From Wareham to Hollywood: Factory Five Racing truck featured on Tim Allen show

Getting calls about car kits is nothing out of the ordinary for the Wareham-based company, Factory Five Racing. But when ABC Studios is on the other line asking to use a vehicle for one of their shows? It's a different story. 

The company's ‘35 Hot Rod Pick-Up Truck is featured heavily in the ABC sitcom, "Shifting Gears," staring Tim Allen and Kat Dennings. The show follows a widowed classic car shop owner whose estranged daughter and two children move in, forcing the family to attempt to mend their broken relationships.

The world's largest manufacturer of "build-it-yourself" car kits, Factory Five Racing is located in the heart of the gateway town at 9 Tow Road. The company provides a range of kits for vehicles to be  assembled by customers.

"When you get a call from ABC Studios, Disney, saying 'hey we want to use your product on an up and coming show,' you kind of take notice," said Travis Meade, Tech Sales and Support for the company.

Meade was joined by Director of Operations, Nate Johnson, as the truck made its way to the California sound stage. Allen's team had requested a "progressive build," or a single kit project built gradually over a period of time.

The company got the call in early October of 2024 that the vehicle would be featured in the first season of the show with six days to build it. As the truck needed to be in different stages for different scenes, it was taken back apart on the fifth day. 

"The show is based on a restoration shop so they have different vehicles in different stages of a build. We were given a very tight time frame to go ahead and get it constructed to what they wanted," Meade said. 

Meade and Johnson worked on the truck in Allen's personal garage alongside Allen's Tool Time set from the show "Home Improvement." The pair both highlighted meeting Allen as part of their stay in California.

"People say you never want to meet your heroes but he lived up to every expectation," Meade said. "He is just an overall great guy. He spent the afternoon with us on one of the final days."

Johnson said he would have never pictured meeting Allen, who was a big part of his childhood as well as his children's lives with shows like "The Santa Clause," and movies like "Toy Story." 

"I've worked here for 28 years, since I was 16-years-old. I mean, you don't think that somebody like you is going to get to hang out with Tim Allen," he said. 

The truck was specially modified for the show with a smaller cab and special army green paint. Meade said it has been special to him to tune in every week and watch his work on display. 

"You can see that tens of millions of people around the country are watching and you can say, 'I was a part of that,' it's just mind-blowing," he said. 

Although season one is came to a close, it isn't the end to the Factory Five Racing's time on the big screen. The truck is featured on season two with Johnson and Meade heading back out to California to watch the final taping of the show. 

"Actually seeing the truck finished on the show— I think it will be fun," Johnson said. "We've never actually been able to see a full taping of the show so it's going to be fun to go out onto Disney Studios."

Fans of Factory Five Racing can catch the truck Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. on ABC and Thursday nights on Hulu. The final episode of the show will air in February of 2026.