“I have been chasing this truck since I first spotted it on HotRod Hotline, several years ago,” says Dan Mascheck, about this 1931 Model A Ford Pick-Up. “I have a friend in Guntersville, Ala.--John Biddle-- and, we look at cars online on eBay and HotRod HotLine, looking at thousands of cars a year. We have a Top Ten list of cars we would love to own… and this is our Number One!”

Dan, a Wharton, Texas resident and hotrod enthusiast, says he has admired collector cars since 1965, when he saw Bill Blair’s 1965 Midnight Blue Chevelle, with a 327 4-speed.

“I was hooked,” he says. 

By the time Dan set his eyes on the advertisement for the ’31 Model A, he had already been active in the collector car hobby for quite some time and owned a 1972 Chevelle, with a 700 HP blown engine, and a 1946 Chevy Pick-Up. But, Dan was ready to make a phone call to the seller of the Model A. And, he was willing to sell his Chevelle in order to get his hands on this pick-up; his heart was set on the truck that his friend, John, had now nicknamed “Goldie.”

“He nicknamed the truck Goldie, because the color changes in the sun,” explains Dan.

Dan made the call. And, the news was not good.

“When I called the owner of the truck on the advertisement, he had just sold it two weeks earlier,” says Dan. “Talk about feeling crushed! I asked if I could get the new owner’s phone number, and he was very nice to give it to me. I called the new owner and told him if he ever wanted to sell, to give me the first chance at buying her.”

He goes on to say that after a couple of years had passed, John suggested that Dan call the owner about Goldie. He says that he planned to call, but unfortunately never got around to it.

“Then, one day out of the clear blue sky, there was a number on my cell phone that was not familiar,” he says. “I called back, and it was the new owner! He lives in Apache Junction, Ariz. and was worried about layoffs at the copper mine. He asked if I was still interested in her.”

Goldie’s owner offered Dan the same price that he had paid.

“A few weeks rolled by, and I got a cashier’s check and hooked up to a friend's open car hauler. I was off from Wharton to Apache Junction.”

The trip was over 1100 miles. And, Dan says that he had the flu with 101-degree fever. He was determined to go pick up his dream truck.

“I couldn’t find anyone to ride with me,” he explains. “Talk about a long ride and many bottles of DayQuil!”

Dan made it to Arizona the following day, and he says that when he pulled up to the house, he and the owner went into the garage.

“And, there Goldie sits,” says Dan. “And, while she looks good, it is nothing like what I saw in the pictures! I crawled in and cranked her up, and she had a rough cam rumble sound. I let [the owner] back her out. And, when she came into the Arizona sun, it was like someone had turned a neon sign on! I was hooked!”

Dan says that he loaded Goldie onto the open car hauler and made his way back to Texas. During his 1100-mile trip back home, he says that trucks honked, folks stuck their arms out of their cars, with a thumbs-up, and people took pictures at every gas station.

“I knew I made the right choice!” exclaims Dan, who has now owned the pick-up, since February 2009.

“I got her home,” he continues. “And, while ‘Goldie’ stuck with my friend John in Alabama and me, the kids named her ‘Dragon Fire’ because of the color.”

“She has a total mirror finish, stainless steel interior, door panels and running boards with raised flames that reflect flames on the side of the truck, when the sun is at the right angle. And, the bed cover is stainless,” explains Dan. “The firewall is stainless, with flames, and the engine sparkles with chrome and stainless steel!”

Dan adds that Goldie was far from perfect when he bought her, but many of the bugs have been worked out, with the help of Hago’s Performance, in Rosenberg, Texas.

“The one issue that still lingers is the heat coming through the floor board,” explains Dan. “We have had triple-digit days in our area, and I drive her several times a week. The heat coming though the floorboard is amazing, and many times we joke we could drive and roast a turkey at the same time! Another project we plan on fixing soon. Still, she is a looker.”

Story by: Becky McLaughlin and Dan Mascheck

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