whitby Fans made this weekend.

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[The Stig]

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The only other Red Factory Five Roadster without Stripes...

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Gary Cheney brought his Hot Rod to Charlotte! This is a cool and fun Ride!

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Gary & I went for a quick spin along the back roads behind the Speedway. I had always thought of the '33 Hot Rod as
a really cool cruiser. Boy was I wrong! Gary has it decked out with a "stroker", and a master-shift. When you get on it,
It gets gone!

I was offered the chance to drive back to the speedway and back into the show... And I jumped on it!

Like the Roadster, Coupe, and GTM, this thing draws attention. There were cell phone cameras popping out around every corner.
As we drove back into the speedway, I actually had a lady stand directly in front of me until she snapped her picture... And then
she moved out of the way. It was actually kind of funny afterwards. Thumbs were held up in the air, everywhere we went.

REV it UP!! Do a Burn-Out!!! It was cool to hear stuff like this as you drive by. But the coolest thing I heard was by a guy who
stopped dead in his tracks as we drove up, and said to his friend, "That's a Factory Five 33'. Those things are Bad to the Bone!"

And you know, he's right!

I learned in a short period of time that this This car can be anything that you want it to be: Powerful and In Your Face or Docile and Comfortable. It just depends on your mood.

I've been thinking about what I'll build after I finish the GTM. I believe I may have found it.

Thanks Gary, for taking me out in your sweet ride! I had a blast!

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[The Stig]

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He has his back to us in this picture, but this is Barry Collins. I've been fortunate enough to get to know him during my
visits to Whitby Motorcars. He's one of the really good people of the Factory Five Hobby and Family.

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I was able to sit in Factory Five's Hot Rod as well. It was really comfortable, and fit pretty well. And it was easy to get
in and out of! But then so is the Mk IV! Decisions Decisions Decisions....

[The Stig]

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[The Stig]

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I believe that Charlotte proved that the Southern Chapter of FFROG Nation is alive and well! There were some extraordinary
cars (owned by extraordinary people) at this year's show. Since I started building my GTM, I've learned that the average person
is capable of extraordinary things. I mean, take a look at these cars that were built by supposedly "average" guys!

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[The Stig]

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[The Stig]

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Brian and his son came down from Raleigh for the Show. Brian stopped by my house a while back to see the GTM chassis
(in progress). He parked down in the cul-de-sac. Little did he know that he got my neighbors on both sides, and in front
of me, all revved up. "Hey Mike, who's gorgeous Cobra was that parked in front of your house?"

Another cool note: Brian's 15 year old son, got to drive home that day! Can you imagine being 15 years old, and your dad
asks if you would like to drive the Cobra? Me either...

By the way Brian, I haven't forgotten that I promised you a drive in the GTM. It's getting close! I guess I'll need to make
a run up to Raleigh.

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[The Stig]

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Is there anyone out there who doesn't know where the phrase "It's better than Viagra" came from? Of course you know: it
came from Rick Williams a few years back when Factory Five filmed him as part of there DVD. Rick was explaining the
feel that you get when you stomp the gas pedal in your Roadster. "It's better than Viagra!"

This is Ricks Roadster. The very same car that elicited such a passionate spur of the moment response! So while many
may think of Rick as a Factory Five "Star", so is his car.

By the way Rick, can you fit a set of Golf Clubs in your Roadster?

It was great to see you again.

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[The Stig]

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[The Stig]

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[The Stig]

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Two people who more than likely need no introductions. Gary Cheney & Cobra Earl. Gary has built pretty much everything
that Factory Five manufactures. Challenge Racers, a couple of Type 65 Coupes, a '33 Hot Rod, 3 GTM's...
You name it... He's Currently building a Race Version GTM for this years SEMA show, with KONI as the primary sponsor.
Can you say 3 in a row? They're going to have to name a street after him or something.

The Name Alone should tell you all you need to know... CobraEarl. He's a fixture in the Factory Five Forums, car shows,
and Cobra Parts sales. Earl makes and sells parts for the Roadster Crowd. Earl also made DVD history when his trip to
Vegas with Ralph Button was documented. Cross Country with your buddy in a couple of Cobras. Does it get any better?

