North Racecars is the only Factory Five Racing authorized builder in the Midwest. We pride ourselves in offering FFR kits, accessories and services. Call us for help with anything from turnkey cars to assistance with increased horsepower or aftermarket upgrades for your project.
At North Racecars, we can help you reach your American dream!
Founded in 1998, (celebrating our 10th year), NRC has been one of the leaders in the FFR community. We have designed, developed and even patented some of the most widely recognized and popular performance parts for Factory Five Racing replicars and Mustangs. We have been part of the online community since 1999 and even have our own section on FFCobra.com called 'Ask North Racecars'.
Owned by Richard and Ruth Oben, and based in the Kansas City Metro Area, we have decided to stay small and offer a higher level of customer service than to expand and become sterile and unavailable. This allows better pricing, (we have not had a price increase for parts in 6 years), better customer service, (Richard answers the phone 99% of the time, including evenings and weekends) and more time to focus on new customer projects as well as new products.
In the last 10 years we have built at least one of each of the Factory Five replicars and in some cases built dozens. The short list is: FFR roadster in 4 link, 3 link, IRS, Small block EFI, SB carbureted, Big Block 460 and 427, 4.6 liter DOHC with A/C. In short, we have built virtually all of the most popular engine combinations. We have also built FFR NASA challenge cars (Spec racer) and currently help sponsor the #95 AlpinGlow Motorsports car of Gary McDaniel. The list included 2 of the FFR Type 65 Coupes, a stack injected EFI (our demo car), and a carbureted 302, both of which have the NRC A/C system. Along the way, we have done development work on shocks, sway bars and suspension changes. Our NRC #26 Coupe has front and rear sway bars, Koni adjustable shocks and David Borden’s SAI modification; for which we helped write the installation instructions.
One of our most famous cars is in almost every Factory Five advertisement and has been seen by millions. The car is Factory Five Owner Dave Smith’s personal FFR roadster, dark blue with white stripes and pin drive wheels. The car is Powered by a 427 FE aluminum engine; it is connected to a Tremec TKO 4 speed transmission. The rear suspension is an independent rear set-up with a Ford 8.8" differential and 3.55 gears. Interior is black leather with Smiths vintage gauges. The car has won several local car shows, including the 2005 World of Wheels Best in Class. Check out the showroom floor where it can be every day at Factory Five Racing headquarters in Wareham, Massachusetts.
We just finished the long awaited GTM from Factory Five which, like most FFR cars, is based on the single donor concept. Only this time the donor is a late model C5 Corvette. The C5 parts are used on the FFR frame; it is not a re-bodied Corvette. Included are power windows, Air conditioning and a roof height less than 42 inches. The revamped Corvette engine now produces about 400 hp and is mated to a Porsche 5 speed transaxle. The incredible car was an enormous project--taking more money and time than any other project we have done. It has, however, been well worth the time and money for the performance and 'Wow' factor.
By far our most popular products are our patented rear disc brake conversion brackets. These parts allow the customer to put rear discs on a drum brake rear end or convert an existing disc rear end to a narrower track without cutting the housing. The brackets allow the use of modern late model Mustang rear disc brakes in 4 basic forms: 4 lug, 5 lug GT, 5 lug Cobra and IRS Cobra. All have gone through at least 2 revisions and most have gone through many more. It is safe to say the conversion is the most popular conversion for Mustangs and Factory Five cars ever. In fact, every Factory Five car on the showroom floor with rear discs has our conversion. We have been featured in 5.0 Mustang, Mustangs and Fords, Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords as well as other magazines. Look for new products as the need arises.
The product line at NRC changes slowly; we find a need and design a thoroughly researched and carefully developed part. The GTM has a Porsche gear box but no one carried the flange for the CV boot: enter NRC to source a part everyone needs. Same with the GTM cold air box, the under hood air is bad for the LS1 so we solved the problem by drawing cold air from the side scoops. One of our mottos is ‘Why should you have to go through the same mistakes when you could benefit from what we have already learned?’
The 4.6 engines have unique oil needs and no one had a pan that would fit the FFR chassis and keep the oil under control. We worked with FFR owners and Champ Pans to develop a pan that provided enough volume and control to take anything any FFR owner could throw at the pan. Many people had blown engines due to poor oiling and this solved the problem. Our inventory also includes SB Ford pans for 302 and 351.
Keep checking, let us help with your dilemmas, and over time more products will be added to assist you with your project!