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When
people see this futuristic cab-forward Dodge
Deora pickup concept today, they're certain it's
an AMT scale model or a "Hot Wheels" car come to
life. But it was the other way around. Created
as a spectacular one-off custom car, this Ridler
Award winner from the 1967 Detroit Autorama was
adopted by Dodge Division of Chrysler
Corporation, and became one of the company's
most popular show cars. Created by one of hot
rodding's premier designers, the Deora was
handcrafted by two of the best custom car
builders of all time. The Deora, which has been
restored back to original condition, will go
under the block on September 26 when RM
Auctions hold their Icons of Speed and
Style event at the Peterson Automotive
Museum in Los Angeles. It is expected to fetch
between US$350,000-500,000.
Detroit's famed Alexander Brothers, Mike and
Larry, won considerable acclaim with a
customized Ford Victoria called, "The
Victorian," and the "Silver Sapphire," Clarence
"Chili" Catallo's unforgettable "Little Deuce
Coupe," which appeared on the cover of Hot Rod
magazine, and on the cover of the Beach Boys'
album of the same name. In 1964, they wanted to
build a "far-out" custom truck using one of the
Big Three's new cabover mini-pickups. They
tapped a talented friend, Harry Bentley Bradley,
to design it. The "A Brothers" had discovered
Harry when he was a student at Pratt Institute
in New York City. They'd followed his career
path to General Motors, where he apparently did
freelance design work on the side.
The plan was simple. The Alexanders were certain
that Dodge would give them a stock A100 truck to
customise once they'd seen Harry's futuristic
design sketches. And if Chrysler Corporation
didn't bite, they would try Ford Motor Company,
who'd just introduced their own Econoline
cabover. Years later, Harry Bradley, who never
pulled punches, told Motor Trend's writers, "Of
the three cab-forward pickups on the market at
the time, the Dodge was unquestionably the
homeliest."
But Harry obviously saw something beautiful and
decidedly avant-garde in the basic shape of the
little cab-forward truck. "What I wanted to do,"
Bradley recalled, "was get rid of that phone
booth cab and integrate the upper (section of
the body) with the lower. The finished truck
would have no doors on either side. "I didn't
want cutlines," Bradley declared. "We were
always told at GM to play down cutlines. If
cutlines were wonderful," he continued,
"Ferraris would have them running down their
sides." Harry Bradley insists he always thought
of this design "...as a conceptual proposal,
rather than a customizing solution."
That left the practical problem-solving up to
Larry and Mike Alexander. Just how would the
driver and passenger get inside? The ingenious
answer was through the front window, which in
execution, became a large, forward-opening glass
hatch that the clever "A Brothers" fabricated
using the lift-up rear window from a donor 1960
Ford station wagon. More about that in a moment:
The Alexanders liked Harry Bradley's radical
design. To everyone's surprise and delight, so
did the powers that be at Chrysler, who donated
a stripped A100 as a sacrificial lamb. Mike and
Larry began by whacking off the stock cab
completely, right down to the floorpan. When the
new roof section was tack-welded into place, it
rested just about where the stock steering
column had been. Bradley's original vision was
that the front-opening hatch would be a
one-piece unit, hinged at the roof's leading
edge, like the tailgate of a hatchback or the
liftgate of a modern station wagon.
But the stock A100's flimsy A-pillars would
never have supported that arrangement, so Mike
and Larry ingeniously crafted a split door
setup. The rear section of the 1960 Ford station
wagon, rotated 180-degrees, became the new cab
roof. What had been the Ford's rear window, was
now the Deora's new windshield. Hinged at the
top, it was controlled by an electric motor that
activated an hinged arm that was plated for
looks and drilled for lightness. The "A Bros"
hand-fabricated a lower front panel that fit
neatly between the headlights. That panel, which
became the lower portion of the cab's only door,
was hinged on the right side for ease of entry
and exit.
Transforming Harry Bradley's futuristic sketches
into a working trucklet took all the ingenuity
the Alexanders possessed. They may have used a
BMW Isetta for inspiration. The stock steering
column was replaced with a folding horizontal
strut that rotated forward from the left side of
the body to let the driver in and out. It locked
into place when the driver was seated. The
steering wheel was a stylish butterfly-shaped
yoke, reportedly made from an Oldsmobile
steering wheel, which would have been right at
home in a small aircraft.
The steering box itself is a modified Chevrolet
Corvair unit. The vertical steering column runs
up and out of sight through the left cab body
panel. A small sprocket on top of the column is
connected via a roller chain to another sprocket
about 12 inches to the right, on the end of the
swiveling bracket, which in turn, is connected
to the steering wheel. A finger-operated latch
mechanism locks the wheel in front of the
driver. During entrance and egress, the steering
column tilts forward so the driver can squeeze
by. The stock A100 foot pedals were already
mounted in the floor, so they didn't need to be
relocated. Engineers at Hurst Performance
Products developed a custom floor shifter for
the stock Dodge three-speed manual transmission.
