I got my new Mark III Factory Five Racing kit in January, 2005. Slow getting started 'cause of finishing repairs on the '95 M3 I bent at Bay Bottom Crawl in October, 2004. My perfect wrecked 1998 Cobra Mustang "donor car" arrived in March, 2005, courtesy of Jon Alarie's efforts. Disassembly of the donor began shortly thereafter. Assembly of the FFR began in earnest around August, 2005, proceeding slowly into 2006. First start of the engine was 2-20-2006, a major moment. This build is different than my previous FFR's, as I'm using a DOHC 4.6 Ford Mod-Motor as the engine, instead of the traditional Ford small block pushrod engine. I'll post progress pics and video here; let's see how it goes.
Sept. 24, 2006 UPDATE: first test drive a total success. I'm on a mission to run this car at Sebring Oct. 5 & 6 at the 5th Annual Reptile Roundup, and it looks like we'll make it!
Sept. 30 UPDATE: Jeff Kleiner flew into town with his bag of flame-painting supplies. He spent 2 days laying out, taping and painting the coolest flame job imaginable. Pics posted of the process, and pizza and beer celebration at Zipz with the local Cobra buddies. Next stop: Sebring race track, short course Thursday and long course Friday.
October 23 UPDATE: Reptile Roundup Track Day at Sebring was as good and as bad as it gets! October 5, this car was unexpectedly well setup right off the trailer: handling, steering, brakes and engine were wonderful. We ran four 1/2 hour sessions using the alternate short course, which included the pit and back straights, plus some turns. The engine blew up a few minutes before the end of my last run session. The rotating assembly of the front four cylinders and the engine block were destroyed, from detonation caused by lean-run conditions we believe. We pushed the car on the trailer and towed home. Now for the engine rebuild...
January 2008 UPDATE: NEW ENGINE!!! Lots happened since a year+ ago. The blown engine was replaced with a new short block, stroked to 5.0, using all forged internal rotating parts, using stock donor heads, cams, and intake with bigger throttle body. This baby is built to be RELIABLE and LONG-LIVED. We Dyno tuned this time: 307 RWHP and about 300 ft lbs. torq by my calculation. Plenty to keep me busy while becoming a better track driver. I replaced the stock Bilstein shocks and 600# springs with FFR's new red adjustable Koni's, with 750# springs at all four wheels. Still no sway bars, and so far it feels controlled and solid on the street and track. Not too firm for the street. I've had Lynn and my Dad give their ride-along opinions and all are favorable. Replaced the donor radiator and fan with an aluminum FFR rad and aluminum shroud from FFMetal. Very simple install using the aftermarket electric fan supplied with the kit. No problems to date.
I plan to get some seat time at Homestead, Sebring, and Moroso in 2008, and get signed off by NASA for their HPDE-4 group. A bunch of us ran with NASA in November and again in January, and I got signed off for HPDE-3, so now to get more seat time there and move up one more notch if possible. The car is reliable, cool-running, smooth, and usually faster than anything else on track in the groups I've run with...just needs a better driver sometimes. Immediate goals: Finish the custom tonneau project, keep driving smooth and smart at the track events, and figure out a good week-long roadtrip for the spring. Thanks for looking at the page.
November 2009 Update: I love this car: the engine has been really strong and makes fantastic sounds above 5,000 rpm. I decided to stay at NASA HPDE3, and not try to advance higher or do NASA Time Trials for now. I've spent many hours at Sebring, and PBIR reopened for business about a year ago so I have tried to run there some since it's so close to home. I finished my tonneau project, got an adult paint job that gets compliments everywhere I go, and installed a set of North Racecars Team III Halibrand replica 17" wheels for street use. Present goals are to refine the car, have a few road adventures, and continue to have track fun at HPDE's run by NASA & HOD, and anyone else I can afford to run with.
January 2011 update: Wow, I never owned the same FFR so long! Still love the car, and the way she drives. Doing lots of track events with NASA and HOD, got signed off into HPDE4 with NASA, and Group A with HOD. Unlimited passing with pretty serious drivers is going to sharpen my game a lot. No more improvements are planned for the car. Best driving weekend ever was Reptile Roundup in November 2010: Older daughter Mandi came down and co-drove the FFR several sessions, with me riding in the instructor seat. Fantastic day, lots of fast laps and no disasters. She is a serious driver on track!
Date(s): Jan 2005 - Present. Album by John Phillips. Photos by John Phillips. 1 - 494 of 494 Total. 71486 Visits.
1 January 2005 -FFR 1004554RD ready to be built As delivered, body sitting on frame, aluminum panels lightly screwed into temporary position on frame, boxes of parts stacked in garage, let's get to it.
2 frt3-4hoodup 1998 Mustang Cobra DOHC wreck, 52,000 miles, hit in passenger side and across front fascia. Everything I need is in great shape!
3 Cut Front Piece sm Engine is removed from UNDER the car, no cherry picker needed. Jack up the body and roll engine/tranny out on dolly...I should've made it much wider tho
4 4.6 Ride sm March 2005, celebration getting engine out of donor "It!....Could!....WORK..." View Comments...
5 106 0641 Roller, frame painted with Rust Bullet. IMPRESSIVE paint...you can literally hammer on it without damage. No way this frame will ever rust!
