THE TRUCK

In 1964 $10,000 could buy you a pair of sporty new Mustangs or a couple of stripped down luxo-cruisers like the Chrysler New Yorker....... or if you felt really industrious you could spend it restyling Chrysler's A-100 into the Deora. The money and effort spent on this project nearly sucked the life out of the Alexander Brothers. Pictures of the build-up show the tremendous fabrication necessary to achieve the final result. The profile saw a drastic reduction in surface area dropping from over 6' to a mere 4' 9". The stock cab sheetmetal was cropped right down to the floor board. When the first of the new parts, the roof section was tacked on, it nearly rested on top of the stock steering column. Originally the front windshield frame and lower fascia was to be a one-piece affair made to open as today's lift gates do. But in this configuration the front hatch weighed so much that it became unmanageable and possibly dangerous. Modern gas-piston technology was not available and the layout was revised to consider safety concerns. The final design utilized an electric motor and chrome hinged-arm to open and support the windshield section and a center-pivoting lower fascia to allow passenger and driver entry. The interior required radical surgery in order to squeeze two human occupants into the limited cab space between the front wheel wells. Moving the stock Slant-Six aft 15" allowed for more useable interior accommodations. Two occupants could now sit semi-reclined in a pair of specially contoured seats. There was no more steering column per se. The steering wheel was attached to a hinged horizontal strut extending from the left side panel. Directional input was transferred from the small butterfly-shaped steering wheel through a chain and sprocket arrangement in the arm to a vertical input shaft located in the Deora's driver's side-panel. This whole affair could be unlocked to swing to the side to avoid hindering front entry. Everything south of the Ford endgate was scratch-built: new headlight houses, parastyle opening lower fascia and front pan. At the back of the cab is a rear window and roof surround plucked from a '64 Ford sedan. The clutch, brake and gas pedals were pretty much left intact since they came up from the floorboard. Gauges were integrated into a left side-panel display as well as a center console. Interior lighting came from an overhead mounted fluorescent tube! The bed was covered by a hard tonneau because it housed many of the vital structures that were moved to accommodate the new look. The tonneau was secured to the bed with chrome hood-lock pins. The radiator, a casualty in the interior-space-wars, was moved out of the "doghouse" and into the bed, aft of the rear axle. Air ducts cut in the bottom of the bed and an electric fan were used to bring air through the cooling fins. The gas tank was also moved from behind the axle into the bed behind the cab. The pop-up filler cap poked through the hard tonneau on the passenger side just behind the B-pillar. The slant six sitting partially underneath the cover pushed its stock 100 horses through a three-speed manual gearbox. Hurst engineers charted a course for the special linkage required to connect the new floor-mounted Hurst shifter to the remote trans. The exhaust system is a 1 into 2 arrangement that heads rearward and doubles back to exit each side of the Deora through the most famous FoMoCo part used, and the most obvious once it's been pointed out: Mustang taillight bezels. Baffles behind the bezels helped to diffuse exhaust gasses. The back of the bed lost its original drop gate for obvious reasons. This allowed the entire rear fascia to become a design pallet. And here is where some of Bradley's most unusual ideas reside. Having a distaste for the visual combination of red taillight lens on a gold backdrop Bradley decided to hide the taillights. This might seem odd (and dangerous) until you find out how it was accomplished. A large chrome structure was the centerpiece of the Deora's rounded rear end. It is divided into two major elements. The top portion is covered in woodgrain and housed a set of mechanical sequential turn signals from the Ford Thunderbird that faces straight down. The bottom half served as a reflective surface that directs the light from the taillights above toward the rear. To avoid the red and gold clashing when the taillights were off they were covered by a sheet of perforated steel that allows light to beam out but appears solid when not in use. Firestone climbed on board the project by creating a set of prototype tires unique to the Deora. Photos show the tires bereft of any size markings on the sidewalls. Recently the engineering drawings for these tires were uncovered at Firestone. Unfortunately the dies were destroyed long ago. The A Brothers received plenty of press on the customizing aspect of their creation but not many writers explored the useability of the design. The Deora wasn't just some impractical trailer queen. The A's customs were known for their go as well as their show. One of the most enjoyable stories about the Deora's road-going abilities appeared in the September 1967 issue of Rod and Custom. Writer Spence Murray got behind the wheel of the Deora and put it through its paces. No not doing circles in some empty parking lot: Murray pilots the pickup through city traffic (AAARRRGGGHH!) for a day in the countryside. Great article with lots of photos. My knuckles were white just reading about it. Everything Old is New Again...... Bradley ended our conversation with an exciting "By-The-Way": The family that purchased the Deora from the A's for $500 still owns it. Oh, I'm kidding about the price..... They have been prepping it for another go at the Show circuit in late 1999 or 2000! I'll keep you up to date.