Yankee407
04-16-2021, 09:44 PM
Hello all!
I'm about to share a very long winded story of how I've come to this forum. So here it goes:
I'm TJ Yankee, 32 year old engineer, father of one, life long motorsports fan and beginning my FFR journey through these forums. In college, I was a part of UCF's formula SAE team, and really enjoyed designing and creating a Formula car every year. After driving that formula car though, I suddenly no longer cared what type of vehicle I had for regular road usage. I had a taste of sub 3 second 0-60s, pulling 1-2 Gs in the turns on a closed course, and the satisfaction of being one of the main builders of the car three years in a row. A street rod no longer interested me. I wanted a racecar, one I could let loose on a closed circuit and actually feel what it's capable of. But, as it does, life gets in the way and priorities change. So then I got an entry level engineering job, I got married, had a kid and bought a house. My car is a Chevy Spark (I wasn't kidding about not caring about the daily), the wife has a crossover for kid carrying, and we've settled into life as parents. One thing that hasn't changed is our love for motorsports. We go to the Rolex 24 in Daytona every year (14 consecutive years for me, 7 for the wife), we've been to a few F1 grand Prix in Montreal, but after getting a new higher paying job, my wife asked me a pretty hard hitting question I wasn't mentally prepared for:
"Okay, I know you don't care about daily driving a nice car. You want something cheap and safe, I get it. I like it. But what if you kept a boring daily, and had a weekend or special occasion car? Maybe autocross it occasionally or have a few track days a year in it. What would you want? "
I haven't thought about anything like that for myself in a long while. When I was younger, I always loved the black 67 Camaros, they looked so mean, sounded so good. But being an engineer, I wasn't too fond of a restored one, with all the obsolete tech, carbs, and the struggle to find replacements if something broke. I didn't want an old car under the skin. I wanted the look, but also wanted to experience the decades of advancement in technology and vehicle dynamics understanding.
Well, fate seemed to intervene, as we walked around a car show in Winter Garden, I spotted a FFR Roadster from afar, thinking it was an actual Shelby Cobra. My son was on my shoulders, and I nudged my wife and asked her, "Want to see a half a million dollar car?" Again, I'm not a classic car guru, most would probably know the differences immediately. I knew of the Cobra, but not any real specific details. As we got closer, I noticed modern brakes immediately, then after handing my son over and close inspection, I saw the FFR logo and how everything seemed brand new. I spoke with the owner and he told about FFR, the build process and I was sold. This is exactly what I wanted. The classic look, the modern design underneath and the build process that would bring me the satisfaction a restoration would have. After looking into FFR online, I saw the type 65 coupe and immediately knew that was the one. So, after sitting down and talking Financials, the wife and I agreed to a 5 year plan to get a FFR type 65 coupe. She is currently in school part time, and I have some financial goals I wanted to reach before diving into build process. This also gives me plenty of time to lurk on here and plan my build out, including the engine/ transmission combo. As well as other things I want, such as A/C (I live in Florida) and other interior options. I contacted FFR and got the free brochure packet and an super excited for the future. So hello all, that's my story and I'll be lurking mostly in the type 65 coupe forum. Cheers!
I'm about to share a very long winded story of how I've come to this forum. So here it goes:
I'm TJ Yankee, 32 year old engineer, father of one, life long motorsports fan and beginning my FFR journey through these forums. In college, I was a part of UCF's formula SAE team, and really enjoyed designing and creating a Formula car every year. After driving that formula car though, I suddenly no longer cared what type of vehicle I had for regular road usage. I had a taste of sub 3 second 0-60s, pulling 1-2 Gs in the turns on a closed course, and the satisfaction of being one of the main builders of the car three years in a row. A street rod no longer interested me. I wanted a racecar, one I could let loose on a closed circuit and actually feel what it's capable of. But, as it does, life gets in the way and priorities change. So then I got an entry level engineering job, I got married, had a kid and bought a house. My car is a Chevy Spark (I wasn't kidding about not caring about the daily), the wife has a crossover for kid carrying, and we've settled into life as parents. One thing that hasn't changed is our love for motorsports. We go to the Rolex 24 in Daytona every year (14 consecutive years for me, 7 for the wife), we've been to a few F1 grand Prix in Montreal, but after getting a new higher paying job, my wife asked me a pretty hard hitting question I wasn't mentally prepared for:
"Okay, I know you don't care about daily driving a nice car. You want something cheap and safe, I get it. I like it. But what if you kept a boring daily, and had a weekend or special occasion car? Maybe autocross it occasionally or have a few track days a year in it. What would you want? "
I haven't thought about anything like that for myself in a long while. When I was younger, I always loved the black 67 Camaros, they looked so mean, sounded so good. But being an engineer, I wasn't too fond of a restored one, with all the obsolete tech, carbs, and the struggle to find replacements if something broke. I didn't want an old car under the skin. I wanted the look, but also wanted to experience the decades of advancement in technology and vehicle dynamics understanding.
Well, fate seemed to intervene, as we walked around a car show in Winter Garden, I spotted a FFR Roadster from afar, thinking it was an actual Shelby Cobra. My son was on my shoulders, and I nudged my wife and asked her, "Want to see a half a million dollar car?" Again, I'm not a classic car guru, most would probably know the differences immediately. I knew of the Cobra, but not any real specific details. As we got closer, I noticed modern brakes immediately, then after handing my son over and close inspection, I saw the FFR logo and how everything seemed brand new. I spoke with the owner and he told about FFR, the build process and I was sold. This is exactly what I wanted. The classic look, the modern design underneath and the build process that would bring me the satisfaction a restoration would have. After looking into FFR online, I saw the type 65 coupe and immediately knew that was the one. So, after sitting down and talking Financials, the wife and I agreed to a 5 year plan to get a FFR type 65 coupe. She is currently in school part time, and I have some financial goals I wanted to reach before diving into build process. This also gives me plenty of time to lurk on here and plan my build out, including the engine/ transmission combo. As well as other things I want, such as A/C (I live in Florida) and other interior options. I contacted FFR and got the free brochure packet and an super excited for the future. So hello all, that's my story and I'll be lurking mostly in the type 65 coupe forum. Cheers!