Dale Claytor

Hi All. Thought I would blog about my experiences with purchasing and building this MK4 Roadster. This is my first entry, so I have some catching up to do. I ordered the complete MK4 Roadster Kit on April 26, 2011 and arranged for shipping to my home in Ocala, Florida through Stewart Transport. Completion date for the kit at Factory Five was June 18th. They were right on time. The kit was picked up by Stewart Transport on June 18th and arrived in my driveway on June 24th. The kit came with the frame and body in one piece and 25 boxes of parts. Can't tell you how excited I was to see that Stewart Transport 18 wheeler tractor trailer pull up to my driveway with Factory Five logos on the side of it. There are a couple of pictures below. I have already purchased a Tuff Dawg 347 stroker motor. This is a Ford 302 cubic inch bored and stroked to 347 cubic inches. The motor is rated at 430 hp and 430 lbs/ft of torque. The motor should arrive anytime now. I just picked up a new, RAM Performance Clutch kit (rated at 650 lbs/ft of torque), a 20 oz. flywheel, a steel bell housing and a Tremec TKO 600 5 speed transmission from Powered by Ford in Orlando, Florida. Haven't had much time to do anything with the kit except inventory some of the parts boxes. Went on vaction 2 days after receiving the roadster and just got back. Went to New England for a week and had the opportunity to visit Factory Five in Wareham, MA. There I met Rick, who gave my wife and I and a couple of other visitors a tour of the factory. Rick walked us through every step of the process of building and assembling the MK4 Roadster Kit, and he had plenty of tips. I also had the opportunity to meet Dave Smith, the owner, and he had plenty to say. He was on his way to to a video shoot to promote a "shoot out" between a real live Cobra S/C and a Factory Five Roadster (woops, was I supposed to say that? I guess it's ok). He said the video will come out sometime around November 2011 on one of the Speed Network Channels. At the end of the tour, Rick fired up one of the completed MK4 Roadsters on display in their showroom (the silver one (now red) that's featured on the Factory Five web site). The sound of it was awsome, especially since it was inside the showroom. After the factory tour, we spent the rest of the week touring around Cape Cod, MA; Conway, NH; and Woodstock, VT. We rented a 2010 Mustang convertible and had a blast, the weather was fantastic. As with all good things, they usually come to an end. And so now, we're back home, and the real fun begins - constructing the Roadster :) :) :). Will post more later.
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