6 Dec. 2005 Dad John Engine Install John and Dad hoist engine for install December '05
7 DadJohnEngineInsm
8 106 0647
9 106 0662 Dad and Mom inspect engine with most of top sitting open
10 106 0668 Dad with powdercoated shiny stuff installed
11 FFR Dad Mom bg Dad and Mom just before heading bck to Ohio
12 107 0704
13 109 0910 Oil pickup tube for Moroso pan
14 109 0913 Moroso pan
15 108 0887 Whitby motor mount shim in place
16 oil pressure tank sm Pre-oil pressure rig, to oil engine before starting. Worked great!
Download AVI 17 FFR 2d start.AVI Video 2-20-06, 2d start
18 engine d front sm
19 109 0917 Richard and Chris Bailey: Best Friends you could have, and not shy about tearing into your car!
20 Crop Cardboard mockup of extension idea
21 103 0353 Scrap aluminum prototype to check body fit
22 Space side piece and body2 Prototype footbox extension fit check. There's more room to play with here if necessary
23 Footbox Mod Pieces sm Hole is approx 9" x 12", as-fab'd extension protrudes from stock footbox panel 1 3/4" at the front and 1" at the rear
24 Footbox Front Cap sm Fab end caps from scrap using cardboard pattern, vice, snips, hammer and wood blocks
25 Extension and rear cap sm rear cap and cleco's
26 Footbox mod and feet sm Adds almost 2" sideways room for left foot.
27 112 1294 Finished product
28 112 1296 Finished product 2
29 Plumbing engine top sm P/S Heidt's valve and plumbing
30 BoxBrace sm Footbox brace easy, effective, no welding
31 103 0318
32 D-side rear brake line
33 P-side rear brake line
34 104 0428
35 104 0429
36 104 0430
37 Trunk alum installed
38 104 0467 Cobra Earl trunk expansion kit, with hole I cut to access gas tank pump and sender
39 trunk alum installed2
40 Interior alum after rebending and hammering
41 Interior alum installation
42 114 1439 A/C install begins...I later abandoned the air conditioning concept, in favor of keeping the build and operation of the car simple as possible.
43 114 1437 Lynn with A/C evaporator-blower
44 114 1438 It goes HERE...easy to install it later if I decide to a/c again: blockoff plate fitted to firewall.
45 115 1547
46 115 1548
47 115 1549 Begin I-Squared Engineering dash harness wiring job on Lynn's dining room table
48 115 1550 Classic Instruments in mock dash
49 FFR Dash Wood Mockup frame Frame fit mock dash and switches
50 FFR sanded bodyshop ready Body work as done as I got it before heading to Frank Gifford at Custom Illusions shop in Stuart
51 130 3068 8-19-06 muh boys provide muscle power for trailer loadup
52 FFR raw-ChrisMoonRichardBTrailer Ready to roll, with the essential help of Chris Moon and Richard Bailey
53 FFR Trailer Franks shop ready to offload at Frank's
54 FFR Trevor Franks shop Trevor Bailey in Frank's shop with my FFR
55 Carbon Fiber Dash - Thunderball 8-24-06 Chris Bailey (Thunderball) dropped off this incredible carbon fiber dashboard blank for me. It's like a jewel, I'm in awe. Look how shiny!
56 CF Dash Another view of the dash blank. I'll use my crude wood dash to proof the gauge-switch layout and wiring before I transfer it all to this dash.
57 FFR raw-ChrisMoonRichardBTrailer 1
58 118 1836 8-26-06 Pick up the primed body to get ready for Sebring Oct. 5&6
59 118 1841 8-27-06 Wiring the frame-harness to mate with the dashboard wiring
60 118 1846 Success! Note the tach is reading ~600 rpm, the engine's idling, the wiring job I did works!
61 118 1849 Taillights work, now to wire the turn signals and install a brake light switch
62 118 1851 1 Parking lights ON, Headlights next
63 118 1813 Bend Kirkey Seat wing to fit inside body
64 118 1856 Torch wing aluminum, then bend it with ViceGrip and 3-foot pipe
65 118 1858
66 118 1855 Fab'd seat mounts 2" angle aluminum
67 118 1860 Driver's seat mounts installed
68 118 1861 Solid seat mount trial fit
69 118 1865 Fab'd seat back brace, works perfect, seat assembly solid as a rock now, no flex anywhere
70 118 1863 9-2-06 Bob Mac visits, getting his pristine FFR totally filthy on our rotten dirt mud road. Awesome snapless tonneau
71 118 1868 Taped CF dash, laid out for hole sawing
72 118 1869 Nerve-racking drill job
73 118 1871 Lynn poses with almost-finished CF dash
74 118 1893 Finished seat & belt install
75 118 1898 9-08-06 Skelt's last bulkhead glovebox kit installed and operable at last
76 118 1897
77 119 1901 E-brake handle slot, trans tunnel cover
78 119 1902 Rough fit, now to find some Nut-Serts
79 119 1906 "Elephant Ear" aluminum splashguard panel behind passenger front wheel..it pushes the body side out, away from the 4x4 header collector
80 119 1907 After elephant ear install. Shot with camera centered on the collector. Looks like there'll be major interference, huh?
