I've always loved that car! Built the model at least a dozen times over the years., all kinds of ways. Even tried to put the front door (??) on a pivot instead of hinging along the bottom. Bradley hit the flipping ball all the way out of the park with the Deora.
That's the thing... It's so crazy that it's not even really that crazy. It's just gorgeous. Prolly cuz Harry Bradley designed it and not some dumb ass high school kid.
The A bros had another somewhat similar pickup project called the Alexandria, based on a 55 ford. They needed a new paint booth for the shop and reluctantly sold it unfinished. Mike tried to find it decades later but it seemingly vanished
Truly a high watermark. It had all the lines. There was a guy who was recreating it back in the early oughts, he had gotten pretty far along but dropped off the net. I can't remember where it was or how to find it again. Like many movies, the sequels are not as good.
here, but the OP has not posted in a few years https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...es-of-the-original-deora.327598/#post-3524644
That's the one! Thank you for digging that up. That also includes a rikster link. https://public.fotki.com/Rikster/11_car_photos/beautiful_custom_cars/alexander_brothers/deora/
Mike once told me that he wished they had used 2 door doors on it , he thought the doors were too short. It started life as a 4 door sedan
I remember the vehicle form Cobo Hall and several ISCA Car shows in the Midwest as I ran the show circuit back then. I still looks cool, and the A-Brothers were really nice guys to talk to, just car guys having fun creating.
Another Alexander Brother's custom that I dig... not as well known, but also designed by Harry Bradley:
Bradley's "La Jolla", is just as smooth as the Ernst Chev! Something about healthy restraint in his designs.
What’s always fascinated me about Harry Bradley is how his design voice evolved. Today, he’s often celebrated for those crisp, knife-edge lines - sharp, angular stuff that looks like it could cut through steel. But that wasn’t always the case. His early work spoke a different language. It was softer, but just as fluid... Almost poetic in places. Take the La Jolla, for example... his first real swing at a full custom and, if I’m being honest, one of my top five favorite customs of all time. It came together during this fascinating transitional moment in custom car history - when builders were shifting away from the understated elegance of the Westergard school and leaning into more dramatic flourishes. More chrome, more cuts, more identity. And yet, the La Jolla never felt gaudy. Every line, every modification... hell, every decision... feels deliberate and cohesive. It’s got all the boldness of the era, but none of the chaos. The thing just works. It’s rare - damn near impossible, really - to look at a custom built in 1952 and think, “Yeah, that’s objectively better looking than a stock 1952 Cadillac.” But with the La Jolla? That’s exactly where I land. It’s not just improved. It’s transcendent. Also, how important is every single piece of brightwork on this car... there's barely any of it present, but every stroke is perfect.
Always loved this and even had the Hot Wheels version with the 2 surfboards. Still have 4 or 5 of those cool Hot Wheels Red Lines cars one of which graces my profile photo.
The Deora was the first hot wheels car I bought. (Not mine) I had a 1963 Ford van that was as close to the Deora as I would get. I recently watched “full custom garage” episode where they built a Deora inspired pickup, but made suicide doors instead of the front opening version.
Always thought the OT Brubaker Box owed much to the Deora design. But, since this discussion is expanding in the general direction of Bradley design... Looking a bit like a high school kid here....
An illustration of how on board Chrysler corporate was with this project here is Chrysler brochure on the car/truck
The Jalopy Journal
