A note about Factory Five Roadsters.

RACERAL · #1 (**permalink**) 03-22-2015, 06:20 PM

When I read a post where a new person ask what is the best Cobra kit to buy... the usual opinions pop up. Having said this... in case the experts don't know.... Factory Five bodies DON'T have the perky butt anymore. The new bodies were digitized from a REAL Cobra. Dick Smiths Cobra,

One you may have heard of... OH, it has the 198 on the side of it.

mptech · #2 (**permalink**) 03-22-2015, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RACERAL

Factory Five bodies DON'T have the perky butt anymore.

I've seen the comment recently too. Yeah, they haven't had a perky butt for about 5 years now.

Maricopa · #3 (**permalink**) 03-22-2015, 10:39 PM

They don't have a pointy trunk anymore either...Sadly there are still a couple oddities like front turn signal pads and side vents at the wrong angle. Also I still think the rear fenders are a little skinny.

vatdevil · #4 (**permalink**) 03-23-2015, 02:50 AM

The MK4 does look better, but the wheel openings look odd. And then there's the license plate issue. The use of five lug rims really kills the look of the car, I see very few with spinners.

mikeinatlanta · #5 (**permalink**) 03-23-2015, 03:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RACERAL

When I read a post where a new person ask what is the best Cobra kit to buy... the usual opinions pop up. Having said this... in case the experts don't know.... Factory Five bodies DON'T have the perky butt anymore. The new bodies were digitized from a REAL Cobra. Dick Smiths Cobra,

One you may have heard of... OH, it has the 198 on the side of it.

Been seeing that too. Funny that many don't know what the perky butt was, or that it was an easy thing to mod and get rid of.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maricopa

They don't have a pointy trunk anymore either...Sadly there are still a couple oddities like front turn signal pads and side vents at the wrong angle. Also I still think the rear fenders are a little skinny.

While I haven't spoken with FFR about it, I assume they use the pads for the same reason I left mine in place during body mods, it just looks better with them. I think they have reached a pretty good balance on the current body.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vatdevil

The MK4 does look better, but the wheel openings look odd. And then there's the license plate issue. The use of five lug rims really kills the look of the car, I see very few with spinners.

After looking at a range of original cars, I've come to the conclusion that they all look odd in the wheel openings.

Many such as myself choose lugs over knockoffs because the knockoffs are just too inferior a design for anything not getting quick wheel changes in the pits. Even then, the sixties vintage style ones are terrible and the five lug/knockoff adapters are about absurd on a high performance car.

Tommy · #6 (**permalink**) 03-23-2015, 04:16 AM

Beauty is in the garage of the beholder.

Maricopa · #7 (**permalink**) 03-23-2015, 01:45 PM

While I haven't spoken with FFR about it, I assume they use the pads for the same reason I left mine in place during body mods, it just looks better with them. I think they have reached a pretty good balance on the current body.

Whether they look 'better' or not is beside the point, they are 'different' than the originals and that's what I was addressing.
I have a MK II that I 'de-perked' along with getting rid of the side bolts and trunk hinges. I was all set to pack the signal bumps full of 'glass and grind 'em off but at that point was sick of bodywork so I left them. I also left the trunk as-is since without stripes the point isn't as noticeable, although it still bugs me.

SunDude · #8 (**permalink**) 03-23-2015, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RACERAL

When I read a post where a new person ask what is the best Cobra kit to buy... the usual opinions pop up. Having said this... in case the experts don't know.... Factory Five bodies DON'T have the perky butt anymore. The new bodies were digitized from a REAL Cobra. Dick Smiths Cobra, One you may have heard of... OH, it has the 198 on the side of it.

Is this verifiable fact, or legend...?

mikeinatlanta · #9 (**permalink**) 03-23-2015, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maricopa

While I haven't spoken with FFR about it, I assume they use the pads for the same reason I left mine in place during body mods, it just looks better with them. I think they have reached a pretty good balance on the current body.

Whether they look 'better' or not is beside the point, they are 'different' than the originals and that's what I was addressing.
I have a MK II that I 'de-perked' along with getting rid of the side bolts and trunk hinges. I was all set to pack the signal bumps full of 'glass and grind 'em off but at that point was sick of bodywork so I left them. I also left the trunk as-is since without stripes the point isn't as noticeable, although it still bugs me.

Not discounting your point, just saying they went to trouble to add them. It's easier to build a body without them. I was considering removing mine but after looking at both ways I like the look and left them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SunDude

Is this verifiable fact, or legend...?

