There are not many custom car builders I follow as closely as Troy Trepanier, the man has such a great eye for good design, brilliant craftsmanship and surprising base models that he serves as an inspiration on many levels.  Like a lot of 'super star' builders he has the luxury of a well equipped workshop and someone else’s budget to play with, rather than play safe in this freedom the cars that Tory turns out seems to push things forwards, it seems the guy that built his first cars at home got more toys, but kept his passion and vision.

So I was understandably excited to see his latest creation hit the pages of Hot Rod magazine.  Whilst it was presented complete at the Detroit Autorama the chassis had been on display at an earlier show, making the whole car ineligible for the prestigious Ridler prize.  This wasn't a car built for winning prizes, it was built for its owners, Nancy and Roger Ritzlow, whose previous partnership with Rad Rides turned out one of the finest rods we've ever seen.

This time round Troy returned to his habit of modifying obtuse base cars with a Chrysler 300.  Hardly the first car that pops into your head when you think of custom cars.  Troy knows though that it isn't good enough to just have a different type of car to work on, you have to build it to the standard and quality of the more common cars.

The modification list is as long as your arm, from large to small and on through to the unseen.  The chassis is in itself a work of art, the body modifications have all been done to try and create a car that looks like it could have rolled out of a factory looking like it does now.  It is the details that give this whole build a life, the rear bumpers has been cut, narrowed and blended with the body lines of the car, the clocks look like OEM items, but go up to 160, the engine has been made to look vintage, rather than hiding wires they have been made to look period correct.

Overall the finished article is what stands up, the fact it is an unusual choice doesn't, and shouldn't, matter, the car stands on its own.  The level of subtle mods and detail show a continued passion for turning out fantastic cars from Rad Rides.  This is without a doubt a high point in the shops output so far.  We're all looking forward to what they produce next.

If you can pick up the July issue of Hot Rod magazine to get their full feature on it make sure you do.

The photos for this entry were taken from this fantastic set from Detroit Autorama

Also the full build up pictures can be found on the Rad Rides site under Projects

Finally check out this interview with Troy part way through the build of the car