Design While having the outward appearance of the classic automobile, the reproduction was built with a fiberglass body and used a modern frame and
powertrain. The Model A used the same
2.3L 4 cylinder engine as a
Ford Pinto with the option of a
Ford C4 automatic transmission or a four-speed manual transmission. Five different body styles were offered including a left hand spare tire mount behind the front fender, a dual spare mount behind each front fender, a spare tire mount on the rear of the vehicle, a
pickup truck version, and a Model A C
cab/panel truck. Harry Shay was quoted at the time that the vehicle was “an illusion of a Model A” and only the appearance would be authentic. A number of design
patents were applied for and awarded involving components for the vehicles that Shay Motors built. The vehicles were offered with a 12 month 12,000 mile warranty.
Closure Shay Motors was unable to keep up with the orders received and experienced problems with some of the early Model A's produced. The production method used was to have a team of four people completely assemble each vehicle instead of using a traditional
assembly line. ==References==