(Photos by Dave Nutting) – Sometimes simplicity can be jaw-droppingly cool and that is the case with this 1931 Ford Model A (with ’32 grill shell) owned by Jesse Treveloni of Massachusetts. It is one of the neatest cars we have ever featured here, not for what it is, but for what it isn’t. This thing isn’t contrived, it isn’t audacious, it isn’t fast, it isn’t polished, it isn’t quiet, and it surely isn’t pushing the bounds of technology or horsepower. What it is though, is a window into the past of what actual hot rods were and how we the way we perceive the ideas of horsepower and speed today are incredibly different than they were perceived when our rodding forefathers struck off to the dry lake beds to see how fast their stuff would go.
There’s lots of reasons to love this Model A. The first may be for the fact that it is still powered by the 20oci, 40hp (factory rated) flattie four that powered millions of them between 1928 and 1931. The second may be the stance and the wide whitewall tires, the third may be the factory original seat, the factory original floors, the factory original transmission, or the tractor like exhaust note coming out of that single backswept and wide open header. In describing how to drive this car, Jesse simply said, “You drive it on the carpet all the time and shift when it stops pulling.” The sounds of that little blatty exhaust note ringing off the buildings as we cruised around the city of Worcester, Massachusetts seeking the right location to shoot our photos was fantastic. It was like an auditory time machine. This was the noise that drove families to lock their daughters in the basement when the “hot rodders” would come to down.
The roof has been chopped a couple of inches, the rear spring was replaced to get the stance right, and Jesse added the tubular style intake/exhause header because he dug the way it looked. He’s not sure how much it braced up the flame throwing banger but we dig the fabricated look. He also stabbed in the Mallory distributor you see as well. Purists will bemoan the fact that it and the intake/exhaust do not look like they belong from the period where the rest of the car is, but hot rodding is about doing as you want with your own stuff, right? The front four bar setup is also a slight departure from the Eisenhower administration, but the stance…oh the stance with the tall and narrow tires all around is spectacular.
Jesse bought this thing as a complete Model A. He still has all the rust free fenders, running boards, and hood that were on the car when he bought it, which actually makes the thing cooler to us. Why? Because he did what the old time hot rodder guys did. He stripped the stuff off himself and created the look you see here. The car had only been on the road for about 15-20 years and then lived in a barn until Jesse bought it a couple years back. Traditionally we have known Jesse for being a guy that jams a big block and a stick in everything but he admitted to really loving this car and the fact that it’ll barely bark a tire when the clutch is dumped at “redline”. We saw him do it…we loved it. Why? Because it speaks to the roots of one of the must fun things to do in your car…burnouts. There was a time when it was a BIG deal if a guy had a car which could spin the tires at will and seeing Jesse’s car illustrates that perfectly. If the world was rolling in Model As with ‘bangers in them and a dude rolled up with a V8 car that would “get rubber” he had to have been godlike.
The suicide style gas tank has been removed from the cowl as he cruises lots with his young daughter in the car. Jesse added a fuel tank in the trunk of the car and was laughing when telling us how little fuel the thing actually uses. The only gauge in the car is a fuel gauge and it is currently on the fritz. At first, he’d be stopping and checking all the time but now he knows that he’s good to cruise for weeks at a time before fill ups. These make about 30mpg with all the sheetmetal attached. Without it? Maybe better than that. He’s never had the motor apart and he’s not sure if the engine and transmission have ever been apart. The spark plugs in the thing are the same as when he bought it. It doesn’t smoke, rattle, or do anything but chuff and buss along like it should. That dutiful little engine probably feels its oats now, unencumbered by a hood, fenders, and running boards.
There are lots of definitions and meanings in the hot rod world, especially with a car like this. We’d want to call it a traditional hot rod but we’re sure some guys would have a problem with that. We’d want to hit anyone that calls this a rat rod with a shovel, we know that. We’d like to hear your take on that one, actually. What’s the “right” moniker for this car? Jesse loves to drive it and we loved hanging out with him and shooting these photos. It is just so simple and just so right. We think that even Henry Ford himself would approve of this one, being that it is the majority of his factory equipment in place to this day…80+ years later.
This is by far the lowest horsepower car we’ve ever featured here but it is also one of the coolest because it is just an honest to God hot rod in the vein that would have been built when this whole thing was just getting off the ground. To see one like this anywhere is pretty neat but to see one like this in Massachusetts? That’s flipping unreal. Like we told Jesse….just add salt.
SCROLL DOWN TO DAVE NUTTING’S FANTASTIC PHOTOS AND MORE INFO ON THIS SIMPLY KILLER HOT ROD –

