Chassis number 1340

[Ltfracing]

Stage 1 kit ordered on 1/12/23 delivery on 6/10/23
Will be a 383 sbc 700 r4
9” ford rear,watts link custom rear suspension186751

[narly1]

Congrats! Make sure to post up pictures and stuff as your build progresses.

Earl

[Jeff33Ford]

Welcome aboard. You will love the ride.

[Mastertech5]

Another Hot Rod, yes!!! Have fun, we do.

[DanQ]

My complete 33HR kit was ordered 12/30/2022, and FFR says expected completion date of 5/20/2022, so hoping to see it mid-June? I will be using a 5.3 Gen III LS motor and 4L60 from a donor 2002 Silverado and was wondering if it will drop into the chassis with the OEM oil pan, intake manifold, and all OEM front drive (alt., pulleys, belt, etc.)

Full fenders, running boards, hood, and side panels, no top (soft top convertible down the road) LS, automatic trans., Electric PS, 4-link.

Still trying to figure out how to post and reply to questions, and how to add photos. Currently building an 8.8 from a 1990 Mustang (converting to 5 lug axles and rear disc brakes.) I am located in Chaska, MN and am always looking for a road trip. It would be a blast to visit others involved in a FFR 33 HR build, and if anyone is near Minnesota, I would be happy to visit.

[Just 1 More]

Stage 1 kit ordered on 1/12/23 delivery on 6/10/23
Will be a 383 sbc 700 r4
9” ford rear,watts link custom rear suspension

HEll Yeah.. Looking forward to the progress pics

[GoDadGo]

More Dark Side Power!
....Welcome Aboard!
.=.Congratulations!

[Salty Chief 35]

I like the 9” with watts link. What 9” are you using (width)? I’ll be interested to see your progress and how you do the watts link.
Respectfully,
Jeremie

[Ltfracing]

Thank you,I will post pictures as we go

[Ltfracing]

Dumb question,how do I post pictures,never mind,thank you

[Ltfracing]

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Shocks are upside down,I will post a Dyno graph of what happens when you run them upside down.

[Mastertech5]

Great picture of your kit pick up. Mine is posted on the recent news page of FFR website and their Facebook page. I don't do Facebook. You picked yours up exactly 1 year after I did.
PM sent about engine.

[Ltfracing]

So to say I’m a little frustrated with factory five is a understatement, after doing months of research on there website for the stage 1 kit and what was included in it, and then verifying with my sales man several times that the radiator came with the stage 1 kit ,after receiving my stage one kit and imagine my surprise that I did not get a radiator, I email them and Said I did not get one and after he checked with a tech he emailed me back and said yes it should have come with the radiator,I fill out the MIK paper work and then I was told it does not come with stage 1 kit anymore it comes with stage 2,after I brought it to their attention that is not what it said on website they changed the site and we will sell you one for $600 gee thanks

[JimLev]

$600 clams for a radiator?
Maybe try this….tell them you’ll buy the radiator now but they need to deduct $600 from the stage 2 kit when you order it.

[Brave Salmon]

You are aware that the konis with silver bodies cannot be run inverted? Hopefully you checked that out and the shocks are different from those of my vintaqe.

[Ltfracing]

Yes I know,I ran them on my dyno and will post pics of graph on what happens when you run them upside down

[TxMike64]

So to say I’m a little frustrated with factory five is a understatement, after doing months of research on there website for the stage 1 kit and what was included in it, and then verifying with my sales man several times that the radiator came with the stage 1 kit ,after receiving my stage one kit and imagine my surprise that I did not get a radiator, I email them and Said I did not get one and after he checked with a tech he emailed me back and said yes it should have come with the radiator, I fill out the MIK paper work and then I was told it does not come with stage 1 kit anymore it comes with stage 2,after I brought it to their attention that is not what it said on website they changed the site and we will sell you one for $600 gee thanks

That probably stems from the issue that Stage 1 does not include the grill, which you need in order to mount the radiator. I'm in the inverse situation: my Stage 1 includes the radiator, but I cannot mount it. I asked to buy the the grill separate so I could mount the radiator for gokart, but was told it'd be $1200 and I wouldn't get the full credit applied to my Stage 2 order. That's a tough call on splitting between Stage 1 & 2, but my thoughts are that Stage 1 should get you to gokart, and Stage 2 should be just body & interior.

[RoadRacer]

So to say I’m a little frustrated with factory five is a understatement, after doing months of research on there website for the stage 1 kit and what was included in it, and then verifying with my sales man several times that the radiator came with the stage 1 kit ,after receiving my stage one kit and imagine my surprise that I did not get a radiator, I email them and Said I did not get one and after he checked with a tech he emailed me back and said yes it should have come with the radiator,I fill out the MIK paper work and then I was told it does not come with stage 1 kit anymore it comes with stage 2,after I brought it to their attention that is not what it said on website they changed the site and we will sell you one for $600 gee thanks

Eeek, that's really disappointing. stage 1 is for go karting IMO. I got a radiator in my stage 1 like Mike, so at least you can go-kart with the radiator held in place with some temporary brackets. There were still some compromises in stage 1 (no seats, belts, etc) but it still kinda made sense. I guess they moved where the line is drawn - ultimately you're gonna want to buy one from them - you can delete that from stage 2, I know that, but you may not get 100% of the cost.

