Rad Rides by Troy is based in Manteno, Illinois.

Greeting you at the entrance is this "Super Duper Hi Performance Fuel" gas pump.

 

 

One of Troy's daily drivers. Also parked outside the entrance was a slightly raised Chevy Silverado and a lowered mildly tricked out Ford F-250 Crew Cab Pickup with Hot Rod and Flowmaster sponsor decals.

 

 

From this view the transport trailer doesn't look unusually large, but there's probably enough room to carry three cars inside. This was housing the "Intruder" rolling chassis just brought back from the SEMA show in Las Vegas.

 

 

     

Inside the entrance door was this '48 Ford nearing completion. It's powered by a Chevrolet 350 LT-1. Most of it was under wraps to protect against sanding dust from other projects. The owner of this car was not specified other than that he made his fortune in the aquarium business. During my visit Troy was working on this car preparing to install the Corvette rear end.

 

 

        

Next to the '48 Ford was this '32 Roadster. All of the lighter gel areas on the body show how much the sides have been extended at the rear end, most likely designed for something along the lines of some 20" wheels.

 

 

     

  

The Sniper was in for some minor work! The mechanic was nice enough to pop the hood for the engine shots. Note the speedometer tops out at 200 MPH. I drove my Trans Am on a few legs of the '97 Hot Rod Power Tour when the Sniper debuted, which was driven from coast to coast. The Sniper was let loose on several open stretches of road along the way and was described as being able to comfortably cruise at speeds of 150 MPH+ with plenty of room to go higher. Notable during my visit was the road dirt and grime under the wheel wells. The Sniper is driven often. The last of these five pictures is of the original rough draft drawing of the Sniper silhouetted on the outlines of the original Plymouth Savoy body lines. Quite a contrast!

 

 

  

Pictured here are artist renderings of what the beautiful "Quadra Deuce" is being transformed into. In the upper right corner of the frame is a picture of the original Quadra Deuce. The new rod will retain the Quadra Deuce's four-wheel-drive suspension.

The engine sits waiting for the chassis work to be completed. Fitted on top is the early rough aluminum engine cover.

 

 

  

Parked next to the Quadra Deuce engine was this monster! It's ready to be dropped in a '63 Corvette being prepped elsewhere. Horsepower is 1,500! This comes at a cost though - you're looking at $37,000 worth of powerplant.

 

 

 

Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony sent Troy this original artist rendering of a '40 Ford Woody that Michael wants Troy to build for him. Supposedly after kicking around further plans this concept may not eventually reach development, but the picture sure looks great! The black '32 Ford in for some work belongs to Michael Anthony as well.

 

 

        

        

The Hot Rod Hemi Dakota will debut on the 2000 Hot Rod Power Tour. This was styled to represent what the pickup might look like if Dodge built it at the factory (before the flames, of course, which were done by Tom Evans). This concept is most apparent under the hood, which at first glance looks very stock - until you spot those massive Mopar Performance 426 Hemi heads. This is the only Hemi engine known to ever run with a serpentine drive system custom designed and fabricated by Troy. Further evidence of the stock appearance concept is the all original interior with the addition of necessary gauges as the only non-original items. Wheels are one-off Billet Specialties items which may be developed for sale to the public. Troy's father Jack (pictured in the blue sweatshirt) fired up the engine for a sound check. It is LOUD!

 

 

        

        

George Poteet owns the Sniper, and this is Troy's next project being built for him - the "Intruder", a '57 Ford Wagon. The first picture shows the original artist rendering of what it will look like along with a photo of the Wagon in factory stock form. Although it is not too apparent in the pictures, EVERY INCH of the engine, transmission, and chassis is immaculately finished in Orange Pearl paint without a flaw or hint of orange peel anywhere to be seen! The four wheel disc brakes were custom built by Baer at a cost of $8,000. Note the "Intruder" graphics already in place on the valve covers.

 

I hope you enjoyed these pictures as much as I enjoyed visiting Troy's shop. He, his father, wife, and his staff of talented workers were all incredibly nice and didn't mind me wandering around getting in their way or taking pictures of anything in sight. What a great bunch! I'll probably make the trip there again so look for more pics here in the future.