Vehicle Description
1931 Ford Model A Roadster
It takes a certain amount of faith to dive headlong into a
do-it-yourself, traditional hot rod build project, especially one
that begins with an old Ford in rough condition. Faith that you'll
find the parts you need. Faith that you can marry disparate - and
sometimes ancient - components into some cohesive whole. Faith that
the end result will not only move under its own power but do so
safely, while looking good, too. Many of us have that dream. We
know a lot of people with garages full of old parts. But not
everyone has the skills and patience to put them all together.
For consignment, the quintessential street rod, purchased by our
consignor in 1958 from the original owner. But way back when, it
was nothing more than a rough condition stock Model A. An all steel
custom built hot rod that covers all the bases to be an actual real
iconic hot rod. Open fenderless wheels, wide open oversized engine
with exposed header pipes, a 5-inch channel job, a boxed and Z'eed
frame and lots custom touches from the skillful hands of Gary
"Chopit" Fioto and we give you shades of Norm Grabowski in this
1931 wild ride all slapped together with ole Henry's steel from
1931.
Exterior
All bathed in 2004 Chevrolet Victory Red paint this car sports an
all steel body! A custom fabricatedradiator corral leads the way
with its polished grille bars and a single large round headlight in
a Victory Red casing with chrome trim rings and top mounted signal
lamps flanking the radiator. Polished suspension is hanging out for
all to see. On the back, the curved rear dives downward to the tail
of the car which has shaved bumpers and fenders no longer. 3-inches
have been added to the tops of the sills and we see some of
"Chopit's" custom work on the fabricated 5" channel job. 14-inch up
front and 15-inch in the rear American Racing Torque Thrust wheels
adorn the corners and are surrounded by staggered width blackwall
good tread rubber all around.
Interior
A swing of the shaved doors and we are greeted with saddle vinyl
tuck and roll door panels. Saddle leather covered bomber style
buckets take up the interior and have nice bolster padding
integrated into them. In the center, a tall Lokar shift lever with
a black leather boot rises proudly from the clean beige carpeting.
The red painted metal dash retains the centrally mounted gauge set,
but long gone is the well known Model A "mask". In its place is a
chrome bezel with antiquewhite face gauges from Classic
Instruments. Just below is a polished stainless panel with a modern
AM/FM stereo. A sleek red steering column emanates from the floor
and is topped by a beige padded rally style steering wheel. A shout
out to the trunk which is finishedin some gray coloring and holds
the fuel cell, battery and fire extinguisher.
Drivetrain
Within the open engine bay is now a 305ci V8 courtesy of a 1986
Camaro. It is fed by an upgraded to 1990 style tuned port EFI
intake manifold. On back is a 700R4 4-speed automatic coupled with
a 1986 Jaguar XJS Powerlock rear axle with 2.88 gearing. Headers
flow down between the engine and frame and polished valve covers
and a TPI intake complete the dress up.
Undercarriage
The factory frame that has been finished in body matching Victory
Red is now Z'eed and boxed and all 3 crossmembers have been
replaced to increase rigidity and accommodate the newer drivetrain.
The frame, gray flooring and suspension are looking great with nary
a hint of surface rust peeking through. The dual exhaust snakes
rearward passing all this clean structurally sound steel and
include Flowmaster mufflers to ensure you will be heard as well as
seen. Upfront, a Kugel Komponents Phase II independent coil spring
suspension is onand also holds disc brakes from Kugel Komponents.
In the rear we note a Jaguar fully independent suspension with quad
coil overs and inboard disc brakes.
Drive-Ability
Slipping into this work of hot rod art, it lit up with a thunderous
roar, and it was off to the test track to make some noise. And
indeed, it did, with plenty of smooth acceleration, good solid
braking and fine cornering. It was a pretty comfortable ride and an
easy driver. All working save for and all good for rad rod.
We see lots of hot rods come through our doors, but very few
emulate the original essence of the hot rod like this car does. It
truly checks all the Norm Grabowski boxes, fenderless open cowl
racer, some channeling and a hopped up drivetrain. Drop the hanky
and we're off like a prom dress! Bombs Away! Yikes...
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 600 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display.
This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown,
Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia
on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is
www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914.
Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the
vehicle in person.
