DREAM TEAM: The first Factory Five Barrett-Jackson Edition Hot Rod Truck at auction – buy it or build one

January 15, 2019
Posted by Barrett-Jackson

Written by independent automotive journalist Steve Magnante

This proof-of-concept 1935 Factory Five Barrett-Jackson Edition Hot Rod Truck (Lot #1602) will be sold on Sunday during the 2019 Scottsdale Auction at No Reserve.

Great news: Factory Five, the world’s largest manufacturer of “build-it-yourself” component car kits, has teamed up with Barrett-Jackson on a new Factory Five Barrett-Jackson Edition ’35 Hot Rod Truck.

Like the well-known Factory Five Mk4 Roadster, Type 65 coupe, GTM Supercar, mid-engine 818 coupe and ʼ33 Hot Rod, the Barrett-Jackson Edition ’35 Hot Rod Truck is available as a fully engineered kit for home assembly in your garage, or it can be completed by one of Factory Five’s many final-assembly partners across the nation.

Barrett-Jackson Showroom Division Manager Jeff Catlin – who also runs the Barrett-Jackson Garage in Scottsdale, Arizona – witnessed the unveiling of the first Factory Five ’35 Hot Rod Truck at the 2017 SEMA Show. Realizing the platform would be an ideal shop truck for the Barrett-Jackson Garage, he shared his thoughts with Factory Five and the idea blossomed to collaborate on the new Barrett-Jackson Edition.

Beneath the truck’s fully upholstered fiberglass cab is a complete jig-welded tube steel frame, unequal-length tubular control arm-type front and rear suspension, KONI coilover shocks, huge Wilwood four-wheel disc brakes, a complete cooling system, a pedal box suited to your choice of automatic or manual transmissions and much more. The price point is $35,000, and this includes your choice of several wheel and tire combinations. You add the engine and transmission of your choice afterwards.

Though Factory Five’s standard ’35 Hot Rod Truck offering and this new Barrett-Jackson version are quite similar, the Barrett-Jackson Edition of the ’35 Hot Rod Truck will come with the fiberglass doors already hung, and black gel coat on all fiberglass surfaces, as well as powder-coated frame and suspension members.

Also, it will feature exclusive Barrett-Jackson branding and logos on the Wilwood brake calipers, interior stitching, instrument cluster and on the front control arms, where the Barrett-Jackson script will be neatly cut into the webbing with a CNC water-jet machine. Additional standard upgrades include powder-coating on the frame and all structural members in a color of your choice – perhaps vivid Barrett-Jackson red?

Catlin and Factory Five don’t envision a fleet of identical clones, all done up in the same color scheme seen on the feature vehicle. Instead, Catlin says a social media group will be set up, where builders can show off their style and individuality while embracing the Barrett-Jackson theme. And yes, the truck will come with large door logos. Like any true shop truck, the doors must have graphics. A full set of Barrett-Jackson Garage graphics – in vinyl or stencil, depending on requested medium – are an integral part of the recipe.

The feature proof-of-concept truck (Lot #1602) will be sold on the final Sunday of the 2019 Scottsdale Auction to kick off the program, and it will feature some extra-cost goodies, including an Edelbrock dual-throttle body induction system. “I appreciate the stock LS3 intake manifold,” says Catlin, “but it isn’t much to look at. That’s why we went with the more exotic Edelbrock upgrade.”

While the ’35 Hot Rod Truck is generally patterned after a vintage Bowtie cab, which triggered Jeff’s decision to use a GM crate LS3, buyers can opt for virtually any engine and transmission – including those of the Ford 302 push rod, Modular and Coyote families, stick-shifted or automatic. Just check the proper boxes on the Build Sheet, and your frame will be fitted with the needed brackets and mounts. “For 30 grand you get everything needed, minus the engine and transmission,” says Catlin, “plus the added convenience of pre-fitted doors, and lots of Barrett-Jackson-branded components and graphics to set it apart.”

Though the proof-of-concept truck featured here will be sold on Sunday at No Reserve during MotorTrend’s prime-time TV broadcast of the 2019 Scottsdale Auction, Factory Five will be on-site all week long in the new “Restoration Row” section of the vast auction site with a live demonstration showing the complete assembly of a similar Barrett-Jackson Edition ’35 Hot Rod Truck.

Factory Five’s “Built, Not Bought” slogan implies a degree of customer assembly involvement. That’s great, because it cultivates DIY mechanical skills among young people of all ages and helps keep hot-rodding alive. The weeklong live assembly demonstration will prove how easy and fun building Factory Five kits can be. And yes, they’ll be accepting orders from customers seeking their own Barrett-Jackson Edition ’35 Hot Rod Truck, the latest thing in shop truck fashion.

Still, Factory Five knows a certain number of buyers simply don’t have the time to dive into a kit. That’s where the Factory Five authorized final-assembly outlets come into play (check with Factory Five for specific locations). But if you want your ’35 Hot Rod Truck now, just be ready to bid on Sunday when this sleek and mean cargo-carrying machine will cross the block. Bid smart and bid fast – you could be the new owner of this proof-of-concept machine, the one that started it all.

For up-to-date information about this vehicle, click HERE.