81 119 1908 Side pipe bolted up to collector. Just touches front edge of cutout, I can file that a bit, so no problem. The side pipe collector CURVES IN to meet the header, so no body interference.
82 119 1909 No header replacement or surgery is necessary!
83 119 1911 Country spray booth
84 119 1903 Intake setup with Pep Boys-sourced elbow and fab'd brace
85 119 1904 K&N filter with scrap 3 1/2" steel inside collar, air temp sensor grommet and MAF adaptor
86 EBrake assembly
87 9-17-06 Hood Helpers Angie Lynn They were crucial helpers! Had to raise and lower the hood while I adjusted the hinges MANY times
88 Hood Hinge Struts So far I love this hinge setup: classy mechanism and perfect balance on the struts, if a little tedious to adjust
89 Hood Hinge
90 Hood Latches in Moved em inboard like original CObra's per Sergio specs
91 Oil Pressure sender angle mod
92 Sidepipes on
93 Trans Tunnel Cover install
94 Under door alum Oben2
95 Under door alum. Oben
96 9- 18-06 Dash in, Lynn major helper and nervous wreck
97 Windshield mod ready install
98 9-22-06 Windshield john richard
99 Windshield install John Richard
100 On the ground ready for alignment and test drive
107 Chris Bailey with CF dashboard he designed and manufactured
108 Jeff tapes out
109 Jeff and masked flames "I see there's masking..." View Comments...
110 Lynn and masked flames
111 Jeff paints white
112 Jeff and yellow
113 PAinted with paper
114 Jeff untapes
115 Jeff untapes2
116 Flame results no stripe
117 Jeff pinstripes
118 Flames final product
119 9-30-06 Jeff and aewsome final product
120 10-01-06 parts run before Zipz, Jeff and NAPA Pete
121 Jeff John First Flame trip "WOW-WEEEEEEE- A REAL..." View Comments...
122 Zipz Cobra bunch beer and pizza
123 5 snakes Zipz Lanier, West, Larson, Phillips, Moons FFR's take a rest "WHEN FRIENDS GET TOGE..." View Comments...
124 6th snake Zipz Huey's beauty parked all alone
125 Lynns first ride "I CANT THINK OF ANYON..." View Comments...
126 At work with FFR Jack, Jan and Mary
127 10-04-06 FFR Volvo trailer to Sebring Lynn's car bcomes a tow vehicle
128 10-05-06 Sebring Snakes pit About 60 Cobras met at Sebring for a 2-day open track event, Reptile Roundup. This is some of the Palm Beach County guys, in the historic pits. My day went great until the engine blew during the last session!
129 FFR Sebring Bridge2-crop
130 FFR Sebring Closeup
131 FFR Sebring Closeup2-crop
132 FFR Sebring Bridge5-crop
133 2006 10-05 FFR Closeup JLP
134 Engine debris recovered after the blow Block, piston and oil pan fragments Inman recovered from Sebring's back straight
135 oil pan damage
136 oil sender hole
137 psgr side engine hole
138 driver side block hole
139 120 2037 Pan full of shattered parts, as dropped direct from engine "OUCH, OUCH, OUCH!!! ..." View Comments...
140 120 2043 Front 4 cylinders all have pistons stuck in top of the cylinder bore, pins and rods ripped out (all but one torn off crank too), and block wall knocked out.
141 120 2044
142 120 2045
143 Team pic before pull 11-19-06 We pull what's left of the engine for rebuild at Thunder Autosports
144 bottom block damage
145 engine half out
146 Rotate to clear
147 Team pic after
148 Trailer to Thunder
149 NEW CHAMP PAN 1st one from the factory, thanks for the excellent work guys
150 IMG 0297
151 IMG 0298
152 IMG 0299
153 IMG 0302
154 IMG 0304
155 IMG 0306
156 IMG 0309
157 4-18-07 NEW ENGINE arrives home 5.0 stroker, all forged, new clutch, custom wood engine cradle by Steve Lee at Thunder Automotive
158 IMG 0422 gotta push it uphill to the car "hill! what hill! in f..." View Comments...
159 IMG 0424
160 PICT0005 1
161 IMG 0427
162 IMG 0429
163 PICT0007 I think this picture of Richard pretty much speaks for itself
164 PICT0011
165 PICT0013 Any car job that has a hammer in it is a success
166 GUINESS to celebrate engine in With all our fingers and low backs still attached and functioning.
167 FFR-Engine build sheet 2007
168 NewmanAvatarTinyPic2
169 Ride that SC4.6
170 NewmanAvatarTinyPic55-65
171 FFR #1152 Dahon in seat 2001 I used this folding bike as a pit bike and to recon autocross courses at a few places that allowed it. Perfect fit with a blanket protecting the leather seat.
172 FFR #1152 Tsali Bike in seat 2000 That's my old Specialized FSR full size mtn bike in there. Wheels off, seat post out, everything stacks inside or goes in trunk. FFR's are GREAT Jeeps for getting to trail heads for rides.
173 FFR #3422 bike rack 2002 Single bike rack plugs into receiver hitch we welded into frame during buildup of FFR #3422 in early 2002
174 FFR #3422 NC bike trip 2003 You DRIVE through twisty hilly places like this to get to places like this to RIDE your mtn. bike, thus the need for a rack!
