I was amazed to find a stash of collector cars just off the road where I take my daily walk. Alan Freitas has lived in the mountains between Lawa‘i and Kalaheo for 20 years. His love of cars goes back
I was amazed to find a stash of collector cars just off the road where I take my daily walk. Alan Freitas has lived in the mountains between Lawa‘i and Kalaheo for 20 years. His love of cars goes back even further, to his high school days.
Freitas owned numerous cars, from Mustangs to GTOs. He was heavily involved in the drag racing scene, and ran some very souped-up VWs. Freitas still has some very interesting stuff in his garage: a replica of a Porsche Speedster on a shortened ’72 VW floor pan, a stock ’29 Model A Pickup and this week’s featured vehicle, a Ford Model A Roadster Pickup.
Freitas bought the vehicle in 1994 from a seller in North Carolina. The purple-hued roadster pickup is titled and licensed as a 1929 model, but that is rather misleading. The fiberglass body and fenders are reproductions of a 1930-31 Model A, as is the grille shell. The pickup box is genuine Henry Ford steel, with an aluminum fuel tank resting behind the cab. Whatever its roots, it’s all just a cover for what lies underneath.
Freitas’ Roadster Pickup is powered by a small-block Chevy 350 with a four-barrel Holley carburetor.
The polished stainless steel firewall reflects the engine, almost making it look as though there are two engines under the hood.
A floor-mounted shifter controls the Turbo 400 automatic transmission.
The independent front suspension is a chromed Heidt’s unit with coil-over shocks, but it’s the rear end that really catches the eye. Hanging out back is a Jaguar rear differential with independent rear suspension using four coil-over shocks and inboard-mounted disc brakes.
Much of what is visible is polished aluminum that is reflected in the polished stainless steel that covers the underneath side of the pickup box.
The exact color of the nifty Model A is uncertain, but it is probably “Plum Crazy,” a Mopar color popular in the 1960s and 1970s. Because violet and yellow are complimentary colors, the golden flames really stand out against the metallic purple finish.
The American Racing rims, 14 inches on the front and 15 inches on the rear, have body-colored paint applied in contrast to the billet aluminum. Inside the cab, there’s purple button-tufted upholstery, and a classic Auburn-style instrument panel.
You might say the builder had a passion for purple.
