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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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? :cool:

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.