First published in Street Machine’s Australia’s Toughest Fords #3, 2005

Not so long ago, southern California was the heart of hot-rod building. Today that seems like a dream. Amazing cars are being built in every corner of the country, in big cities, good-sized town and even little villages in the heartland. The most famous of today’s builders is, no doubt, Troy Trepanier and his crew in Manteno, Illinois, at Rad Rides By Troy.

Troy, with the help of a crew that includes his wife, his mum and his dad, runs this ultra-professional operation in this small country town. They’ve turned out some heavy-metal cruisers over the past 15 years that simply rank as the best of the best. This line-up includes his original jaw-dropping, teal green ’59 Chevy Impala, his orange and pink ’50 Buick, Viper-powered ’54 Plymouth ‘Sniper’, Nash ‘Rumblur’ wagon, ’39 ‘Predator’ Chevy and the now famous twin-turbo ’62 Chevy ‘Chicayne’.

In late 2003 Troy was commissioned to build eBay’s ‘FastForward Fastback’ as a demonstration that eBay could be the consumer’s ultimate source for parts or even the entire dream car. Troy bid on and won this ’67 Mustang fastback in an eBay auction, and as he brought the fastback back to life, he actively purchased parts off eBay to show off its benefits.

Once the car was safe and sound at the Manteno workshop, Troy finally had a chance to work his magic. Although the car was sold as a solid original car, it appeared that it did have some hidden front clip damage from an old accident repair that Troy deemed unacceptable. The car was totally disassembled to the shell, sand-blasted and then re-inspected. Just as Troy had suspected, the clip was junk. He located a clean, straight unit, eased it off the firewall with a plasma cutter, and removed his problem clip in the same manner from the fastback. The new clip was set up in a body alignment frame and welded back into place using production-style welding techniques.

When he purchased the Mustang, Troy already knew he had the typical rot problem with the car. The sills and the rear quarters were a little ‘airy’, so in typical Troy style he cut out the rears, installing new National Parts Depot quarter panels and sills. At this point it was time to clean and shave some of the body, reforming the side scoops and C-pillar vents into recessed coves. This opening was not just filled but extended to give it a stronger body line and a more formal fashion.

If you’re wondering how he makes his cars look so tight, we’ll share just one of his secrets. Troy insists on a 3/16-inch gap at all door, hood, fuel-door and boot bodylines. He’s even more insistent that it be dead on the mark the full length of the opening. His perfectionism can be measured in hundreds of hours it takes to get this fine detail right on a whole car. But, as Troy points out,“If it’s not right, don’t go on with it until it is!”

When the team had done their best to get it perfect, Troy handed the bare body off to Warren Lewis in his paint shop to shoot on the rich coat of DuPont Smoked Charcoal Silver and Argent Charcoal Silver. With that done, the famous graphics artist Bob Thrash added the detailed artwork.

Part of the plan for the fastback was obviously setting the stance on some fat rubber. This didn’t just mean throwing on a set of 20s and lowering it with chopped coils. Troy worked with Fatman Fabrication and installed one of their trick bolt-in strut conversion kits. Fatman’s bolt-in kit means you can have up to a two-inch drop, huge brakes and power rack and pinion steering. Nice combination in anyone’s books!

This Fatman kit is really trick with the use of ’94 Mustang spindles, the elimination of the upper control arms and a unique steering rack mount, which reinforces the front subframe. The end result is zero bump steer and an excellent-handling, firm-steering car!

Instead of running conventional struts, Troy chose to go with an Air Ride strut suspension assembly up front with Air Ride Shockwave airbags in the rear. The trunk-mounted compressor allows the Ford to scrape pavement or run at freeway cruise height.

In keeping with the masterful suspension remake, Troy went all out with the brakes, too. He installed Baer disc brakes on all four corners, with 13-inch rotors up front and 12-inch rotors to the rear. The brake installation was a bit tricky. It required multiple measuring to make sure they had correct clearance from the calipers to the Billet Specialties wheels following the front suspension makeover.

The rear-end assembly is also infinitely better than the one that Ford rolled off the line back in ’67. Using the original nine-inch rear housing, Troy added a Strange aluminium differential carrier with 3.50 gears, Trac-Lok limited slip assembly and 31-spline forged axles. It is located with a custom Detroit Speed and Engineering four-link rear suspension with the Shockwave airbags. All four airbags are hooked together so the compressor offers instant ride height adjustment.

The wheel and tyre departments are equally professionally handled with Billet Specialties 5LX-45 Series alloys – 18×8 inches up front and 20×10 down the back. These are capped with 255/35 (front) and 275/30 (rear) Nitto NT 555 Series tyres.

Nothing leaves Rad Rides without a horsepower increase. Troy opted to keep it all Ford, using a brand new 351 cubic inch Ford Racing crate motor. This meant new custom engine mounts and a tubular transmission cross-member had to be fabbed. The crew soon had all this sorted out, along with all the other fitting issues of the engine upgrade.

Out of the crate, the 351 is rated at 360 horsepower, but Troy wasn’t going to just let it stay that way. Ass-kicking power was what he and eBay wanted, so the Trick Flow EFI intake manifold was installed. It is fed via a Paxton Novi 2000 centrifugal supercharger that uses chilled air from a Vortech air-to-water after-cooler. Other engine details include a Ford Racing PP electronic distributor, 9mm plug wires and thick film ignition control module. The exhaust is handled with a set of JBA headers and dual Hushpower II mufflers in a Flowmaster 2½-inch dual-exhaust kit. According to Troy, it now snaps out a hearty 500 horsepower to its 4R70W four-speed automatic tranny from Bowles Transmission.

Having ridden and driven in the Mustang, I will say that if that’s what 500 horsepower feels like, I’m glad I’m not a rubber tyre! This Mustang is blindingly quick, especially when it hits about 2600rpm. And the black stripes it leaves are like a big dog marking its territory.

Inside the fastback, Troy wanted to keep the original Ford architecture alive, but skillfully modernised. If you know Ford interiors from this era, then you will recall a lot of faux woodgrain trim. Well, this Mustang had woodgrain door trims and dash. As you can see, all of that was replaced. In its place, a luxurious Charcoal Black leather trim was installed on the doors, along with Tea’s Design seats. The dash is now filled with Autometer gauges, a Billet Specialties steering wheel, and a Vintage Air Sure Fit climate-control system to keep everyone at the right temperature.

When Troy and his crew finished the car, it was driven on the Hot Rod Power Tour, taken to shows and events all over the country and then cleaned and shipped to SEMA in Las Vegas late last year. The week before the show, eBay put it up on its web auction site. It sold at the event after hundreds of bids were made for a tad over $220,000. That’s a bargain in anyone’s books, especially when you know that a car like this out of Troy’s shop would have banged you for $300,000 without a blink.

eBay Motors
1967 Ford Mustang ‘Fast Forward’ Fastback

THANKS

• Troy Trepanier President
• Angie Trepanier Vice-President / Secretary
• Jack Trepanier Public Relations
• Judy Trepanier Show Assistant / Navigator
• Dan Holohan Engineer / Fabricator / Shop Manager
• Brian Ferguson Final Assembly / Fabricator / Car Shows / Show Manager
• Jared Zimmerman Fabricator / Wiring / Final Assembly / Stereo
• Ryan Kircher Bodyshop / Bodyman
• Levi Green Fabricator
• Andy Leach Fabricator
• Rich Milton Bodyshop / Bodyman
• Adam Banks Fabricator
• Warren Lewis Body Shop / Bodyman