R. Button

Yes I heard that there was a video of some guy traveling across the country that got put on the Factory Five DVD. While that trip was fascinating, a camera in my face during most every waking hour of the day, well it took some getting used to, but there is more to the story. As was quoted I build my Mark I more as a could I build a car. My Henry Ford Syndrome. I did not do lots of research, I came across the ad for Factory Five, stopped by for a visit on a return trip from New York City, and sent in my deposit. When the day came to pick up the parts, I rented a U-Haul car trailer and made the drive down with my youngest son. On that Saturday, back in 1998, Mark happened to be at Factory Five and helped us load the frame on the trailer. We headed home to Maine with this new collection of parts. On the trip home I’m having second thoughts about what I had just done! Sitting at home in my old barn was a pile of parts taken from a 1990 Mustang GT side hit.
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After unloading all the boxes, and frame, I pulled off the plywood sheets I had bolted to the trailer and headed off to return the trailer. I pull out of my drive way, make left hand turn then a gradual right hand turn and “BAM” the trailer jerks side to side as I pull off the old country road almost into the ditch to be sure I was clear of traffic. I go back to look and find on the right side, the entire wheel, hub, bearings, and brake assembly had broken off one of the axles. I pick up all the parts I could find from the road, unhook the trailer head back to the house to call U-Haul. Meanwhile, in my head I’m speculating what if it had broken on the trip back through the middle of Boston!



Over the next few months I worked on the assembly while also working my “regular” job. I provided high level support for large databases. I would work in the barn wearing a wireless headset as I had run the phone line out the window of the house, across the yard, to the barn about 200 feet away! I’m under the chassis running brake lines, or fuel lines, attaching aluminum panels, while on the phone explaining to someone in England, Sweden, San Francisco, Dodgeville Wisconsin, Italy, Germany, or New York City, the steps they needed to recover their database, fix a query, or backup a database. I’m picturing in my head the words they are seeing on the screen all while arranging the parts on my car. And yes I frequently did have to mention why they were hearing noises in the background as the air compressor started up or I dropped something. I worked that way for weeks gradually assembling my Mark I.
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There was a time, again back in the day, when back orders were THE hot issue. When I picked up my parts, I had a few items on back order. Later when I learned about a few of the forums for these cars, I heard about the issues with back ordered parts. I never really understood all the chatter about back orders. It was not my daily driver car, it was a project I worked on for the pleasure of building a car. I also began to have a new since of wonder, almost Christmas like, all week long as small, large, and assorted other white boxes with blue lettering on them from Factory Five Racing began to arrive at my door. I never knew when they might arrive which created the element of wonder. Then not knowing what parts were in the box added to the Christmas like fun of opening each box. This created a real letdown when I realized that I had no more back orders. I actually looked for what I might need to order from Factory Five which they would not have in stock so I could create a back order! Sorry Dave, but I really tried to create back orders for my car!



There was a since of accomplishment when the engine started, and I was in the go-cart stage. It’s amazing that you can actually drive these cars without the body on them! When the body was painted, on the chassis, and fully assembled, I remember just sitting in the car, out in the old barn, for hours, thinking this really fits nice, I actually build a car, but now what do I do?


Then I discovered the excitement of just driving it. For whatever reason the older style seats just fit me well. The pedals, steering wheel shifter all just fit me. So much so that while I am out driving it is the gas tank that would finally point me to a stop. I’ve slept, and slept well, in my car along the road to Phoenix, under a lamp at Kennebunkport, Maine, tucked at a rest stop between 16 wheelers, and many additional locations. The seats just fit me and thus far I do not get tired from sitting in them.


I’ll use my blog to post stores from the road, of people I’ve meet while out traversing this country. Many are just ordinary people or families that I met that had tales or accounts of the one their uncle, had etc. Some of the people were really interesting people who worked for AC Cars.