Fact. As per FFR:
"The body shape of the Factory Five Mk4 is extremely accurate benefitting from, and a direct descendent of two original cars, CSX 3042 and the late Dick Smith’s famous #198, CSX 3035."

LMH · #10 (**permalink**) 03-23-2015, 04:11 PM

The MKIV is a lot closer in shape and style to the original SC but it isn't an exact replication. The chassis would have to modified to make an exact replica fit. I don't think FFR ever intended to make an exact though. That's not their thing, so to speak.
Larry

Mark IV · #11 (**permalink**) 03-23-2015, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SunDude

Is this verifiable fact, or legend...?

See "Kit Car Builder" about five years ago and they have the article with pictures of Dick's car getting digitally examined.....although my last digital exam involved a gloved finger....................

rodneym · #12 (**permalink**) 03-23-2015, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark IV

....although my last digital exam involved a gloved finger....................

I hope the doctor didn't find any "signal bumps".

PSB · #13 (**permalink**) 03-24-2015, 05:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RACERAL

in case the experts don't know.... Factory Five bodies DON'T have the perky butt anymore. The new bodies were digitized from a REAL Cobra. Dick Smiths Cobra,

One you may have heard of... OH, it has the 198 on the side of it.

Well, not exactly. Yes, FFR digitized CSX3035, and FFR used that as a starting point on the Mark IV body. However, they modified it to fit their chassis. So the Mark IV body IS NOT a copy of CSX3035.

Although the Mark IV FFR looked really good, when they were sitting side-by-side you could see quite a few differences.

Pete

Buzz · #14 (**permalink**) 03-24-2015, 07:46 AM

Very few manufacturers manage to capture that lean, sleek, low stance or get the rear fender shape right. The difference in the pics is quite obvious, but FFR has gone a long way in updating their body shape. I wish they had gone the extra mile with the shape, but as one of the most successful replica manufacturers, they are not doing too many things wrong.

mtrain2000 · #15 (**permalink**) 03-24-2015, 03:43 PM

I had to do an image search on the FFC rear end, and your all right they did seem to pitch upward.

https://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs/...&hsimp=yhs-001

mptech · #16 (**permalink**) 03-24-2015, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtrain2000

.... they did seem to pitch upward.

they did, 5 + years ago. FFR de-perked the butt and dropped it down on the MK4.

NewYorkGuy · #17 (**permalink**) 03-24-2015, 04:06 PM

what are car guys expecting from a $20,000 DIY kit?

Buzz · #18 (**permalink**) 03-24-2015, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NewYorkGuy

what are car guys expecting from a $20,000 DIY kit?

I don't know, but I'm willing to bet you can expect an impending beat down and butt kicking if you continue with your no-value-added posts and trolling ways.

Nothing against you personally, but if you don't like the whole Cobra replica thing and the culture/people associated with it; nothing wrong with that, but why don't you just go away? You're free to do so, you know.

Bill Bess · #19 (**permalink**) 03-25-2015, 06:08 AM

Gosh, after reading all this it's seems kind of funny how so many of the cobra family find these issues so entertaining. There are 'kit cars", rollers, completed rollers, Continuation cars with expensive names and of course the Real Thing . It's all about having fun and doing what trips your rigger and what you can afford. Trash talking still doesn't buy you class, but hard work , creativity and pride get you the best cobra in your world.
Just go fast and don't look back....

gmonsen · #20 (**permalink**) 03-27-2015, 06:34 AM

I was going to note that while I didn't choose the newest FF5 MKIV, the basic FF5 idea of using well-known and quality donor parts and making sure those parts worked perfectly with the chassis and body and could be fairly readily assembled has obviously been a great business strategy and allows them to dominate the kit car building industry. Kudos, Dave Smith and team.

The replicar and cottage industry custom car builders (like RCR or Ultima or the GTM) are an industry segment that has been and will continue to grow at a much faster pace than the mainstream car market, because the increasingly sterile cars force motorheads to look elsewhere for the real experience. When BMW pipes in motor sounds that you can raise and lower with your volume control on the stereo, you see just how isolated the driver is from the machinery. Forget the god-awful drive by wire without any feel whatsoever steering systems that replaced the best thing about Porsches and BMW's ever.

Replicars offer the fun motor toy experience at all price points and the very worst today are phenomenal when compared to the kit cars available when I was 20-25, like Fiberfab gt's with VW chassis and engines.

G