175 FFR #3422 NC Dragon bike 2003 Tail of the Dragon, Deal's Gap, North Carolina. 318 turns in 11 miles of mountain road is a playground for thousands of bikers and sports car guys. This stop is called "Crossroads of Time": get gas, snacks, t-shirts, then run the Dragon. That's an Atlanta FFR I ran into there, he drove over to play.
176 9-1-07 Bailey Cobra Party Awesome array of Cobras: FFR's BackDrafts, Lonestar, and even better crowd of folks celebrating together. Great day, no rain, fantastic eats, and hugely HOT. Thanks, Richard and Beth Bailey!
177 Cobras hoods down Pic from high atop Richard's Jeep. 4 or 5 Cobras came later, there were about 20 during the day. Lots of our buddies from the Tampa area drove a couple of hundred miles to attend here in Jupiter
178 Cobras ground BAbb Mac
179 Cobras ground Larson Pomroy
180 Cobras ground near house
181 Cobras ground house Huey Gary
182 Cobras ground Lynn flames
183 Lynn LAurie
184 MAtilde Lynn
185 Hog
186 Inman & Matilde leave with laughing crowd The highly lubricated onlookers encouraged Inman and Matilde to leave by doing donuts in Richard's yard. Cooler heads prevailed.
187 9-08-07 Pt. Mayaca engine check Richard Bailey and I took off for about 120 miles of break-in miles, mostly in the Lake Okeechobee area, and took this on the way home. Avoided most of the downpours, good thing, no wipers or lights yet!
188 FFR Jonathan Jonathan is a natural Cobra fiend, just needs to grow into the shoulder belts
189 9-13-07 FFR Dyno setup Computer screen visible from driver's seat, all electronic controls attached and looped to driver
190 Thunder Autosports Dyno rollers See Mom, the car's strapped front and rear to the garage floor, sitting on these huge rollers. Then you drive the car really fast without going anywhere, and the rollers help measure the engine's power.
191 9-30-07 SNAPLESS TONNEAU PROJECT Phillip and Kay Deal invented a great snapless tonneau, and agreed to help me adapt it to my Kirkey racing seats with shoulder wings. They shipped me a perfectly built tonneau good for low-back seats, and enough fabric to make bags to cover my hi-back Kirkeys. PLUS instructions, suggestions, and good wishes. Here's how it went so far. PS: Simba loves laying on the tonneau and pattern cloth.
192 2 Seats before tonneau work One day earlier I revised my seat mounts to get almost 3" more legroom, by reducing the rearward tilt of the seats. This changed the location of the headrests, so glad I finished that job before beginning the tonneau mod project.
193 3 rough pattern stapled to shape white fabric was used to rough shape the bag I'll need to sew to cover the headrest and wings of the seats
194 4 pattern with drawn lines before removing teh pattern fron teh seat I drew lines where the body cowl met the fabric, and the shape of the headrest
195 5 revised patterm front
196 6 revised pattern rear
197 7 paper pattern rear cowl I reinforced some paper with duct tape underneath, then made a pattern for the rear of the seat opening in the tonneau. I marked the center of each rollbar leg as a reference point
198 8 cardboard pattern front Had some cardboard laying around to make the front pattern for the seat hole I'll cut in the tonneau
199 cloth, paper, cardboard patterns together Draw reference marks on both patterns so you can match them up accurately once removed from the, car to draw the shape of the hole you'll cut in the cloth pattern
200 cardboard hole pattern trace for cutting AVOID EASY MISTAKE! Remember the cloth pattern and black material are laying upside down. DON'T accidentally trace your driver side hole pattern on the passenger side, or vice versa. You can repair goofs on the thin cloth tonneau pattern with painter tape and recut later.
201 cloth pattern for cutting DON'T let inboard wing hole encroach on support rod path shown on pattern. It's not necessary, because the inboard part of the Kirkey wing doesn't extend up above cowl level that far. A small mistake that will have to be finessed later.
202 12 tape and rods for pattern fitting Phillip's suggestion to use tape and rods to support the pattern was great, I should've used more to make it easier to keep the pattern at cowl height.
203 13 pattern fitting with tape mods and repairs If you make a mistake, tape it up and remark and recut. In retrospect, I made a problematic mistake here on the passenger side: inboard seat wing hole is too big, because I didn't sight down the pattern at cowl height. Stand near the hood of the car, get your eyes down to cowl height, and see what part of the seat sticks up above the pattern which is stretched and taped to cowl height supported by the rods and tape. I think I can fix it.
204 14 pattern on tonneau fabric I used the steering wheel bag Kay already sewed in as a reference point, plus my rollbar marks, then went looking for some chalk to mark it up with. The steering wheel cutout and rollbar centers are key to accurately locating your pattern on the fabric.
205 chalked cuts tonneau Mistake here I think I can fix: note how close the passenger side cutout comes to the center support rod? That now leaves me with little fabric to sew the headrest bag to when I make it. Should've caught this before cutting, but didn;t think of it as a problem til I started figuring how to do the headrest bag. This all refers back to my original mistake making the pattern hole too big for the inboard side of the passenger seat wing.
