Randy Wilcox, a produce dealer from Mahtomedi, Minnesota, isn't one of those guys into whatever the trends are at the time. Though custom rod fashion is now dominated by early-'60s rides, Wilcox was always passionate about these cars. What has led newcomers down this path is that they'd never seen an aggressive build style around most of the early-'60s cars. These days, however, it's hard to find a project to take on that hasn't been done. When Wilcox turned to the most honored rod builder in the country, Manteno, Illinois' Troy Trepanier and his shop, Rad Rides by Troy, both the customer and the builder could agree on this one--nobody had done an all-out '62 Cadillac convertible.
Wilcox bought this Caddy in January 2001 at Scottsdale's Barrett Jackson auction as an eight-year-old restoration. Coincidentally, Rad Rides built the car over an eight-month period, so quickly because it's true to its heavy heritage. Most everything is there, plus some! From the body to the chassis, it's original stuff, though heavily modified. Troy knew Wilcox wanted to use the Air Ride Technologies Shock Wave system on this car, but it was going to take a lot of work to incorporate it.
"This X-frame Caddy has the hole in the side of the shock tower, rather than the center," said Troy. "After creating a new perch, we had to realign everything in the suspension! That meant the crossbar on the upper control arm would be right through the center, so we had to fab new pieces around it."
The Cadillac is a rear-steer car, so readily available dropped spindles for a '68 Camaro fit right up. Troy needed a tapered reamer to bore the top of the spindle to accept a tapered ball joint, replacing the oblong stock pieces. That spindle conveniently accepts the common 12-inch GM ('88 Camaro) brake rotors. Matched with calipers from an Astro van, it makes for a reasonably priced brake kit, but the preceding labor might not make it such a bargain.
As we've seen with the last few cars to come out of Rad Rides by Troy, the Trepanier gang is increasingly serious about powertrain and performance. Actually, they always were serious, but enthusiasts usually thought mostly about paint, bodywork, and stance when they thought of a "Troy car." This Caddy is especially cool because they built the engine "in-house" just like you would. This 9.25:1 compression, 500ci engine from a '75 Coupe DeVille has the Federal-Mogul Performance engine kit you'd buy, along with an MSD Pro Billet distributor and a 6AL box, and a COMP valvetrain with stainless roller rockers. The stock manifold was modified toward a standard carb pattern for a full Demon carb (680 cfm with vacuum secondaries) and fuel system by Barry Grant, though the adaptation might have been handled easier with an Edelbrock Performer swap. The heads are ported to keep up with all the other parts, and this engine runs more than strong enough for its purpose of open-road stomping, not racing. With nearly 500 hp, that shouldn't be hard. What tranny is in use, you might ask? That's a 700-R4 with a 2,000-rpm converter, all from TPI. It's matched to the 29.5-inch-tall rear tires with a 3.08:1 gear in the stock rearend. Do the math--it'll cruise at speed!
Where things get especially serious on a car from Troy is in engine prep, and we're talking about on the outside of the engine! Everything, and we mean everything, has been smoothed and deburred. There's not a mark of casting flash to be found. ARP 12-point fasteners are all over, and then there's hand-fabricated bracketry, built to accept a Power Master alternator and Vintage Air compressor. How do you get your engine paint to look like this? Jack Trepanier gave us the drill. "It's one coat of sealer, then one coat of color. Then, shoot a coat of flat clear. By the way, this one got PPG Argent Silver."
"When we build a car," said Troy, "we need to be able to look from the rear all the way to the front and see absolutely nothing hanging down. It looks really tight that way, and there's nothing to scrape when you run it low on the airbags." To get this "flat plane," the engine would need to be raised in the chassis by 3 inches, the tranny by 1 1/2 inches. The engine swap to the "new" 500ci mill would require some fab up front anyway, so Rad Rides built a slimmer oil pan, too, and was going to have to create new headers, as well--headers that snake through modified framerails, with exhaust routing to Flowmaster mufflers.
The most impressive thing about this car is its overall appearance. Rad Rides did all the typical jobs in shaving the door handles and trim, but not just to say they did it. "We two-tone most of these cars, so the bodylines need to be controlled a little bit with such a big car," said Troy. "The skirts are welded up; that's about as major as things got. But, Bob Thrash, who did the graphics and designed the paint scheme, exaggerated the rear graphics so that it looks like the body itself is arched. It's just an illusion, but it's the only way to paint a car this big. Everyone asks if it's been sectioned..."
Speaking of paint, Troy considers this the finest car they've ever done, and that's saying a lot! "We blocked this car until our balls hurt. I always thought the Sniper had nice paint, but it's a garbage truck compared to this thing. We're getting better at it over here." He continued, "We interact with people all over the industry and trade secrets. Mark Warrick, of Amarillo, Texas, is one of my favorite painters, and he gave me a few tips on spraying clear and block sanding. It really made a difference. Now, we're there. But, there's always room for improvement." So, what are the colors, anyway? On top it's PPG Granite Pearl, while on the bottom it's PPG Flamin' Red, shot by Warren Lewis at Staubin Auto Body, Rad Rides' partner in paint crime.
The interior for a car like this is one of two ways: Start over or use what you have there, according to Troy. With a vintage ride, there's often so much useful trim you can keep it as a theme. Here, they used the trim and such in the door panels, but did their own deal in the dash with the goal to remain elegant, matching the Cadillac heritage. Everything is covered in black leather and includes TEA's Design seats, with instruments modified in house at Troy's. And, it wouldn't be right without a ton of sound--it's a cruiser after all. Hidden away you'd find Kicker amps and speakers to run with a Kenwood deck, carefully coordinated with the electronic Gen II Vintage Air system.
"With a lot of these cars, they're so freaked out by the time you're finished that you can't tell what kind of car it is," said Troy. "The coolest thing about this car, I think, is that it's still a Cadillac." GM would likely pat them on the back for this, too.