Am I the last person to know founder of Factory Five started a new kit car company?

Mark Smith, founder of Factory Five, has started company selling kits to convert cars to trucks...inspired by Andy Neuman?

Check out his site...note smyth spelled with "y"

Smythkitcars.com

An interesting niche for sure.   When will the G8 kit be out? 

In reply to pinchvalve :

True dat.

Maybe caters to people who want to build own car/truck without starting at ground zero?

That being said the Dodge Charger truck conversion looks cool

Probably. Mark left around the time the 818 was being designed. He started with the G3F being a chopped up A4 Jetta/Golf with the engine in the back. Then came the Ute kits.  There is even a charger(?) kit. 

You weren't the last person to know, but I might have been!

That Charger conversion makes me feel funny.  Like climbing the rope in gym class.

In reply to wae :

I knew after you did.

Smyth Charger

pinchvalve said:

An interesting niche for sure.   When will the G8 kit be out? 

 

I hope not. G8s are rare on the ground to begin with. Don't need them getting cut up for a kit that looks like absolute garbage (Maloos are cool, but if his kit looked anything like the Charger one, no thank you)

Ovid_and_Flem said:

Smyth Charger

Ok I've definitely seen that before, but didn't know it was the factory five guy

UTES!

now if we could just import the XR6 utes from the Aussies... *sigh*

I thought Smyth made VW conversions? I didn't know they had a charger version. I also didn't know there was a Factory 5 connection.

Meh. Not impressed.

Mark Smith sold his stake in Factory Five about a decade ago, letting his brother assume full control of the company.  His first Smyth Performance project involved trying to use as much MKIV VW as possible (including interior and electronics) to make a quick-to-build, DIY mid-engine sports car.  The first Smyth thread around here dates back to 2009:
https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/factory-fives-new-tdi-concept/16612/page1/

Here on the forum there's been a ute build thread that has some detail here: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/vw-jetta-smyth-performance-ute/135595/page1/

but a lot more detail here http://www.thedrive.com/sheetmetal/16930/best-project-car-of-2017-volkswagen-jetta-smyth-performance-ute

Even though I’m not a big VW fan if I could find a cheap TDI beetle I wouldn’t mind having a little truck.

I’ve been considering a Charger conversion but with all of the other projects in the shop, it’s just the wrong time. I think that they all look cool in their own way. I’m probably the “odd man out” in that though. 

pinchvalve said:

An interesting niche for sure.   When will the G8 kit be out? 

 

Can’t you just buy the parts from Oz?

https://www.smythkitcars.com/charger-ute

"as I buy the components for the next car the costs are amazingly low"

Welcome to Mopar buddy!

Just sayin...

I like them, and with the tendency for trucks to get larger and larger, I think they could fill a real niche in the market for people who need a truck but don't want to park something larger than many zip codes.

HMMMMMM.  There's always a bunch of chargers locally here on govdeals. Seems like an ex-cop one would make a perfect starting point.

damnit.

Didn't know about the Utes, first one I ever saw (even thought about building one) is their Jetta.

Is the answer really always Miata?   

I've toyed with the idea of a HellCamino hemi project myself.  I wonder with airbags, it'd haul enough or tow enough for my needs....  I also think it'd be cool to have a manual trans, but the Chargers weren't really made with manuals in mind.

Since this has turned into a Ute-off... How about this Prius we saw in NC last month?

Alright, when is the first 6 wheeled Mazda Miata going to appear on this thread with a hot tub in back?