Building a Factory Five '33 Hot Rod - New Age Hot Rod

The rear of the chassis proves that there is plenty of structural rigidity designed into the tubular steel frame as well as an ultra-low center of gravity, dual driveshaft safety hoops, and plenty of side reinforcement.

For their install the team chose to incorporate Factory Five's optional three-link performance suspension upgrade instead of the standard four-link rear Ford Mustang style. Here you can see many of the components which will make the install complete.

To clean-up the look of the OEM Ford rearend centersection, the team decided that the ears on both sides of the top of the centersection would have to go. For this Ronnie Landers used an acetylene torch followed by some additional grinding to tidy up the area.

The new Factory Five combination lower control arm and shock mounts bolted right into place, however since the team is using the optional three-link rear, the upper control arm mounts will be removed.

The completed rearend looks great as it awaits its test fitting to the chassis. The clean-up that Ronnie did by removing the un-needed upper control mounts as well as the ears off the centersection will make the unit eye pleasing once it meets reaches final paint.

Jason and Dave used a pair of jack stands to balance the rearend so they could locate it to the chassis and install the lower control arms into place.

With the lower control arms securing the rearend into place, Dave then installed the three-link adjustment bar into place which will allow ample fore and aft adjustment of the suspension.

The final steps in the rearend install were for Dave to mount the Koni coilover shocks into place followed by the Panhard bar.

The completed rearend installed into the chassis lets you get a close look at the engineering that went into the three-link's design. Derived from Factory Five's Challenge Series Racers (which is a strict competition version of their '65 Mk3 roadster), it has track-proven performance for more than eight years.

Once opened, the crate revealed that the '33 would receive plenty of power from Ford Racing in the form of a 4.6L 3-valve V-8 that brings a very respectable 350 horsepower to the table @ 6200 rpm.

Kory and Jason wasted no time in getting the engine and Tremec five-speed transmission bolted together and into the chassis. The Factory Five chassis comes readily available to accommodate a number of designated Ford V-8 and transmission combinations.

This view lets you see just how tidy the installation in the chassis is. Designed to accommodate a number of Ford V-8 engine configurations, the chosen 4.6L engine selected by the team fits like a glove.

When Factory Five designed the chassis, they made special accommodation for the spine to accept a number of engine configurations regarding the most popular Ford V-8's including the 289, 302, 351ci mills as well as the 4.6L V-8.

Slung deep into the chassis for great weight distribution, this view lets you see how perfect the fit is for the Tremec five-speed transmission.

Shot from the loft, we had the team mount the body onto the chassis to give you an idea of just how nicely the car is coming together. Stay tuned for the next chapter in the build when we address cooling, fuel, and brakes.