We tour Rad Rides by Troy to see the latest projects.
V8TV is working on a whole bunch of project cars in 2007 ranging from high-end street rods to pro-street racecars. Their shop is proving they can do it all.
Over the past couple years or so, the Rad Rides crew has been building a few cars that really turn up the heat. One of which is the wildly popular “Blowfish” Barracuda land speed record holding ’69 Plymouth of George Poteet’s. This car proves that the Rad Rides treatment ain’t just for show, as it set top speed and record time it’s first time out at the Bonneville Salt Flats.
Along the same lines is this 1969 Camaro NHRA Pro Stocker. This looks like a full-on show car, but the 600+ inch, 720 cubic inch Chuck Newton all-aluminum 1200+ horsepower monster is destined for actual track competition. R&R Racecars built the engine, and it’s going to be a killer on the track.
The Rad Rides crew started with a Jerry Bickel Race Cars chassis to keep this car arrow-straight at 6.50 seconds and over 200 miles per hour in the quarter. Then Dan Holihan and crew worked their fabricating magic to make this car look and fit as nice as it functions.
In the next stall lives this ’40 Ford ragtop street rod, a car that’s nearing completion after being started at a different shop. This car’s most eye catching feature is the raked windshield, which attaches to a power folding top pirated from a late model Mustang. The crew had to progressively narrow each top bow to make it fit, but the look will be killer.
The power for this ragtop comes from a supercharged Ford Lightning 5.4 liter V8, and there are more custom details in the body to count.
We dig the carbon / aluminum console that hides a duct for the rear-mounted Vintage Air A/C system.
Graphics are an integral part of many Rad Rides cars, and the Bob Thrash works on this car include several hundred Ford V8 logos buried in the sides. Dan Holihan commented that someone said they look like “Superhero Snowmen”.
Moving to another Ford ragtop is this ’32 Ford Roadster finished a couple years ago for Roger Ritzow. Powered by a flathead Ford with a hidden electronic fuel injection system, this Deuce is perhaps the most understated creation from this shop.
Another eye-fooler are the billet wheels… that’s right, those are solid aluminum wheels, artfully powdercoated to look like painted steelies.
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