Factory Five Forums - Blogs - mgibson020 https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/blog.php?32949-mgibson020 Builder community site for Factory Five Racing. en Sat, 02 May 2026 22:29:01 GMT vBulletin 10 https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/images/misc/rss.jpg Factory Five Forums - Blogs - mgibson020 https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/blog.php?32949-mgibson020 First Day- new kit on the block https://v1.thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?1306-First-Day-new-kit-on-the-block Sat, 24 Dec 2022 20:52:06 GMT Received my kit on 23rd December 2022. Christmas came early Attachment 177168... Received my kit on 23rd December 2022. Christmas came early

[ATTACH=CONFIG]177168[/ATTACH]

Ordered my kit in February, and expected to get a partial kit due to supply chain difficulties. Actually, i got most things other than some interesting gaps, like the gauges for instance or the door latches. Enough to get started. i fully inventoried my kit and found only one very small difference from what was there and what FFR said was there. Took about 7 hours to inventory the kit and put it away neatly on the shelves. i inventoried, and put everything back into the boxes. I got a "box 47" which was obviously all the stuff that came in right at the end. Some important pieces in there. i took those out of Box 47 and put them into the boxes they should have been in.

A few things i would change if i were FFR.
1) i would email or have a disk of the supplied items file that they print out. would have been so much easier to do this on the computer rather than on paper. i received a fairly complete kit, so it didn't take long to type up the deficiencies list. However, having the computer list would have been so much easier.
2)- i am a novice builder and mechanically a novice too, i did spend time looking up some of the descriptions of the smaller parts or some of the hangers and supports. Would be much easier if these were labeled or the computer list above included pictures (once this was built it would be easy to maintain i would suggest).
3) i have things i don't need as i ordered after market. Most glaringly obvious are the steel side pipes. i bought the gas'n'pipes headers and side pipes, and beautiful they are too, well i don't need the FFR versions. Now they just take up room in the garage. Ditto with the disks and pads- i bought EBC. i will just sell them at the end of course, but better would be if FFR would give us a credit towards other bling (passenger side roll bar in my case). Parts of my handbrake are on back order, i am going with the Electronic E Brake from Estop. So i don't need them, and i am sure there is someone else who really does need them......... so..... would have been nice to be able to delete some items for a credit.
4) I did the build school, so i have a little background on the build. Ok, this may make it idiot proof, but at first glance i don't think the things are in the boxes in the order that you build them, so some hunting and pecking will be required. Not a big deal at all, and i understand why it is this way (packing etc), but wouldn't it be so much easier if you started at 1 and went to 46? Some of the fun would be lost though i am sure.
5) ok i sort of expected this and i know it's not that important, but the seams on the body are not great. Lots of work for my friend Mr Millar later on. ok there are practical limits to the molds and you will always get a seem, but really, i am sure some improvements can be made there on the Mk5.

most of the above are nit picks, but if we don't discuss we don't improve.

i was impressed with the accuracy and quality of the packing and the professionalism of Stewart transport. Packing that many small items has to be a challenge. For instance, there were precisely the number of bolts in a packet, even small ones, that they said would be in there. That would be easy to get wrong, well done FFR. Actually, i had one extra bolt, and one extra nut in the entire delivery. Very impressive.

The overall quality of the materials etc looks very good. Haven't inspected in detail yet, haven't taken the body off yet, but first glance all looks very good. This is going to end up being an $80k car, on the road, so you would hope for that.

Next stage is body off, then undercoat/bed liner the underside of the body. Then i will install and drill (but not fit, cleco only) the panels, all of them, then remove and send to the powder coater. Anyone have any advice on that? Any panels that are difficult to fit correctly until something else is on the car? Clearly thinking engine bay primarily? i have read a few blogs of folks who have done that, but any lessons learned/mistakes to avoid with this approach? Also any advice on the bed liner. i have a bed liner sprayer and a compressor- was going to do it that way.

thank you everyone!
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