Customer Henry R.'s Vintage '33 Hot Rod

[Mad Dog]

Henry Renaud has been an active member of the Factory Five community for 10 years. His latest build is a Factory Five ’33 Hot Rod that earned Top 10 honors from MSN.com at the 2011 SEMA Show. Henry is a Colonel in the USAF and builds cars in his spare time.



Henry’s car has been at Factory Five over the winter and is heading home now so we figured it would be a good idea to shoot some pictures in our parking lot. Local automotive photographer Dino Petrocelli is shooting the car today and we will share the hi-res studio shots with you later.



Henry’s car is Hot Rod #002! Instead of using a modern engine, Henry chose to power his rod with a blown flathead Ford. Continuing the theme is matte black paint and 15″ period correct wheels, half moons, and drag T/A’s.



Factory Five’s Nate Johnson took Henry’s car for a drive and reported that it handled well and was comfortable to drive. The flathead doesn’t run too hot and the exposed engine makes everyone stop and stare.





Henry used genuine Air Force bomber seats rather than the stock Factory Five units.



The dash of Henry’s ’33 is clean and purposeful carrying on the aircraft theme of the interior. Automatic transmission delivers some nice drive ability.

Congratulations Henry on a really nice build! See you this summer at Open House.

Factory Five Racing

[Racer 28]

Very nice!!

[ehansen007]

That thing is Bad ***!

[Jack]

Like the Bomber Seats.

[AJ Roadster NJ]

What I love about this car is the overall consistency of its look. The top, the fenders, those wicked cool wheels and tires, the exposed blown flathead -- all those things work really nicely together to make a gorgeous package. Nice job there Henry, as usual!!

Now you KNOW I have to ask -- did you scratch the connecting rods and sniff 'em?

AJ

[aesthetect]

do 15s fit over the FFR front brakes no problem? I'd love to know what size tires hes got front/rear, perfect fender fitment and hot rod stance... anybody know?

[skullandbones]

That's really cool old school looking but with a lot of technology mixed in. I particularly like the ballistic missle ignition key. Super nice!!! WEK.

[WIS89]

Great looking car Colonel! Really an awesome mix that makes it a truly exciting looking car that must be a blast to drive. Congratulations on a great build!!

Regards,

Steve

[riptide motorsport]

Blown flathead.................YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[65 Cobra Dude]

Thx guys. AE - I'll get you the tire sizes tomorrow.

Henry

[rsipp]

Henry:

I am sure I speak for all of us: Sir, thank you for your service.

Dick Sipp
Col. USAF retired

[Tom Terrific]

First thanks, Henry, for your service to this country. My son flies for the Swampfox. Sweet look. Nice mill! Heck I used to drive a '49 Ford Flathead years ago. I also like what you have done with the interior. Do you use a hidden ausio system? Thanks.

[G_Hodgkins]

That's one BEAST of a Car!!!

[Tlunderm]

Thx guys. AE - I'll get you the tire sizes tomorrow.

Henry

Henry,
Great car.... I didn't see the response for the tires sizes on the blog. Any help would be appreciated.

[erlihemi]

Great reminder! This was the car that caught my attention and drove the early Hemi decision. A couple of the pictures show how tight the rims are on the standard FFR calipers. I will be exploring 15" artillery wheels soon, but can also go 17". Once I mount the fenders again I'll revisit offsets and tire choices. It may be listed in the back of the manual? I remember this one is possibly pictured for the bicycle fender section?

Great car Henry!!

[shmelty]

I love this car. This is the car that drove our decision to order our kit last week. I have a 69 351w to install but my machinist has a Flathead he would build for me....

[cob427sc]

I built a 35 pickup (real steel original) with a dual plug (16 spark plugs) heads, ported, bored, stroked, etc., etc,. As I was building the truck an old hot rodder told me the flathead always looks great but you'll never spend so much to go so slow. Ran the flathead for 2 years then swapped it out for an old 392 hemi.