Masano: A Pennsylvania Native

Tom Masano of Reading, PA wanted to build a fiberglass car of his own design. He succeeded with the Masano roadster. To make the mold for the beautiful body, Tom enlisted a local company experienced in statue making and plaster work. While the car’s body was unique, the chassis and driveline were tried and true. They came from a 1952 Kaiser Henry J. More than 75,000 of these rather homely little cars had been sold by the time Tom Masano bought his doner vehicle. The Henry J used a light weight frame and 161 cu in 6-cylider engine. When paired with Masano’s 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 bodies so that DYIers could turn their own 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.