For a brief time in history, from 1927 to 1931, Ford made one of the their most iconic vehicles of the 20th century when they created the Model A. Created under the reluctant reign of Henry Ford in his autumn years, the Model A was the first Blue Oval to come along with some major refinements to expand market appeal.

A magazine advertisement for the 1928 Model A.

Henry’s son, Edsel, saw to it that the model was given more than what was expected from a Ford at the time, and the strategy paid off; over four million Model As would roll off the line by 1931, with a variety of submodels that would cater to middle class, governmental, and blue collar folks around the country.

However, one oft-overlooked yet nonetheless attractive style of the Model A was the pickup. The great George Barris himself made a custom pickup, “Ala Kart,” a white-and-gold creation that went on to win the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster trophy at the Oakland Roadster Show two years in a row.

For Rob Angelo, however, fame and fortune was never the goal behind the build of this awesome ’30 Ford; it was just a side effect. Rather, what drove Rob and his son, Angelo, during the build was knowing that the car that came out of so much hard work would be beautiful.

Where It Began

The Vigils first laid eyes upon the Model A after dad bought a warehouse from a nephew whose wife was eager to get rid of everything inside it. “We bought a bunch of Model A stuff, and then we bought this ’30 Model A truck,” said Angelo Vigil.

The Ford was hardly a well-kept survivor, however, so the Vigil duo decided to give the car a complete restoration through their shop, Outlaw Kustoms. “Everything was replaced,” said Angelo. “We talked to TCI Engineering and had them make us one of their well-known Model A chassis that would fit the truck.”

For the body and running boards, the guys went with the experts at Brookville Roadster, whose specialty in ’28-32 Fords made them an optimal choice for something as arcane as the vehicle the Vigils were restoring. From top to bottom, the entirety of the body was stripped and replaced, leaving only the factory door bracing and sub rails intact.

“The bed was reused from the original Model A, and was given new rivets and welds,” said Angelo. “We also cut down the rear bed eight inches, dimpled it, and added a piece of it to the front section, and then TIG-welded the gate shut. In other areas, we pushed the firewall back five inches to accommodate the intake for the new 350 SBC, hand-made the headlight bars to fit around the grille, and hand-built the taillights.”

For the drivetrain, the guys wired up a 700R4 to the 350 V8, and equipped the latter with a set of ceramic-coated headers for longtime durability on the road ahead. Inside, custom flare reaches a fever pitch, with a ’55 Porsche banjo steering wheel, genuine leather courtesy of Gotcha Covered Upholstery, and a Nostalgia steering column from Speedway Motors.

All told, the Ford project took up almost three years from start to finish. “We debuted it at the Goodguys show in Scottsdale, Arizona,” said Angelo, “where it was a huge hit with the crowd.”

Model A’s like these are difficult to come by these days, especially ones that go for the truck motif and rock it as hard as that of the Angelos. Look up TCI Engineering online and on Facebook to stay up-to-date on new developments, event announcements, videos, promotions, and more.