Not exactly a pair of Holley Dominators on a tunnel ram, but so flipping cool in its own right. The more “modern” single throat carb was added by Jesse when he swapped the intake/header.

The stone simplicity of this banger powered Model A nearly brought us to tears of joy. This was what high tech…or tech looked like in 1931. There’s a painted aluminum radiator hidden behind that ’32 grill shell.

Ever get envious of the old guys who were early hot rodders and the fun they had with their simple machines? Note the disc brakes. Those were added before Jesse got the car and the rears were switched to juice units as well. Safety first.

Displacing 200ci, this baby made 40hp when new. With age and the addition of some speed parts, Jesse estimates output at 30. HA! — GM alternator keeps thing charging.

Four bar setup was on the car when Jesse got it. The ride is about as good as you can expect and we saw more than one pretty good jounce as we cruise across the rough roads of Worcester. People were snapping their necks to look as he cruised by.

He is thinking about putting a white cloth insert here but we hope he leaves the roof open. It looks too damned good this way.

Room is at a premium as you can see the spring eye and the ancient style “shock”. Getting the spring in the car without the correct tool as a bear but Jesse and his pals did it with relatively few casualties.

Original gauge cluster with one left…and the fuel gauge does not work.

Maybe we are weird, but the fact that the original wooden floors are still in this car may be the neatest part of the whole thing. All of it, from the pedals to the aged boards is fantastic. The stick coming up through the floor is attached to the stock three speed, non-synchro transmission.

Wide whitewall Firestones on all the corners. This is good for the soul.

Brake lights, yes. Turn signals? No. Jesse signals turns the old fashioned way…with hand signals.

We were rolling between locations and it was awesome to watch people gawk at the little car as Jesse drove it down the road, the little banger barking out of the pipe.

It looks a lot speedier than it is. This is not about speed or horsepower, it is about a living window into hot rodding’s past.

Old school.

Why can we not stop staring at this photo?

With a mildly shopped roof, the “big-n-little” tire combo, no glass, and the black paint all around, the car looks ready for a trip to the salt or dry lakes…except that we’re in Massachusetts.

Some guys don’t like the ’32 grill on a car like this. We do.

Stand back kids….this is a hot rod!

That transmission has lived with that engine for more than 80 years. Jesse doesn’t think they have ever been apart.

A bug’s eye view.

Rear brakes are juice units because as cool as mechanical brakes are, Jesse wants to live through the end of cruising season.

Gotta love the ancient rear end.

The original seat has seen better days but it looks as right as rain in this car. A Mexican blanket would be neat but this is New England, not SoCal.

Disc brakes do the stopping up front. Being that the top speed of the car is probably around 55mph, there’s no need for big time stoppers.

To us, this is the quintessential “period” hot rod with a couple of non-distracting deviations. The best part is that Jesse didn’t start out to be a period Nazi, instead he just wanted a cool car that fit his taste…and it fits ours too.

The little engine didn’t come with an air filter, oil filter, or much anything else back in 1931 so the air cleaner on top of the carb is an upgrade! Ford knew that cheap, tough cars would sell in volume and the Model A sold 4-million units over the course of a couple years.

This is as timeless a look as it gets. In 30 years this thing will still be as cool as it is today.

A parting photo. No, none of that rubber came from this car because it physically can’t spin the tires that hard. Looking like it is ready for a fight, we’d own and love this Model A in a New York second, given the chance.