Storyand photos
by Terry Denomme

Brent Befus was part of old skool  culture before he built the 1931 Model A sedan featured here.
“I travelled to California for some car shows and toured some hot rod shops and was inspired to build my first hot rod,” says Befus, of Airdrie, AB.

He purchased this 1931 Model A sedan in August 2008 and had it “finished” in September 2009. He sectioned the body 4” and modified the Model A chassis (5” Z in front, 10” kick in rear) to ensure a slammed stance…even when the car is cruising down the highway. The floor is custom built.

Though it’s old school in some ways, this rat rod has disc brakes up front for safety. Front suspension is a transverse leaf spring and hairpins with original I-beam axle and shocks. Out back is 9” Currie-built rear end on Ride Tech Shock Wave air bags. All four wheels are 16” steel wheels wrapped in Firestone bias ply white walls (6.00x16/3.5 front, 7.50x16/5 out back).

The drivetrain is less traditional, but very universal.  At the time these photos were taken  the car’s SBC sported an Edelbrock intake manifold topped by a 4-barrel Edelbrock carb. (It’s since been replaced with a more traditional 3-carb intake with Organ Pipe air cleaners). The headers are custom built units and it’s mated to a 700R4 tranny.

The only upholstery in the car is a cool set of bomber style seats with spider web patterns that Befus scored on eBay…one of his favourite places to shop for car parts.
Gauges are Auto Meter and the steering wheel is 3-spoke wood steering wheel.

Some cool touches include a revolver cylinder stuffed with bullets as a dipstick topper, old style brass fire extinguisher, Mack truck bull dog for mascot and a naked lady perched on top of the shifter. Credit for the killer pinstriping goes to Bruce Anders and Al Hagel of Carline in Calgary, AB built the headers.

Befus plans to lower the car a little more but now is busy building a 1950 Chevy 5-window pickup for his wife. He also just purchased a 1950 Merc lead sled.

It may have taken a few years for Befus to build his first hot rod, but he’s definitely making up for lost time.