206 17 John Scissors attack I fearlessly prepare to cut up my beautiful new tonneau
207 18 Simba relaxes on tonneau post-cut He loves this thing.
208 19 rough fit post-cut
209 20 rough fit with bungie Next step, figure how to sew the headrest bags, using my homemade patterns and attach them to the tonneau. I'll follow Kay's instructions and drawings...or ask a local shop to help me finish!
UPDATE: 7-04-09 Gave it to a friend of a friend who ran an upholstery shop, to sew on my headrest bags. More than a year ago. He lost the tonneau and material. Arrghhh. Last month I did it differently. see pics below.
210 11-04-07 Breakfast run to Sailfish Marina A bunch of the pbcoffrog group got in a perfect run with perfect fall weather. 8 snakes: 6 FFR, 2 Backdraft (including the National Run and Gun Champion!)
211 Sailfish Marine parking lot impromptu Sunday morning car show
212 11-20-07 CARBON FIBER Chin Spoiler Chris Bailey the inventor and manufacturer of this great piece, flattening out the nose back line for mounting the spoiler hinge.
P.S. He shaves his legs for sports, NOT any other reason...really.
213 Rivet hinges SS quick release hinges allow fast removal, and allow the spoiler to hinge backward if you hit something, instead of being destroyed.
214 6 fit braces closeup quick release pin holds brace on each side, and aluminum rivets allow breakaway without destroying the spoiler if you hit something
215 finished spoiler I backed it off the blocks, and hit the Interstate to go home, MAN what a difference in steering feel, weight, and accuracy at speed. Very worthwhile addition, now to track-test it at Homestead.
216 11-25-07 HOMESTEAD Raceway NASA event John Turn 14 entering main straight
217 PAul Richard hotpit Homestead sign
218 John Homestead sign2
219 Richard infield
220 John pit in Passenger got woozy, had to let him out
221 John Richard Paul loaded John, Paul Buxe, Richard Bailey ready to drive home with all cars in great shape
222 Steering wheel emblem
223 Nov. 16. 2007 Reptile Roundup pit Gainesville roadcourse. Richard Bailey's Backdraft, FFR's of me, Dan Babb, and Paul Buxe
224 Best in Show Prettiest FFR competition build I think I ever saw. Roush stroker motor, immaculate interior aluminum and CF dash, beautiful stance and shorty sidepipes...plus perfect BRG paintjob. e ran well, adn I saw him at Homestead a couple of months later.
225 1-06-08 Homestead Loadup group Sunday after 2-day NASA HPDE event at Homestead. All cars and drivers healthy and happy. Chris, John P. Paul John L. and Richard with John L's Backdraft
226 Mesh Radiator Protector in place 2-18-08 Protection for the aluminum radiator from rocks, birds, and track debris. Kind of a kludge, but I didn't want to take the body off to do it, and you can't fit a huge piece of mesh through the nose hole. This should work until I take the body off to get an adult paint job.
227 Pieces 26" x 10.5" s.s. 1/4" mesh, plus pieces of scrap aluminum stock and hardware store angle braces. This was the biggest piece of mesh I could fit through the snout and still turn around and jockey into position
228 angle detail pop-riveted to 1/2" x 3/4" aluminum
229 Into the snout
230 IMG 1511 Fastening bottom brace with screw, for removeablilty, Same method used to attach top brace
231 Screw bottom brace 1/4 x 20 screws into speed nuts hold bottom of mesh to mount bracket. I used FFR s.s. trim screws to hold top of mesh to top brace. Blue wire was to pull mesh into place while screwing
232 Cobra grill Trial fitting on #3422 of billet ThomasAftermarket grill. I wanted it moved back a bit, and blacked out, so moved ahead fab'ing some brackets. This is my "Phoenix" car, replacing #1152 which was destroyed in a fire. Thanks to Dave Smith and FFR for donating a new Mark II kit and emotional support!
233 2 20 Richard Rich Doug John no grill This is what it looked like BEFORE grill. I'd already blacked out the aluminum surrounding the radiator. You can see the effect compared to Doug Huey's red beauty.
234 Cobra without grill Autocross staging without grill. I really like the blacked out mouth look with this paint job.
235 Cobra black grill installed You can see the brackets I fab'd using hardware store aluminum angle. Everything was sprayed with Rustoleum pickup truck bedliner textured black
236 Phoenix on trailer with grill Leaving for Carolina Motorsports PArk in Kershaw, SC. Final grill iteration
237 MK-II POM mar2003
238 5-24-08 John Under Sebring Bridge Whew! A 2-day event with no problems and lots of track time.
239 Richard and the yellow beasty before first run group
240 Dad at Pit overlook Dad, Terry and Jonathan came over to see what it's all about Saturday afternoon.
241 Jonathan and John Parade lap beltin We got a few laps during lunch at street speed
242 PIT John and Chris Sebring SVTOA event. Lots of Fords of every description. We could run with most of them.
243 Chris with John Lennon's crew After Sunday parade laps
244 Pit with pits Chris and Paul show their stuff
245 Pit Chris and John cars
246 John-Terry-Jonathan after parade laps What a great day!
247 SVTOA SEBRING May24-25, 2008 John & Chris OK - the rest are vanity shots by the track photo pro...they came out pretty good, huh?