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Factory Five President, avid surfer, and a huge fan of the double-double; Dave Smith is your all-around luckiest guy on
the planet. How could you not love your job when the result helps so many people realize their dream of building their
own car(s). Could you imagine going to a car show, and seeing a line of your cars?

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[The Stig]

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The Storms started rolling in, and the car covers went on. Everything was tied down or stored. We got a nasty series of
Thunderstorms that came through Charlotte. There were 2 Tornadoes sighted in the area. We had Hail about the size of
a Dime at home, (about 30 miles from the track).

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Always in demand!

[The Stig]

Dean Berry (LOLA) drove his GTM down to the show. Pictures don't even come close to showing how nice this car really is.

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[The Stig]

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[The Stig]

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Ralph Martin brought his GTM down to Charlotte for the show again this year. Beautiful paint and Body work, as well as many custom touches.

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[65 Cobra Dude]

Nice pics Stig. Thanks for posting. Wish I was there.

Henry

[spdnman]

[QUOTE=The Stig;15472]http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb94/jmichaelbaskin/Other%20GTMs/DSC_0239.jpg

I do like the custom rear on this car and the classic SSR wheels...

[fact5racer]

You forgot to mention you got to drive my Hotrod. :-)

[Kempo]

Very nice pictures Stig.

[foreyes]

Thanks for posting the pictures. Looks like a great show.

[geoffav]

Yet another cool event I've missed. The pics are awesome, thanks.

[The Stig]

You forgot to mention you got to drive my Hotrod. :-)

LOL!!! I only had time to post the pictures before I had to pack and fly to Connecticut. I'll go back through and add some comments later tonight. That was a FUN ride though. And very much appreciated! Thanks Gary!

[Indy14]

Looked like a great show. Thanks for posting the pictures, Stig

[Jeff Collins]

Wait a minute, I didn't know we could drive it. Wow what a great time. This was the busiest AutoFair I can remember in a long time. We really appreciate everyone's help and support in making it happen. Thanks to the 28 great FFR owners who spent a long day on the road to come and hang out with us on pit row Saturday. I know that is a big commitment for you guys, but is feels like a reunion, and we really do appreciate it. Having a row of built cars and friends sitting by them makes a long show seem short. I know some of you guys ran through some bad weather on the way home, you are real troopers, and I hope you had some fun and built some memories. I would like to especially thank our guys here from Whitby for helping me get all of this done. Thanks to Jim Hunt and Tim Mundy who come out year after year and tirelessly volunteer to work the booth. Thanks to Chris for safely and impressively getting the FFR Big Rig down here, it always a pleasure to spend time with you. Hope your trip home today is safe and uneventful. Thanks to the Martins for sharing their GTM with us again. Thanks to Dave Smith for letting us borrow his truck and for coming down to see us at the show. I hope I haven't forgotten anybody. All in all we had great event, and please know it was made even better by seeing all of you guys in Charlotte. Thanks to everyone who voted in the car show, and congratulations to all of the winners. Thanks for sharing your pics, I will try to post a few when I get back home tonight. For those of you who think this looks like a good time we will do it again August 25-28.

[LS MAN]

You Guys are having all the fun - at least we have In-N-Out here.

[Jeff Collins]

double-double

[fact5racer]

double-double

animal style

[Dave Smith]

What a great time. Huge thanks to Jeff and crew. Also big thanks to all the guys who brought their cars and to "the Stig" Mike for the awesome photos. This was the first time I attended the AutoFair and it was really impressive. Way too many cars to see in a day and it seems the quality of FFR builds keeps getting higher. The next two weeks we are on the other side of the country, first Pomona this weekend, and then the HB cruise-in on the 23rd. Thanks again to all. Full report on FFR site shortly.

[Jeff Collins]

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[Raceral]

Great, great show guys.. thanks for the pictures.

[The Stig]

Car Show Season will be here before you know it!

I couldn't help but bump this one back up. Also gave me a good reason to get Dave Smith and Gary Cheney drooling with one of their favorite sites...

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[fact5racer]

Dave and I may be hitting In & Out in a couple of weeks in Phoenix

[riptide motorsport]

Wow...its almost a year aready!!

[The Stig]

Wow...its almost a year aready!!

Yep. You should come up this year. Lauderdale is only 7 or 8 hours from Charlotte. :cool: Ok, maybe a little more...

Drive up, stay ove in Charleston, then drive to Charlotte. Pretty easy!