The 7th annual Factory Five Racing Cruise-In and Car show is next week! Come and see finished and almost finished classic cars – each one individually hand-built. The car show starts at 9AM and it is FREE.
Here is a video of what may have been the very last “Moment of Thunder” at the 2012 event. It is a slow pan showing some of the cars on display revving their engines all at once – a tribute to friends who are no longer with us: Roger Stine, Dick Smith, Robert Feddersen, Paul Mastroinni, and Andy Salvaggio.
The Moment of Thunder is much louder in person.
More details are posted on the Official Factory Five Racing website.
I will be there to see how others finished their Type 65 Coupe kits!
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — April 27, 2013 — Huntington Beach Pier Plaza and Main Street were filled with car enthusiasts and their hand-built sport cars from 9 am to 4 pm today. This was the sixth annual Factory Five Racing Huntington Beach Cruise-In which included over 100 Factory Five Racing cars, each one custom hand-built. Other custom and street cars were also on display, and included a vintage Chevrolet Corvette, and Ford GT.
Factory Five Racing is located in Wareham, MA and currently offers five component car kits, the Mk4 Roadster, the Type 65 Coupe, a classic ’33 Hot Rod, the GTM Supercar and the newest model called Project 818. Pricing varies depending on the kit configuration and accessories and options. In addition to the kit, builders supply their own engine, transmission, wheels and tires and finish and paint.
Dave Smith, president of Factory Five Racing, is a hands-on guy, and is involved in every aspect of his company… and is the friendliest person you’ll ever meet. He loves talking about his – and our – cars, and Dave says every time he meets people at these gatherings, he learns something new from each builder.
More information is available on the Factory Five Racing website, www.factoryfive.com
My mission at this year’s event: To gather more information on the E-brake cable routing, look at paint color combinations and get some more ideas for dashboard layouts.
I had always planned on a white body/black or blue stripe Coupe, but after seeing these other paint jobs, I may change my mind. LED headlamps, cool-looking switch name plates, BRE side mirrors for the Coupe, honeycomb (hexagonal hole) screen for the side vents and other ideas are shown in these photos.
Thanks to everyone displaying and explaining and answering my questions about their cars today, and it was great to meet the Southern California – and other area – builders in person at this event.
Here are some random images from today . . .


Above – Dave Smith, Factory Five Racing president, telling another great car story. . . Karen Salvaggio, Thunder Valley Racing Owner (and driver of the Type 65 Coupe number 28), signing my “signature plate” that will be mounted on my Type 65 Coupe dashboard – this will fill that big blank spot nicely. Take a look at Karen’s website and her blog posts for more informaton on her team and the cars they race. www.thundervalleyracing.com and http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/entry.php?346-Coupe-Challenge-Building-a-Legend










Anyone know what this hole is for on the Roadster exhaust?















6TH ANNUAL FACTORY FIVE HUNTINGTON BEACH CRUISE-IN click here
Here’s a short video of last year’s Moment of Thunder – click here
Some images from last year. . . .



