Hot Rod Forum banner

Factory Five 33 kit

3K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  AutoGear 
#1 ·
Has anyone had experience with one of these ???? Quality and finish ???
 
#2 ·
There's a member of this forum that goes by the name Arrowhead who built a super nice Factory Five 33 Hot Rod. Looks like he hasn't posted here in a while, but here are some links to his threads:

http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/factory-five-racing-33-hot-rod-build-162697.html
http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/factory-five-33-build-update-174115.html
http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/factory-five-racing-different-kind-kit-car-experiance-159456.html
http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/took-tour-factory-five-racing-153391.html

Arrowhead also put together a personal website that has lots of info about how he built his hot rod.
https://sites.google.com/site/arrowheadshotrodsite/Home

The only drawback I know of is there is no provision on the FFHR for windshield wipers, but there's probably a solution to that by now.

Hope this helps...:thumbup:
 
#3 ·
I've seen a few and sat in one but never driven one. The cockpit felt like my '63 Jag E-Type. I like the look with the top off, with the hardtop on... well, they could have done a better job on the hard top. It looks way too bulky and this can be dealt with during the build.

Like any other car, it takes a lot of work to put one together - I came VERY close to building one of these instead of my Outlaw '34. I prefer a car of this era with fenders, but these do look downright evil if they are set up and painted correctly. Having restored a few cars years ago and now finished my '34 I can say I'm impressed with this one. Maybe someday I'll do one.

One design quirk I don't like - the bottom of the door and the bottom of the hood side panels are on drastically different planes. Drives me a little nuts, on my car they'll line up.

Talk to a few who've done it, you'll need to do you're homework... as we all do.
 
#4 ·
One minor thought... yes, this is a 'kit' as it has nothing in common with the car it seeks to emulate AND it is made almost exclusively of parts from one single manufacturer.

Reproductions such as a 'glass '34 or steel '40, will fit on an original frame and can share parts with the original such as the hood, deck lid, doors, dash, floor, firewall, body panels, etc. Unlike the FRR '33, most 'glass repros will need to be built from parts supplied by 40+ suppliers. All of the 'glass repoppers will fit on a chassis with any of the variations for suspension available, and there are dozens. The FFR model will only work with their front end variants (AFAIK) plus their own wiring harness making it reasonable to have these parts come with the rest of the car as a 'kit'.

I'm working on my '34's build spreadsheet and I've got a pile of receipts almost 1" thick. Far from a 'kit', I shopped parts from more makers than I knew existed, 42 and counting.

So, unlike putting an Outlaw body on a TCI or Fatman frame with a your choice of rear and either a Painless or Ron Francis harness with a Rootleib or other maker's hood, you're under FFR's thumb and have nowhere to go if you don't like the way things are going together. That's what building a 'kit' is.
 
#5 ·
Arrowhead may post if he sees this thread, but I can assure you that this 'kit' having seen it from the first 25 or so boxes to the finished car, is not for someone completely inexperienced with working on a fiberglass car. His was used by Factory Five as a display car from local shows to SEMA a couple years ago.

Syracuse Right Coast Nationals, 2012:


G- hope you don't mind my posting this!!

Dave W
 
#6 ·
We've done a couple gearboxes for their 33 customers and a half dozed for the 'cobra' crowd. The chassis is very well done. Its not supposed to be a dead-nuts 33 replica; but more like a road race car with a 33 body on top. There are some compromises; to Mitchman's point, but they seem to be relatively minor.

Its a serious undertaking though, you should talk to some owners, and see if maybe theres a club that helps members through the nitty-gritty stuff. The FF reps Ive dealt with are all absolutely top notch people though.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top