The Factory Five Racing Tour got off to a great start with a weekend kick-off that included shop tours of the Factory Five Racing headquarters and manufacturing facility in Wareham, Massachusetts, Perewitz Cycle Fabrication in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, a history lesson at Plymouth Rock and wrapped up at a Texas Road House cruise for charity in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. With almost 20 vehicles participating the group was a good size to keep everyone together and folks quickly became acquainted with others in the group. We had participants from Maryland, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Massachusetts, Ohio, New Hampshire and even two couples from Canada.
Activities started Saturday at 11a.m. at the Factory Five Racing complex in Wareham, Ma. We were greeted by President and founder Dave Smith. Starting in 1996, Factory Five Racing has grown from a company that originally just produced Cobra roadster style replicas to a company that now manufactures fours styles of sport and racing vehicle kits. They have recently entered the street rod market with a component kit that makes the financial challenge of building a decent street rod well within reach of most people. Smith took our entire group on an indepth tour of the Factory Five Racing manufacturing facility and headquarters. Beginning with raw materials, the chassis and almost all of the bodies are manufactured right on site in Wareham. Massachusetts. After the shop tour we were treated to sandwiches and Smith gave us a history of the company. On display in the showroom was a completed 1933 style FFR hot rod that had just won a number of awards at recent car shows in New England.
Intercity Lines, the Official Auto Transport of the 2010 Road Tour Series sent one of their transporters to the open house at Factory Five Racing. Transport driver Bob Shaw showed us what goes into the preparation and loading of a vehicle that is moved by Intercity. It was an informative demonstration as Bob detailed the loading process and used the Road Tour pickup as an example. It was a great time and an educational afternoon as we kicked off the Factory Five Tour that will reach our ultimate goal of the Syracuse Nationals that begins next Friday at the New York State Fairgrounds.
At The Sunday morning driver's meeting we were joined by motorcycle legend Dave Perewitz. Dave had built one of the first Factory Five Racing hot rods over a year ago and he was on hand to lead us in a tour of the Cape Cod / Plymouth Rock area on Sunday morning. The sun was shining and it looked like the showers of Saturday and moved out of the area. It was a pleasant drive as Dave lead us on a two hour cruise that permitted us to see the original Plymouth Rock and a replica of the Mayflower. We also made a brief stop at DMC Racing in Halifax, Massachusetts. Owner Dennis MacPherson gave us a tour of the facility where Dennis and crew build very fast race cars with turbo and supercharged engines being their specialty. We then traveled on to Perewitz Cycle Fabrication and Dave gave us a personal tour of the facility where some many fantastic motorcycles have been created over the course of almost 30 years in the custom cycle business. Daughter Jody had prepared some delicious food for everyone and we spent about 2 hours at the motorcycle shop.
It was then time to head north to our late afternoon and evening stop in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. With just a little coaxing we convinced Dave Perewitz and friend Renee Brown to join us on the 90 minute trip to the Texas Road House in Newington, NH. Hot Rod Bob Canney had organized a Sunday night charity cruise event at the Texas Road House to benefit the Birch Tree Center for Autistic Children. Know as the Seacoast Cruise -in the event brought may local folks out to meet and greet the Street Rodder Road Tour group and raise money for a good cause. Great music was provided by the Del-Rays and Road Tour participants were treated to some very tasty ribs. It was a fun evening in Portsmouth.
The Factory Five Racing Tour has just begun. Check back here soon as we visit the historic town of Portsmouth. New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Lowry's Auto Restoration, Rolling Bones Hot Rods and Tucci Engineering on our way to the big Syracuse Nationals event in New York.