248 SVTOA SEBRING May24-25, 2008 John & Paul Turn 1
249 SVTOA SEBRING May24-25, 2008 John&Richard
250 SVTOA SEBRING May24-25, 2008 JOhn 3-4 close
251 SVTOA SEBRING May24-25, 2008
252 SVTOA SEBRING May24-25, 2008 John Mustang curve
253 SVTOA SEBRING May24-25, 2008 JOhn Mustangs pit straight
254 SVTOA SEBRING May24-25, 2008 John & Chris rear turn 5
255 SVTOA SEBRING May24-25, 2008JOhn Straight
256 SVTOA SEBRING May24-25, 2008 JOhn Tower turn
257 Wheel setback no spacer rear 7-22-08 Installed 1 1/2" spacers on rear. Brings my 17x8 donor rims right out where I want them, with 275/45 rubber.
258 IMG 2406 AFTER addition of Team III wheels and adult paint job!
259 Wheel setback-no spacer
260 wheel setback spacer outside
261 wheel setback spacer side perfect for me. I hope my track wheels, 17x9 Cobra R, will fit with their 275/45 RA1's
262 Wheel setback with spacer garage
263 7-27-08 9 snakes for breakfast Last run for Richard's yellow beasty and my flamer paintjob
264 Snakes I-95 Bringing up the rear on the way to Tiki
265 7-31-08 Last time with flames On the way to Frank Gifford's "Classic Illusions" shop in Stuart
266 Stripped and ready for adult paintjob
267 8-16-08 visit Frank finished spraying color yesterday. Here's how it looks during sanding "I love the color choi..." View Comments...
268 Look Jeff, no flames
269 8-23-08 Pick up body from Frank's shop check out the wax paper covers on the rubber weather strip on the aluminum
270 2 bad backs and Frank survive install of body
271 Richard and Chris, best Cobra schleppers of all time
272 8-23-08 Home at last
273 Lighthouse John
274 John Lynn Daums2
275 John 1st drive
276 9-7-08 Juno Cafe Cobra breakfast run
277 Breakfast bunch...some of us broiling in the sun!
278 Art and John after breakfast
279 FFR 9-7-08 Inman John Appleby's
280 FFR 9-7-08 breakfast wih Bryan
281 FFR 9-7-08 breakfast group
282 FFR JLP RR 11-07
283 FFR JLP RR 11-07b
284 FFR #3422 build party 2002 CF sign
285 Model A museum 9-20-08 NPBeach, a bunch of us were invited by Art Parent, and we did it! These are some extras parked outside. John and Chris Lennon, Neil Larson, Paul Buxe, Art Parent, and John P.
286 MOdel A semi Used same engine with vacuum pump for brake assist, and LOTS of gears to haul the load
287 Part of collection from ground
288 Part of collection from balcony
289 Art tries to lift the block In front of the only surviving Model A school bus and 2 Model A ambulances
290 Taxi
291 Tow Truck
292 Oil tanker USED in 1972 oil embargo, to haul diesel from Mexico
293 Pit Starke
294 Pit Starke2
295 Chris John Turn9
296 John Turn9
297 John exit 9
298 Team III 3-4 view Thanks to Richard Oben at North Racecars for the wheels and fitting advice. They were perfect as delivered!
299 Team III 3-4 rear view
300 Team III rear
301 IMG 2401
302 IMG 2403
303 Team III 3-4 front view
304 IMG 2405
305 10-08: Accusump OilFilter Shutoff Valve Refining the oil setup on my DOHC. I think this may be just right.
306 AccusumpOilFilterHoses Steve Lee at Thunder Autosports did the plumbing after I installed all the hardware. Really a great confidence builder, this engine will last forever!
307 Front of engine Lots of Hoses There's a Canton billet oil filter relocator bolted onto the old filter fitting on the block, and stock oil cooler still in place.
308 "Reptile Roundup" Nov. 6&7, 2008 Gainesville, GIR, 2 days of open track running. We had a good time!
309 Chris Mandi Richard The Baileys and Mandi chill between runs.
310 Mandi gears up for a track session
311 Mandi John 52 and Richard's big rig
312 Mandi John 52 helmet help
313 Mandi John helmet Note the timer and Hero minicam on the dash. We got some interesting video
314 John Track "Bus Stop" corner
315 Mandi Track Bus Stop corner
316 FFR-John-RR-11-08
317 FFR-Mandi-RR-11-08
318 11-16-08 FFR Maddie John
319 Buckling up for a lunch run MAddie's the most adventurous granddaughter in the world!
320 FFR Mandi Maddie Lynn at Park Ave.
321 Spoiler Extend Parts My idea to get 2" more chin spoiler, using conveyor belt material I got from Jeff Kleiner
322 Installed Tested on I-95, felt really good at highway speeds. Should be fine for the track. Blue tape is temporary for another mod I'm doing
323 Spoiler Extension Installed About 2" ground clearance, and 2" of flexible rubber if anything drags. You can see Chris Bailey's CF spoiler, his brace design, and the lanyards so I don't lose the latch pins.