[nhoth2o]

That probably stems from the issue that Stage 1 does not include the grill, which you need in order to mount the radiator. I'm in the inverse situation: my Stage 1 includes the radiator, but I cannot mount it. I asked to buy the the grill separate so I could mount the radiator for gokart, but was told it'd be $1200 and I wouldn't get the full credit applied to my Stage 2 order. That's a tough call on splitting between Stage 1 & 2, but my thoughts are that Stage 1 should get you to gokart, and Stage 2 should be just body & interior.

Its very frustrating and I agree stage one should get go kart. Originally I was told I could be grill, steering wheel etc and get credit when I got my stage one and found out those things were not there. Fast forward I ordered my grill this year and was told they don't do credit any more. I complained but it didn't get me anywhere. I also remember when I got the stage one and needed the grill and steering wheel that I mentioned to them this should be in the stage one. Along with exhaust......especially if you are going to sell me the rear exhaust kit with stage one ........all very frustrating. I can see at some point they do away with the choice and just make it all or nothing like the rest of the kits they sell.

[Ltfracing]

Factory five is definitely dropping the ball big time on customer service

[33fromSD]

Factory five is definitely dropping the ball big time on customer service

I'm not sure I would classify what you're experiencing as a "customer service" issue, verses more of a change in the stage-kit policy which if it was changed should have been highlighted up front when you bought your stage 1 kit and even in FFRs stage kit definitions.

I can't say if there was a change to the stage 1 kit or not, but I do know the reason I bought the complete kit in June of 2020 (received in Sept of 2020) was because at that time I was told if I planned to go-kart the car, the stage-1 kit would not get me to that point. There were several items not included in stage 1 that would prevent that. I had the storage room, so I bought the complete kit.

Regarding FFR's "customer service", at least when I was doing my build was nothing short of awesome. They were very responsive, never questioned any issue I had, they either helped me through it or they shipped out replacement parts immediately. They even made custom/one-off door striker plates for me since there was an issue with how the body bracket was welded in at the factory preventing the plates that come in the kit not to fit.. Like any other business after the pandemic they have had some turnover, so perhaps it is not the same as it was 2-3 years ago, but even today on the forum I don't see many folks complaining about FFR's customer service.

Heck, even 2 years after my build, I took my 33 out of storage last spring (spring of 2022) and the signal light in the LED headlights stopped working and I called FFR just looking for the model & p/n of the LED headlight to buy it myself thinking there was no way FFR would replace it after a couple a years, and not only did they send me one LED headlight free of charge, they sent me the pair at not charge (parts or shipping). That's is great customer service.

Sorry for your troubles, I know it's frustrating & maddening, but customer service doesn't set the kit policies, they just try to help whenever and however they can. I have a customer facing role in the high-tech world so I'm a little sensitive to everything getting pushed back as a customer service issue, when a lot of time it's not but their role is the one that gets blamed for every company or product issue.

Good luck with your build.
Jim

[Ltfracing]

I’m not blaming the customer service department, I’m saying the whole company is dropping the ball in customer service, hell for something that they supposedly changed a year ago no one at the company knew about it, not the salesman the webmaster or one of the top guys who will remain nameless knew the radiator did not come with the stage 1 kit anymore,you still get a radiator cap in stage 1 but no radiator,I certainly hope my experience with them gets better ,thank you and good luck with your car sir

[cv2065]

Always get it in writing....

[Ltfracing]

It was all over there website until I brought it to there attention,then they changed it

[TxMike64]

It was all over there website until I brought it to there attention, then they changed it

Yeah, sometimes it feels like us St1/Stg2 guys get the b4st4rd child treatment, but we are a minority. I still say Stg 1 should get you to gokart stage. As frustrated as I get with their systems FFR always is willing to work with me. I'm also cognizant of the fact that they are a really small company, dealing with personnel shortages, parts shortages, long lead times - all resource constraints - all while experiencing rapid growth. But keeping this in mind is tough when a lot of us are passionately devoted to completing this challenge of building a car to fulfill lifelong dreams. It's difficult for some of us to not let our passion turn into outrage.

At the end of the day though I do feel like the customer service is pretty good.

[Ltfracing]

I’m happy with the product.mike are you still interested in trading for tilt column

[Ltfracing]

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[TxMike64]

Nice! Freiburger would be proud - the answer is always TUNNELRAM!

[RoadRacer]

Nice! Freiburger would be proud - the answer is always TUNNELRAM!

Oh yeahhhhhhh

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I can’t decide,with or without fenders

[JimLev]

If your going to spend big bucks on a nice paint job I’d use the fenders and running boards to keep the stones from chipping the paint.

[Ltfracing]

Are you running full fenders and what holes did you use sir,thank you

[JimLev]

Yes, full fenders. What holes are you asking about?

