First Official 818S Build School is a Success!

[Mad Dog]

Factory Five Engineer Jesper I. and Tech Support Specialist Jay K. headed over to Howell, MI to attend the first 818S class at the Factory Five-Mott Community College three-day build school. The 818 now joins the Hot Rod and Mk4 Roadster at the school.

Jesper and Jay were there for the Friday and Saturday portions of the class, and all the school instructors – Jim, Scott, Todd, and Charles – were there for the full three days. Seven students attended the inaugural class. 818 classes will be scheduled going forward based on demand and estimated for every other month. Click here for more information or to register for a build school class. (https://www.factoryfive.com/build-school/)

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Jay and Jesper were the Factory Five representatives at the inaugural 818S build school.

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The 818S is built in the same classroom space as the Mk4 Roadster and ’33 Hot Rod.

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Jim and Todd review the 818 chassis (above), and installing the Subaru engine (below).

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The Mott College teaching staff have taught more than 2,000 students how to build their own Factory Five.

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The 818S at the Build School is unpainted, like this one wearing polished gel-coat.

[Silvertop]

I'm happy to offer a strong second that the build school was a success. I know because I was there. (I'm the fugly round guy with the Santa Claus look in some of the photos above:rolleyes:) The school taught me the things I really need to know to build my car. More importantly, it taught me that I CAN build my car! And the instructors made it entertaining in the process.

So glad I went! Worth every penny!

[Mechie3]

Any photos of the finished car?

[Silvertop]

I'm trying, but the system isn't letting me upload............... I'll try again later.

[Todd Baumann]

Well like the others said we had a great first class. Lots of fun and we even learned a few things.

Thanks to Jesper and Jay for the time and help,
And here is a photo of the finished car.

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[Samiam1017]

did they go over the proper way (order) to align all the body panels up with nice lines?? how where the lines anyway

[tebriel]

^Yeah that's something I'm concerned about when i get a kit, I have no experience with body work.

[Silvertop]

did they go over the proper way (order) to align all the body panels up with nice lines?? how where the lines anyway

They did -- though due to time pressures, they could not not spend as much time on it as they would have liked. Fitment was not where one would have wanted it. A number of panels needed trimming for really good fit, and there was no time to do it, or to make the really putzy adjustments. But they did SHOW us HOW to do it. My guess is the next time they build this car in class, they'll have pre-trimmed the body panels so they'll be able to demonstrate a much nicer fit.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

My guess is the next time they build this car in class, they'll have pre-trimmed the body panels so they'll be able to demonstrate a much nicer fit.
What fun is that.
The biggest thing my son is learning on the 818 is MacGyver Engineering.
We were expecting an erector set.
We started with a rust bucket donor. Then many 818 parts that almost fit.
What a great experience.
Bob

[Slatt]

I was at the class and it was great. I think the panel alignment was great with the exception of some obviously needed trimming. Ya know, if everything got finished to perfection in one class then the next students would not see how to build the car, ya? Seriously, think about that for a moment or two.

EDIT:

Ok, most forums discourage double posting, cross linking, etc, but I figured I should put my review here where it belongs.


First, a blurb about me. I'm good at what I do but I do not drill straight holes, grind things flat, or keep sockets on bolts. I'm not familiar with all the tools or terminology of the auto mech trade. I've swapped many suspensions out of my WRX with good results but am sad about my [home made] bracket for the trunk battery.

The class is over, I attended, and I'd like to share a few comments.

There were 7 students, usual minimum class size is 8. There were 4 instructors, and Jay and Jesper of FFR were also there for 1-1/2 days.

Mott has been holding these classes for something like 14 years so they have 'logged a few laps' doing this and the instructors seemed to have firm ideas regarding what should be demonstrated vs what should be discussed (for example they laid out their wiring harness and talked for an hour or so about their unfinished diet and some better solutions than what the latest manual offered but they did not trim any wires in class).

We built a car in 3 days. Sort of. We, the students, did NOT diet the wire harness, did not build the a-arms, did not assemble the shocks, did not attach the glass to the windshield frame, etc). The car which did donuts in the parking lot (or maybe didn't due to insurance reasons, I dunno) was NOT the kind of car you or I would take to the DMV for registration. For example there were some aluminum panels not installed yet and many of those which were installed had too few rivets or rivnuts. And some rivnuts were cross threaded, which I apologize for. :/ What the final car DID have was a great mixture of things we built, problems we fixed, and work we knew still had to be done.

I think here is where I should point out that even if Mott started with a brand new kit for each class and capital "F"-Finished it (that's impossible, eh?) you would still have to build your own car later. I think the benefit of seeing fiberglass bits fly through the air is easily overstated and the benefit of seeing what still needs to be done (and so clearly why) is easily understated.

So, I've 'apologized' for the class and explained a little bit about how the school works. But what did I get out of it? I got an atropine injection to the heart. There is little else that can describe taking a bare frame to a steerable roller in one day. In just that first day I gained a great insight into what it will take to complete my car. And after these three days I have a valuable perspective on how the entire project will flow. I now know what tools will fix my inevitable mistakes. I know how to look at the manual and change the build sequence to suit me.

And what will others get out of this class? Well, if you've built cars or airplanes before then maybe only a few pointers which you would've figured out yourself anyway or learned from the Internet. But if you're new to the tools of the trade then you will learn how to use those tools. If you're new to car kit building then you may learn what is a problem vs what will likely work itself out later.

Was the class perfect? Of course not. For one thing, as one instructor noted, "it's a bit like herding cats". I think Mott should structure the environment just a little more rigidly. For example one student could take the role of tool-monkey for an hour while a partner watches, fetches needed tools, and provides a third hand when needed. That kind of discipline did not exist. Yet, I must say, the class was FUN, just like building the kit should be. Another thing is that the instructors seemed to find a surprise or two. But this was the first class for an evolving kit and we must expect that. Let me point out here, again, that FFR was there and they took many photos. If I must speculate... Some of those photos will result in build manual revisions or even kit revisions.

Overall I rate this class as a no brainer. It will easily payback the time and expense I put into it.

[Silvertop]

..........Ya know, if everything got finished to perfection in one class then the next students would not see how to build the car, ya? Seriously, think about that for a moment or two............

I think that's EXACTLY right!!

[Mad Dog]

The crew at the Factory Five Build School at Mott Community College have posted a gallery of photos from the first 818S build class held earlier this month. Here are some of the photos they posted and you can check out the entire gallery here - http://on.fb.me/1BAkwHR.

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[Mad Dog]

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