Hi, I’m Todd.

I grew up in Johnstown, PA — yes, famous for floods — surrounded by cars and a deep appreciation for anything with a Ford badge. Ask me the difference between a ’67 and ’69 Mustang fastback and I’ll talk your ear off. It’s a gift and a curse.

I relocated to Northern California in 1995 and never looked back. The weather alone is worth it. I’ve spent 25+ years with the same company, and somewhere along the way the planets aligned enough for me to chase a lifelong dream: building a Factory Five Racing Cobra-style roadster from scratch.

I turned 50 in May 2020 — the year everything stopped — and decided it was time to start. Kit #9772 is a 25th Anniversary Factory Five Cobra with a Ford Gen3 Coyote crate engine and a Tremec TKX five-speed. I am not a mechanic. I am not a garage guy. I learn as I go, make expensive mistakes, and document all of it here.

This has also become a father-son project. My son Ryan has been a real contributor to the build — including designing custom 3D-printed speaker mounts for the footboxes. Many of the “we” moments in these posts are the two of us in the garage figuring it out together. That part has been the best part.

This site exists because friends who built their own FFR roadsters helped me enormously — and I want to pay that forward. If you’re researching your own build, figuring out a system, or just want to watch someone struggle in real time, you’re in the right place.

Say hello. Ask questions. Build something.