324 12-13-08 Oil Cooler ready for action Mocal wide 16 row unit. I re-fab'd the aluminum shelf and used wide aluminum angle on either side of the cooler to mount it. Not as easy as I'd planned! We're running at PBIR next week, it'll be great.
325 Oil cooler thermo plumbing Steve Lee at Thunder Autosports did the plumbing for me again...and had to work around my power steering proportion valve plumbing. Great job.
326 Oil cooler thermostat mount Steve fab'd this mount for the Mocal thermostat, coming off the radiator fan shroud. Placed here to catch the -10AN lines running from the oil cooler. That's the power steering cooler at the bottom, mounted just behind the oil cooler
327 Oil cooler thermo mount2 You can see the aluminum angle I used to mount the oil cooler, and the bottom 4 rows of the oil cooler, on the far right of the pic
328 12-20-08 PBIR JohnPit 1st event for us at Palm Beach International Raceway. Great track, lots of Cobras and Panoz and other cool cars and buddies.
329 PBIR John & friends Turn 10, trying to stay in front of these guys
330 JohnVetteStraight
331 BackStraightJohnClose
332 Turn10 John back
333 FFR 1152 after fire Feb 4 2002 NOTE:THIS IS NOT FFR 1004554RD!!!
This photo shows the sad end of my first FFR, 1152, in February 2002. Long story, which led to many touching experiences and adventures. Ford's faulty "fire alternator" design was the culprit. Burned us out of our home for 13 months. Then I built a couple more FFR's!
334 FFR #1152 Bikini Top DON'T DO THIS Sept. 2000, Just before the long trip to Pikes Peak, Colorado. Bikini top is the most obvious, but notice the plexi wind deflector behind the driver's headrest, and the tonneau with central tie-down strap which kept it from flapping at speed by tying the zipper edge of the tonneau to the tranny tunnel. All part of my PEWK system (Phillips' Emergency weather Kit)
335 FFR #1152 Bikini Frame of welded aluminum tubing It WOULD have worked if I'd had a passenger roll hoop and extended the frame to both sides of the windshield. This version caused the windshield glass to crack vertically right in the middle during the trip home from Pikes Peak
336 Sept. 2000: FFR #1152 Top of Pikes Peak Snow storm made the route down impassable for a few hours. This shows the bikini top in action. Notice how warm and dry I am not.
337 Jan. 2, 2009 Group Shot Jeff Kleiner was in town, so we ate pizza and drank some beer!
338 Richard BAiley and Jeff Kleiner deep discussion All I heard was something about Run and Gun, drag racing, and a wall...
339 The rest of the group! Inman, Chris, Dana, and the ladies. Is Chris trying to talk that waitress into a free beer?
340 Whitby rollbar bezels
341 Whitby rollbar bezels
342 Sebring Camp Steeda event May 23-24 2009 Great time, lots of cars to play with. Paul Buxe, Chris Moons and me had a blast
343 PitShot2
344 JohnEarplugsInstall
345 John-in3
346 JohnInto6
347 JohnMoonseyHotPit
348 JohnPitStraightPass
349 BAnquetGroup
350 Chris & Brenda Award TrackGuys pick Moonsey as their favorite car
351 Moonsey-in3
352 MoonseyPitStraight2
353 PaulJellybeanPitStraight
354 FFR RichMAggieTonneau
355 FFR JohnTonneau Designed it myself, sewed by local boat canvas shop with their own improvements. I love it.
356 FFR SebringTrackshot2
357 FFR SEbringTrackshotside
358 FFR Tonneaufolded
359 FFR TrailerWheels Tonneau
360 FFR-TonneauDriverside
361 FFR-TonneauHalf
362 FFR-TonneauPinDrill
363 NASA 9-12-09 at PBIR, Turn 10 Great day, hot, muggy, rain threatening any second, and we loved it. This is Turn 10, heading for the pit straight
364 Jack Cook and Dee Jack succumbed to 10 years of pressure from me to come out and play with his S2000.
365 John, Richard Bailey, and Cobra Trevor You will never have as true a friend as Richard B...FAST, too! AND look at the size of that OIL COOLER
366 Jack heads for the Track
367 IMG 2464
368 IMG 2466
369 IMG 2976 H1 cars and drivers line up for morning orientation
370 Jack teaches the BMW the correct line into Turn 2 Jack Session 2
371 10-3-09 Backdraft Open House Reg welcomed all the BDR owners, lookers, a couple of us FFR guys, and everyone else. Great day and nice folks. Thanks!
372 Richard Bailey's weapon, ready for Run & Gun
373 IMG 3022
374 IMG 3021
375 Chris Bailey and the Orange Crusher first time we ever saw it run with LS1 power
376 1-23-10 PBIR Hooked on Driving event Pit with Richard's Backdraft and Paul's FFR behind the photographer. The Orlando gutys towed down with their Panoz'sss. Overcast, no rain, mid-70's, good drivers and 5 runs minimum per grouip. Great day!