The Alexander brothers wanted the occupants to
sit low, inboard of the front wheel wells, so
the slant-six was moved rearward about 15 inches
to make room for the bucket seats. The engine
now protruded into the pickup bed, but the show
truck was never really designed as a practical
hauler, so it wasn't a problem. There was never
a plan to stuff a big V-8 in this vehicle. Its
sleek silhouette requirement would not have
tolerated it.
In order to achieve that ultra-low look, the
radiator was relocated in the bed as well, just
ahead of the rear axle. Twin air intake holes
were cut into the bottom of the bed, and an
electric fan was used to draw in cooling air.
That meant that the fuel tank had to be moved
from its stock location behind the rear axle to
a new position just behind the reconstituted
cab. The pickup bed itself was covered with a
hard tonneau that was secured by chrome hood
locking pins, so no one could see the magic that
went on beneath it.
To effectively lower the chassis, the
Alexander's raised the front frame rails and ran
the front springs through the axle.
Short-coupled industrial shocks replaced the
original tubular shock absorbers in front. They
also modified the rear suspension. The overall
height of the truck went from about 72 inches in
stock form, to just 57 inches after
modifications – that's a 15 inch difference!
Contoured bucket seats leaned rearward just a
little to accommodate the Deora's two stylish
occupants. The cockpit itself was trimmed in
pleated leather. In keeping with this car's
atypical design, the instrument panel was
relocated to the driver's side door, and a
centre console held a speedometer and the
tachometer.
At the 1967 Detroit Autorama, the Deora
completely swept the show, winning nine trophies
plus the coveted Don Ridler award for the best
new custom car. It was a poignant moment for
Mike and Larry Alexander. Their father died on
the morning of the Autorama setup day, but their
mother convinced them that their Dad would have
wanted the Deora to be shown. Interestingly,
that was the only time the "A Brothers" ever
showed the car in competition.
After the Deora was completed, Chrysler leased
it to display on their auto show stands with
their own concept cars, where it reportedly
caused a sensation. Chrysler Corporation, who'd
had nothing to do with the design save the
donated A100 itself, claimed this car was a
quantum leap in advanced vehicle styling. Today,
over 40 years since it was first created, the
Deora still resembles a car of the future. It
should be noted that the remarkable mini-truck
was conceived in an era where crumple zones and
crash tests were unheard of, so there were no
design compromises required for safety
considerations. The cabin is small, but two
adults can sit comfortably inside.
Jim Bradley told Motor Trend, "Chrysler never
seemed to understand that we used (a lot of)
Ford parts to build this car." Besides the 1960
Ford wagon tailgate and a small section of the
station wagon's roof, the rear window was
borrowed from a 1960 Ford sedan. And that's not
all. 1964 ½ Mustang taillight bezels formed the
surrounds for the twin side duct exhausts. The
taillights are especially clever. Hidden under
the wood veneer panel that runs across the rear,
they are only visible when they're illuminated.
Viewed from behind, the lights themselves are
reflected in a polished stainless steel strip
that runs underneath them. They were made from
sequential turn signals found on a Ford
Thunderbird. When the directionals are
activated, the flashing lights blip outward from
the centre.
Not long after it debuted, the Deora became one
of the first 16 "Hot Wheels" model cars offered
to youngsters all over the country. Harry
Bradley, who had left GM to join Mattel, noted
Mattel's research in that era showed that every
kid in America owned at least 1.3 miniature "Hot
Wheels" cars. "I don't think many people knew
the Deora was a real vehicle," he mused.
Rod & Custom actually tested the Deora in its
September 1967 issue. Editor Spence Murray
reportedly drove the car more miles in one
afternoon than it had ever been driven, and he
was very impressed. "Our test drive went off
without a hitch," he reported. Larry Alexander
knew that [the] Deora would perform up to the
standards of any mass-produced pickup truck,"
Murray wrote. "But I had to prove it to myself."
After the first year's lease was up, Chrysler
arranged to lease the Deora for a second year.
They requested a new look for 1968, so it was
repainted in Lime Green Pearl. After the second
year, Chrysler did not renew its lease. The
Deora was sold to Al Davis, a noted custom car
enthusiast. Davis passed away in 1970. His son,
Al Jr., stored the car for a while, then took it
on the show circuit in 1982 and won a
Championship. In 1998, the Deora was taken out
of storage and re-restored to resemble its 1967
appearance. The Alexanders hadn't kept the paint
formula, so it's believed the present colour is
a little "greener" than the original gold. The
born-again Deora wowed 'em once again in 2002 at
the 50th Anniversary of the Detroit Autorama,
when it starred in a display of famous Alexander
Brothers customs. Many people couldn't believe
this car had been built over 40 years ago. It's
still that good.
One final note: the unusual "Deora" name was
chosen after AMT, the well-known model car
manufacturers, held a contest to name the
vehicle. The winning name was supposed to mean
"gold" in Spanish. It was apropos because of the
show car's original Candy Gold colour. AMT's
1/25th scale model of the Deora was produced in
great volume, but they're scarce collector's
items today. Mattel's "Hot Wheels" sold millions
of miniature Deoras in several colours. The
Deora's winning bidder will receive extensive
records on this car from the consignor,
including copies of Harry Bradley's personal
notes on its design.
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