This is an old thread from a year ago that resurfaced.
To bring everyone up to speed, here is a post by Dave Smith from "another" forum. It was posted on 2-6-09.
"Guys,
There have been a lot of questions about this so I guess I better give you guys some answers.
I am writing a 2009 newsletter right now that addresses both of these cars and we’ll send that newsletter out to the larger market to let folks know our plans, but I might as well let you forum guys know up front.
Status and Background of the **** Smith Legacy model and the USRRC Replica Model:
#198 Legacy Series Car:
**** Smith’s #198 car is still here at FFR. We’ll likely have it on respectful display at the moochfest in a few weeks. Sooner or later it will have to make its way to perhaps Peterson Auto Museum or some other place similar, but that is Heather’s (****’s widow) call. FFR is simply the custodian of the car for now and ensuring no harm comes to it. The CAR was digitally scanned in extreme detail and initially fit (on SolidWorks CAD) to our Mk3.1 chassis. There was a story in Kit Car about this and we said as much in our 2008 newsletter. There are some very small changes that we would have to make to the car to fit the FFR Mk3.1 chassis (the waist down low is narrower and that could be resolved a few ways, easiest would be to bisect the car and make it .75”-1.5” wider overall, but the body shape is essentially ready to be CNC cut in foam and molds then made.
USRRC Legacy Series Car:
The competition roadster molds were indeed made by Bruce C. and mounted onto an existing FFR Mk3 chassis. We purchased the molds for a few reasons, but our intent was primarily to market a 289 version so that Bill S. (Mr. Mustang) would stop crowing (kidding there).
We would market and sell the car as a USRRC replica or CE version or other name as we agreed 6 years or so ago to not use the NAME/WORD “289 FIA”. This car (or cars as we would likely add the slab-side to the mix at the same time since it’s a minor mold change) is closer to being made than the #198 car, but both are in need of project work before being ready to ship.
Original Plan:
In our 2008 Newsletter I said that our plans were to go to production some time in 2009 on one or both of these cars (or all 3 if you count the slab-side). We were planning on (and still will IF we go to production) donating the first car to the London Club known by a name I can’t say (ha). We were going to limit the #198 version to 198 units in honor of **** and give proceeds to his widow Heather. Originally, before **** had died I spoke to him of using his car as the base for the next revision (Mk4 or Mk5 Factory Five roadster). After he died it just seemed the right thing to limit production, but that is not set in cement.
Where we are now:
Several things have caused our plans to change or at least be delayed. First of all has been the operational challenge of the Hot Rod. As many projects get more complex than first thought, this has happened with the Hot Rod and has caused us to divert resources (or keep them focused) to this project. Things are looking good now, and we will be shortly determining next priorities for Engineering/R&D.
Another delay has been Carroll Shelby and his recent lawsuit. We have to spend money on this nut-job and as a small company, when money goes from Peter, Paul often misses lunch.
Lastly there is serious doubt and at least debate about whether we should even do these cars. We love our current body shape and the costs to do these projects will likely not justify doing them. They are then, a labor of love, or something I would normally not shy from, but in this economy we have to be smart about where we spend our money and R&D resources.
Conclusion:
For sure we will not do these cars this year as hoped. We may indeed never do them. I have put serious thought towards letting the community decide this. If we have enough interest based on people willing to purchase one or the other, we may accelerate the projects. The Coupe is a great example of this. We limited our 2009 production and based on the level of angry letters and emails I’ve received, we may bring the car back a month or two sooner than 2010, but for now we are set there.
Bottom line is that there will be no 198 replica or USRRC replica this year. Let me know your thoughts at
info@factoryfive.com
Dave Smith
President"