195408

[Ltfracing]

Suspension holes ,top or bottom

[JimLev]

Mine is a Gen 1, it only has one set of suspension holes.

[Ltfracing]

What is your ride height sir

[JimLev]

The front is about 5.75 and the rear is 7.0

[33fromSD]

On Gen2 with full fenders/running boards you need to use the bottom holes.

Jim

[Mastertech5]

Lower holes for full fenders and trucks. Upper holes for no fenders or bike fenders. NOTE: If you go with the lower holes there is no going back as you need to cut the top of the rearmost lower control arm mounting bracket to have enough clearance for the steering rack. It's in the build manual. It's a personal choice though if your not using full fenders. More rear tire clearance, although adjustable with the coil overs, and more road to frame, or exhaust, clearance. I chose the lower holes, potholes and speed bumps, to save the cats which are round and hang some what low.

[Ltfracing]

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Moving steering shaft over to the right 3 inches to straighten funky angles out and moving brake pedal over to where clutch pedal would be

[Ltfracing]

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[Just 1 More]

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Looks like you had a busy weekend

[Ltfracing]

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Got my block hugger headers in

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[Tom Veale]

Hi LTF, Re: Mounting bolts for Shocks at Front End................

It's best to have the NUT nearest the radiator not the bolt head. When it comes time to change things, you don't want to have to move the radiator to get the bolts out.
Once you put the Fan Shroud and fan in place it gets pretty crowded around those fasteners.
(I learned this from experience!)
Best wishes,
Tom

[Ltfracing]

From building race cars my whole life all bolts go front to back ,it’s a hard habit to break,if nut falls off bolt will not come out with car moving forward

[Mastertech5]

When did you get the grill? Looks good!

[Ltfracing]

Just got it the other day,thank you sir

[Ltfracing]

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[Just 1 More]

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Love the tear drops in the fenders

[progmgr1]

I got these from Speedway for my '33: https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Speedway-1938-39-Lincoln-Zephyr-LED-Tail-Lights,8978.html

Keith HR #894

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Sold the tunnel ram, Was gonna put a cross ram on it, ended up getting a Tri Power set up which I’m rebuilding now

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Getting ready to paint the chassis

[peterh226]

I had the same idea...
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[Ltfracing]

Beautiful car sir

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Got my new rear lower arms,also got ride of all the rubber bushings in the front suspension

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[TxMike64]

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Are you using different ratio rockers for Int/Exh?

[Ltfracing]

Yes sir

[Ltfracing]

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[TxMike64]

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That's interesting! I've never seen such a big difference between int/exh before (granted, I don't have a ton of cam spec experience). I've seem slight differences, and split durations, but that's like two different cams put together. What's the advantage?

[Ltfracing]

Tourque,nice flat curve
Custom ground by my friend at Koury racing engines

[Ltfracing]

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Chassis goes for paint next week,then I can drop the heart in

[Ford & Jeep Fan]

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No lock plate for the cam bolts??

[Ltfracing]

Red loctite

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Can’t decide which valve covers I like better with the wire holders

[Just 1 More]

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Can’t decide which valve covers I like better with the wire holders

Are you asking for our opinion? If so, I say flames with flames

[TxMike64]

I like the Ball-Milled with the Flamed wire looms. Breaks it up a little....

[Ltfracing]

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All most ready

[j33ptj]

Mmmm.... engine porn!! beautiful!!

[DanQ]

Not sure if I have commented on your '33 yet on this site, but our cars are very close, as I am serial # 1337 (you are #1340), I placed my order on 12/31/2022 (you did on 1/12/2023), mine was delivered on 5/29/2023 (yours was delivered on 6/10/2023). On top of that, we chose a similar color too. How did you get a Gen 1 body with a Gen 2 chassis?

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[Ltfracing]

I bought a gen 1 body off a guy who used work at factory five,and full fenders off Mike here in Massachusetts,your car is beautiful sir

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Almost ready to go vroom vroom

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Working on rear brakes

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Chassis finally goes for paint on Thursday

[Ominousman]

I like the lights in the fenders. Tear drops look cool.

[Ltfracing]

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Finally, getting ready for paint

[progmgr1]

Your picture looks familiar - I just got all my parts back from powdercoat last month. (Yes, I stole the dark bronze color idea from the 30th Anniversary kits.) (No, I won't start reassembly any time soon. The day after delivery I went in for back surgery #6. Recovery is going well, but it's a long road to full functionality.)

Have fun with your build. I'm looking forward to watching your progress.

Keith HR #894

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Got it home today,let the fun begin

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Can’t decide black or silver arms

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Went with black

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It’s a roller

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Engine is in

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Getting the alt mocked up217233

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Trying to install a th 350 in my 33 the left side bolt hits the trans case,asked FFR and there answer was buy a new mount,how is that going to fix it,lol

[TxMike64]

Maybe weld studs (cut heads off bolts) on the top black plate, then use nuts under the poly mount...?

[Ltfracing]

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Got my custom made shifter installed,and painted valve cover to see what it looks like

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Bought a lathe and made a bolt for trans mount and driveshaft spacer

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Also been working on my daily driver218623

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