1931 Ford Model A Roadster - Bear Metal Kustoms

1931 Ford Model A Roadster. Assembled by Bear Metal Kustoms out of Morro Bay, California, this is a Model A Roadster like you have never seen. That is, unless you saw it debut at Long Beach Autorama in 2011, place at the Grand National Roadster Show in 2012, or on the Cover of Rods and Customs June 2013. That’s right, this is a magazine cover car. Extensive work was put into this real steel car to bring what you see to life. Starting with the chassis, the front has been fully boxed and upswept 3 inches. In the rear a 16” Z bend was added. All of the cross members are tubular. The front suspension has a 5” drop axle with reverse eye springs. A 4-link coil over system buttons down the rear. Drum brakes are out back while discs clamp down in the front.



Instead of choosing a central theme or “style” to conform to, this unique roadster pays homage to several different generations of hot rod design. Starting at the front is the Oakland-Pontiac grille that has been tied into the Ford front end. The upper portion of the stock ’31 Ford grille was integrated into the bottom of the Oakland-Pontiac piece, and the hood was hand formed to line up with the shape of the grill. The hood also received hand punched louvers as did the trunk lid. Legendary Electroline headlights and taillights perfectly compliment the art deco theme seen throughout the vehicle. In addition to being surprisingly functional, the dual Brooklands windshield give the car a turn of the century aviation feel, as do the Classic Instruments gauges set in a Studebaker gauge panel. A Schroeder spring steering box pokes out of the driver side, giving the vehicle a very mechanical vibe. Hurst Super Cushion tires are wrapped around E-T “Gassers” on the front and “Fuelers” on the rear bring to mind the drag cars of the 1950’s and 60’s. Powering this piece of mobile art is a 305 cubic inch small block Chevy fitted with 3 2bbl Rochester carburetors matched up to a T-5 5 Speed manual transmission.