Mike’s Dream Model A Roadster Pickup Build Turned Reality
By Brian Brennan – Photography By NotStock Photography
We can trace our passion for hot rods to something that occurred, we saw, or influenced us in one way or another when we were kids. Such was the case for Mike Tyskiewicz when he was a youngster living in the Danbury, Connecticut, area. His hot rod “church” was the Danbury Race Arena, a 1/3-mile oval, which he visited frequently as a kid on Saturday nights. Saturday night was reserved for Flathead Fever, and this excitement made its mark … forever. It would take some time, but in the end he found this 1931 Ford roadster pickup with a 1953 Ford Flathead. As these projects often are, they were rough, but they were enough to get the dream moving.
Once Mike retired from the Danbury Fire Department, he began working on his Model A. The project started in earnest in 2018. He began working on a custom frame, but as is usually the case, life got in the way and things slowed down. During this time, he met Scott France, a metal fabricator with significant talent working in Florida. France understood Model As, so it wasn’t long before they devised a plan and became good friends.
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France began building a one-off aluminum interior and pickup bed for the 1931 Ford Roadster Pickup while in Florida. France moved to St. Louis in time, and the Ford Roadster Pickup came with him. The project continued at Noah Alexander’s Classic Car Studio. Once at Classic Car Studio, the 1931 Ford Roadster Pickup project proceeded full steam ahead. At this point, Mike had Don Ferguson build an ARDUN Flathead engine for the Ford Roadster Pickup.
Before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s look at what else makes up this hot rod Model A Roadster Pickup. As mentioned earlier, the frame is a custom-made element designed to hold a severely channeled body, all finalized while at Classic Car Studio. To the custom set of frame rails, a drilled I-beam Super Bell axle (note the turn signals are neatly tucked in the I-beam just to the outside of the last drilled hole on each side) with Johnson Hot Rod Shop Kinmont (disc) brake kit was added along with Speedway Motors split wishbone radius rods and Pete & Jakes tube shocks. In the back, a Franklin quick-change rearend is stuffed with 4.86 gears (can you say, “accelerate”?), RideTech coilovers, more Kinmont disc brakes, and a triangulated four-bar setup. At the corners, there is a set of Rocket Racing Wheels, the Fire model that measures 16×5 in front and 18×6 diameter in back. All are wrapped with Excelsior Stahl Sport Radial by Coker Tire, 5.00R16 in front and 7.00R18 in back.
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We mentioned Don Ferguson earlier. He put together one of his specialties from ARDUN Enterprises—a 239-inch Flathead V8 engine with the ARDUN OHV cylinder head conversion. Inside, you would find Ross Racing pistons, among other goodies, while up top, there are the iconic ARDUN Enterprises cylinder heads and intake, a 650-cfm four-barrel Holley carburetor and fuel pump, “Ready to Run” MSD distributor, vintage cloth-wrapped spark plug wires, Powermaster Performance PowerGen 12V alternator, a Derale electric fan, and Classic Car Studio custom headers (is there any doubt) from 1-5/8-inch tubing. Coupled with the Flathead engine is a Ford C4 automatic transmission with a Trick Flow transmission pan and a Lokar shifter.
Inside the channeled Roadster Pickup is genuinely a one-of-a-kind interior showcasing aluminum work from one end to the other. The dash houses a Dakota Digital RTX-49C (Retrotech) single-gauge with six individual functions. The gauge is made for ’49-50 Chevys but works neatly in this application. Aside from aluminum everywhere, it should be noted that all of the interior, including the seats, pickup bed, tailgate, hinges, twin-fuel gas tank, and engine cover were custom made by France. Also, an integral part of the interior is the custom through the cowl steering with the handmade aluminum steering wheel. The windshield, minus a top bar, is framed by custom aluminum posts. To all the custom metalwork, the bodywork, and then the BASF is a Ford Blue applied by Classic Car Studio and then cleared.
Read More: Don’s 60s Era Highboy Ford Roadster
It’s always fun to take your ideas and get them down on paper, but it’s even more fun when you can turn them into reality and drive them. Mike has a hot rod he’s always wanted, and that’s what owning a hot rod is all about. MR
Click on this issue’s cover to see the enhanced digital version of Ford Model A Roadster Pickup With Flathead Fever.