377 Trying to lift the right front wheel on Turn 10
378 Heading out for session #3 John ready to go
379 John at Turn 10
380 Race Driver pose Just finished run group
381 John 10 again
382 John Back straight "Porsche, there IS a SUBSTITUTE..."
383 Lynn and the guys Killing time between runs, including an equally rare Inman Lanier appearance!
384 John Lynn with Stig's African Cousin
385 African Stig's PBIR photo results A rare Lynn trackside appearance; we're doing Parade laps, and ready to go
386 2-6-10 GAINESVILLE Road Course Ran with DSCC and GAinesville Road Race Club/ Mandi came to co-drive.
Mandi begins "S" loop
387 Bunch of FFR Roadsters Pit Fantastic day, we got six solid run sessions during 4 hours. No passing permitted, we run spaced out from each other.
388 IMG 3198 Mandi pit
389 Mandi heads for bus stop turn Notice the smooth runoffs areas with no walls or obstacles. GREAT track to practice with little risk!
390 IMG 3318 Mandi pre-run
391 IMG 3322 Mandi on bus-stop straight
392 IMG 3323 Mandi starts the "S" loop
393 IMG 3324 Mandi powers out of the loop
394 IMG 3326 Mandi onto back straight2
395 IMG 3328 Mandi "S" loop rearshot
396 IMG 3192 Mandi at loop back straight
397 FFR Gville 2-10 John
398 FFR Gville 2-10 MandiCockpit
399 FFR Gville 2-10 MandiHeadOn
400 FFR Gville 2-10 MandiJohnPitTalk
401 FFR Gville 2-10 MandiNeonChaser
402 Short trip Maddy and John ready to load on the trailer for home
403 3-16-10 TWO GUYS GARAGE & FFR FEST Tampa road trip to see the new '33 Hot Rod built in one week for Two Guys Garage TV show, and to catch up with Dave Smith of FFR...great guy!
404 IMG 3343
405 IMG 3342
406 IMG 3344
407 IMG 3346
408 IMG 3345
409 Bryan Jandorf becomes media darling Soon-to-be-famous video interview of Bryan
410 IMG 3347
411 IMG 3350
412 IMG 3353
413 Awesome power steering rig electric, no hydraulic lines, in-line with steering column. ~$1100 though, and don't know if track-capable
414 IMG 3354
415 IMG 3357
416 IMG 3356
417 IMG 3358
418 FFR '33 Hotrod Bradenton dragstrip
419 Jeff McGrath, Dave Smith, Two Guys Waiting to enter the dragstrip for the car show...note Jeff's "Smyth Performance" t-shirt!
420 IMG 3355
421 OLD Gasser
422 IMG 3362
423 IMG 3363
424 IMG 3365
425 IMG 3364
426 PBIR HOD, 3-13-2010
427 Backdraft LeMans top
428 IMG 3388 Bailey Backdraft Pit
429 Driving Coach Jeff McGrath between runs
430 FFR-HOD-PBIR 3-13-10 Backstraight, heading into turn 10
431 5-22-10 Homestead Family Shot Richard Bailey, Trevor, Uncle Steve
432 5-22-10 We was fast! Richard and John Homestead
433 5-22-10 John, Chris Moons, Richard Bailey between runs Homestead pits are great, shady and (usually) breezy. We all ran hard today
434 5-22-10 Time Trialing Richard Richard onto pit straight Homestead
435 Concentration after a run Richard Time Trialist
436 FFR-PBIR 5-10-10 into turn 10
437 FFR-PBIR 5-10-10 into turn 5
438 FFR-PBIR 5-10-10 into turn 1
439 FFR-PBIR-6-13-10HOD-IceCream FIRST time I ever had an ice cream sundae and a catered lunch at a track event. AND it was a hotter than hell day: perfect!
440 FFR-PBIR 7-24-10A HOD event, Turn 5, Juha pics
441 FFR-PBIR 7-24-10 My Jupiter Hardware decal...finally, after all these years and all those parts!
442 FFR-PBIR 7-24-10 Chris B Chris ride along, and he be getting a bit woozy
443 FFR-PBIR7-24-10 Pi tStraight Just turning in for turn 1
444 FFR-PBIR 7-24-10Turn 2 Love the color with the sun at this angle
445 FFR-Royal Palm School 11-19-10
446 DashCF
447 FFR-FuelLines
448 FFR-fuellinesatengine
449 2011 BikeCobra
450 EngineD
451 EngineP
452 EngineTank
453 IMAG1379
454 3-31-13 Dash
455 3-31-13 PAssenger seat New Kirkey covers and G-Force camlock belts
456 3-31-13 Dash P-side
457 3-31-13 front with SS Pipes
458 3-31-13
459 3-31-13
460 3-31-13
461 IMG 1166
462 3-31-13
463 3-31-13
464 Team III RF
465 Team III wheel RR
466 Team III LR
467 Team III LF
468 Carbon Fiber mudflap and SS Pipe This flap is unique to Cobra-dom, and absolutely WORKS to protect the sidepipes from road debris!
469 Why TWO passenger mirrors??? The BLUE one is cosmetic, to balance the look of the one on the driver side. The SILVER one is VERY functional, so you can actually SEE EVERYTHING behind and beside you on the passenger side. My safety secret weapon! You can easily remove it from the windshield frame (2 small setscrews)when running the wind wings, if desired.
470 Oil cooler bodywork cracks To be repaired prior to sale, or adjusted. Caused by road debris