The Alexandria

Harry Bradley's design proposal for the Alexandria. Photo courtesy of The Jalopy Journal.

A construction photo of the Alexandria taken in front of the 13131 Littlefield shop after the body had been chopped and sectioned, and it had been fitted with 1962 Pontiac quarters. Photo from The Jalopy Journal, courtesy of the Mike Alexander Collection.

In 2014 Mike Alexander told Joey Ukrop that he and his brother loved trucks. "There were so many neat cars on the road, and we liked cars to customize. But we just fell in love with trucks. We decided we could make them handy now and then, if you had to drive one. We always built them saying it was going to be a shop truck, but they ended up being a show truck." Photo from The Jalopy Journal, courtesy of the Mike Alexander Collection.

Photo from The Jalopy Journal, courtesy of the Mike Alexander Collection.

A photo of a later iteration of the truck taken after Mike and Larry had installed the driver's side front fender and started fabricating the B-pillars. Mike and Larry worked on the car in between commissioned jobs and plans called for a 406 Ford motor. Because it was their personal project, and the brothers were in the process of moving to their final shop, the Alexandria was a low-priority project. Photo from The Jalopy Journal, courtesy of the Mike Alexander Collection.

A photo of Mike and Larry with The Alexandria in front of their 13131 Littlefield shop. They needed to install a paint booth in their third shop and ended up selling the project to finance it. "I guess we needed a little money and even though I was against selling it, it made sense," Mike told Joey Ukrop. When Mike and Larry sold the truck, all but the headlights and the lower front end were completed. Photo by Bill Neumann.

1955 Ford owned and restyled by The Alexander Brothers of Detroit, Michigan. Following one of Harry Bradley's designs, the build was started in 1964.

"We loved trucks"

Mike and Larry located a 1955 Ford four-door sedan that they started converting into Bradley's vision of a swoopy hauler. In 2014 Mike Alexander told Joey Ukrop that he and his brother loved trucks. "There were so many neat cars on the road, and we liked cars to customize. But we just fell in love with trucks. We decided we could make them handy now and then, if you had to drive one. We always built them saying it was going to be a shop truck, but they ended up being a show truck."

Sold to Finance a New Paint Booth

The sedan body was chopped and sectioned before Mike and Larry grafted on 1962 Pontiac quarters. The wheelbase was also shortened to mirror Bradley's drawings. Mike and Larry worked on the car in between commissioned jobs and plans called for a 406 Ford motor. Because it was their personal project, and the brothers were in the process of moving to their final shop, the Alexandria was a low-priority project. They needed to install a paint booth in their third shop and ended up selling the project to finance it. "I guess we needed a little money and even though I was against selling it, it made sense," Mike told Joey. When Mike and Larry sold the truck, all but the headlights and the lower front end were completed.

Where is it Now?

In February of 2021 Bobby Massaron told Sondre Kvipt of Kustomrama that he saw and touched the car about 20 years ago. Bobby worked for the Alexander Brothers in the 1960s, while they built the Alexandria.