Masano: A Pennsylvania Native

Tom Masano of Reading, PA wanted to build a fiberglass car of a unique design. He enlisted a local company experienced in plaster work and statue making to build the mold for the Masano’s beautiful body. While the body is completely original, the chassis and driveline was tried and true. It came from a 1952 Kaiser Henry J. By the time Tom Masano acquired his, more than 75,000 of the rather homely little cars had been sold. The Henry J used a light weight frame and 161 cu in 6-cylider engine. When paired with its new 250lb fiberglass body, the car would have delivered pretty lively performance. It is not clear Mr. Masano had plans to market finished cars or the just the body so that DYIers could turn their little Js into something special. Or did he just want a great looking, one of a kind personal machine to tool around Eastern Pennsylvania in. Either way only one was ever made, and it resides in the Boyertown Museum as part of their extensive collection of Pennsylvania-made vehicles.

The Flajole Forerunner

The 1955 Flajole Forerunner. Bill Flajole (Flay-joel) got his first major exposure to auto design in a big way while working with Ford Motor Company’s legendary chief design chief, Bob Gregorie, to help create the maginificent 1939 Continental. After the war, Flajole set up an independent design firm where he did projects for the Big 3 and Nash. He was lead designer on the Nash NXI concept which became the 1954 Nash Metropolitan. Like many, Flajole was captivated by the sensuous lines of the Jaguar XK-120. His fascination extended to the Jag’s fabulous DOHC 6-cylinder engine and all independent suspension. Rather than try to recreate the wheel, he borrowed one instead, building the Forerunner atop an XK-120 platform. His car featured a long hood, dramatic fastback rear deck and translucent roof panels. It was also featured head restraints atop its bucket seats, the first car ever to include this safety feature. Only one Forerunner was ever built and that car resides in the collection of the AACA Museum in Hershey, PA.

Lets Get Small, Really Small: The Arbet

The Arbet has the distinction of being the smallest car ever registered in the United States, as confirmed by the 1993-97 Guiness Book of World Records. It was built by skilled machinist Arliss Sluder. The Arbet measured just 88 ½” long, 40” wide, 38 ½” tall, and weighed in at a few pounds over half a ton. The little car was powered by a 13hp Onan 2-cylinder engine that delivered a 45mph top speed and 50mpg economy. It appears that the engine was one just a handful of the car’s 5000 components that Mr. Sluder did not fabricate himself. That is likely why a project that started just after the war was not completed until 1956. Arliss came up with the Arbet’s name by combining his wife Beth’s name with his own, possibly in acknowledgement to her for letting his project take over her garage for 10 years.

Americans in Italy: The Momo Mirage

Momo Mirage 2+2 - Vintage Automobiles & Rare Vehicles

Working on this website for 5 years now, it is a treat every now and then to discover a Make that Didn’t Make It that I’d never heard of. Today that would be the Momo Mirage.

In 1968, New York real estate developer and certifiable car guy, Peter Kalikow, teamed up with Alfred Momo, who once managed Briggs Cunningham’s race team, and was now a Jaguar distributor. Together formed the Momo Corporation in order to make this exotic GT coupe. They hired American designer Gene Garfinkle of the Raymond Lowey Studio in New York to design the Mirage’s muscularly elegant shape. But in order to give the car proper cred in the world of automotive finery they decided the car needed to be built in Italy. The chassis was designed by a moonlighting Maserati engineer named Giulio Alfieri, and fabricated by the well-known Formula Junior designer, Vittorio Stranguelli. Meanwhile Carrozzeria Frua in Turin was called on to produce the bodies. For power, however, the only logical choice was Chevrolet’s marvelous 350 cubic inch LT-1 V8 that pumped out 300 highly reliable horspower. The final assembly was done stateside in Queens, New York.

The production ready Mirage made its debut at the 1972 New York International Auto Show where the sumtous coupe created guite a stir. The plan was to sell 25 of them at $12,000 a piece, with plans for another 250 the following year. Italy, however, was a turbulent place in the early 1970s. Labor unrest, materials shortages and rampant inflation caused the expected production cost of $7650 to baloon over $20,000. With their business plan shattered, Kalikow and Momo were forced to abandon their dream.

Five cars are known to have been completed, with a 6th left in Turin unfinished. This car was thought to have later been completed by the carrozzeria and sold. Three of the finished cars are owned by Peter Kalikow, one of which has been restored to concours condition. A forth Mirage was purchased by General Motors at the direction to design chief, Bill Mitchell - a man who knows a beautiful design when he sees one. The fifth was destroyed in a fire. An additional 3 chassis are also said to have been completed by Stranguelli. Their fate, along with that of the unfinished car, remains a mirage.

Copyright@2023 by Mal Pearson