Rad Rods by Troy - 24 E. 3rd St. Manteno, Illinois

Over the last 15 years, Trepanier and his Manteno, Ill., shop have become legendary for the hot rods they turn out, basically built by hand from the ground up.
 

Every car that's been built at Rad Rides by Troy in Manteno, Illinois, has been sensational. Troy Trepanier is owner and genius behind legendary magazine feature cars like the '39 Chevy "Predator," the '54 Viper-powered Plymouth "Sniper" and, most recently, the 1,180hp twin-turbo '62 Chevy "Chicayne." Troy's crew, including his father Jack, has most recently been commissioned to build eBay's "FastForward Fastback."

The trademark of a Rad Rides by Troy car is a wild, yet completely functional, engine and drivetrain featuring a sanitary engine bay.

The world of hot rodding simply wouldn't have progressed out of the dated cars of the '70s and '80s as quickly without Trepanier and his shop, Rad Rides by Troy. Starting with a few show stoppers at the Street Machine Nationals and today building the most sophisticated, hand-built cars in rodding, Troy is a wild man who uses the welder as his outlet and judges room in the fenderwells as a space for creation (he leaves little behind).

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Legendary, award-winning builder, Troy Trepanier, and his shop "Rad Rides by Troy", in Manteno, IL were commissioned to take on the eBay Motors FastForward Fastback project.

Trepanier exploded on the car scene 15 years ago when de debuted his grandfather's 1966 Chevelle in outrageous raspberry red prod street trim. The car set new benchmarks for the pro-street crowd, and introduced the "monochromatic" theme to hot rodders that carried through for a number of years.

His follow up act produced the 1960 mint green "Pro Box" Impala that established new trends such as airbrushed side trim and one-off billet wheels. That Impala established the necessity for every car to be defined by its stance and tire fitment.

Troy then built the ground breaking, and ground scraping 1950 Buick, bringing his outrageous pro street philosophy into the street rodder's world. The "Rumblur", a 1960 Nash Rambler two-door wagon, though presumed to be too far out there to be welcomed, became the car that convinced the world that even the ugliest car could be cool when handed over to the right builder.

The Predator, a '39 Chevy introduced modern headlights onto a street rod's fenders. The Sniper, a 1954 Plymouth with Viper Drivetrain and 6 speed Viper transmission, raised an eyebrow... maybe Rad Rides wasn't only interested in cars that looked good, they're serious about horsepower.

The Intruder, the gorgeous 1957 Ranch Wagon Troy built for good friend George Poteet, strengthened the "Rad Rides by Troy" philosophy of building drivers that have groundbreaking style with serious horsepower and performance.

Equally impressive others have followed, including the latest "Chicayne", a twin turbo, 1180 hp 1962 Biscayne. In addition to being among the finest quality street machines ever built, Troy put to rest the thought that his cars were more for looks than performance.

John Meaney, owner of the company "Big Stuff 3" worked together with Troy to fill the Chicayne with enough power to say that "Rad Rides by Troy" had developed into a top-end car builder of high performance vehicles with style.

With all his success, you might expect to find Troy seated in a leather chair in a big private office, barking orders to his staff.

But this car guy doesn’t even have a private office. There is a very nice office area in his shop, but it's open and welcoming to anyone who enters.

In that "office", you will probably find Jack Trepanier, Troy's dad, on the phone talking to a customer while at his workbench mocking up the next piece that is going on the FastForward Fastback or on the computer searching eBay Motors for that exact right part.

On certain days, you will find Troy's outgoing and friendly wife Angela coming to the rescue as she handles the business end of Rad Rides, freeing Troy up to do what he does best; create.Even Troy’s mom, Judy, can often be seen keeping things rolling for the business as well.