Hot rods used to be a whole lot more popular in the time of our rugged grandpas. But everybody still thinks they’re cool, and we may have found the perfect mix between classic styling and modern convenience. This is a Factory Five 1933 Ford 2-door and you can have it.
Vanguard Motors is listing this sinister all-black machine for $99,900, and as usual, that sounds like way too much money. But it’s the hot rod with the fewest downsides… which is basically not a hot rod at all.
It’s basically twice the money of a nice Plymouth Prowler, and that’s a production car designed to look like a real hot rod. However, the Prowler is lacking in the engine department, having a V6. Many classic hot rods used the iconic Ford flathead V8. However, this custom rod boasts a sacrilegious modern engine.
That’s right, it’s a Chevrolet small block, namely the LS1 with a cast manifold and supposedly producing 410 hp. It’s really strange to pop the hood of a hot rod and find “Corvette” written on top of the engine, along with that snake-like intake, direct fuel injection, serpentine pullies, and a whole bunch of wires. They didn’t make them like that in 1933!
Air conditioning is also something you wouldn’t expect in a hot rod, along with the 4L60E automatic 4-speed gearbox. It’s like somebody wanted a comfortable muscle car but liked the shape of a hot rod.
Ford hot rod kit cars
Now, we wouldn’t be doing our jobs by not mentioning that Factory Five are basically a kit car company, probably the best at what they do. They make the tubular chassis and the body for this 33, but they can also sell things like a Cobra body or 30s Ford pickup.
The Factory Five 33 complete kit starts from around $21,000, but you can configure pretty much everything, including dozens of brake, suspension, engine, or wheel options. So it’s easy to spend about $40,000 on a kit.
I recommend checking out the video below simply to see the underside. It’s nothing like a real 1933 Ford, as the spaceframe chassis has room for a modern 8.8-inch solid rear end. I think there’s an option to have the Mustang independent rear as well.
The front ends of Factory Five 33 Fords are maybe the most interesting part. You’ve got that slanted grille, which has been painted black here. It’s followed by fully independent front suspension with adjustable coilovers. And behind the 18-inch wheels sit modern brakes. This appears to have late-model mustang calipers and a Wilwood master cylinder.
