Troy Trepanier's shop scratch builds a '36 ford roadster body & chassis

J

James__WC

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My god ,thats beautiful! The lines on that are perfect! Thanks for sharing
 
James__WC said:
Some amazing craftsmanship, I'm sure the "Out the door" price will be more than I've made in all my years in the workforce.

Part 1
https://inthegaragemedia.com/1936-ford-roadster-rad-rides-by-troy/


EDIT: Just discovered the one I originally posted was actually Part 2, so I've added part one, and placed it ABOVE, so that they're properly sequenced.

Part 2
https://inthegaragemedia.com/rad-ri...80IrsDq1pXrsfrWDlvsJX3haAysjEHN2l5k_gGqJOBZb4
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I may be old but I'm still running around this.
 
Amazing work no doubt. What really surprises me is how thin the frame metal is and what seems to be mere screws holding the cross members in. Always thought the frame needed to be made of substantial metal for strength and to stop flexing….guess not…
 
James__WC said:
Some amazing craftsmanship, I'm sure the "Out the door" price will be more than I've made in all my years in the workforce.

Part 1
https://inthegaragemedia.com/1936-ford-roadster-rad-rides-by-troy/


EDIT: Just discovered the one I originally posted was actually Part 2, so I've added part one, and placed it ABOVE, so that they're properly sequenced.

Part 2
https://inthegaragemedia.com/rad-ri...80IrsDq1pXrsfrWDlvsJX3haAysjEHN2l5k_gGqJOBZb4
Click to expand...
Beuatiful yes, talking well over a million for that build, closer to 2 million
 
JohnnyBgood said:
Amazing work no doubt. What really surprises me is how thin the frame metal is and what seems to be mere screws holding the cross members in. Always thought the frame needed to be made of substantial metal for strength and to stop flexing….guess not…
Click to expand...
It's 10 gauge which is what most aftermarket frame rail manufacturers use plus it is full boxed. Original frames were riveted so they could flex as part of their design. I would guess this is far more rigid than the factory frame ever was.
 
K13 said:
It's 10 gauge which is what most aftermarket frame rail manufacturers use plus it is full boxed. Original frames were riveted so they could flex as part of their design. I would guess this is far more rigid than the factory frame ever was.
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For reference the factory Chev frames from the late 30s to the early 50s were a 12 ga. hat section with a 10 ga. bottom plate to make a closed section. They did not have a lot of crossmembers (the front suspension crossmember, a "K" member at the trans mount and a rear crossmember) to add additional torsional stiffness as the big "X" members did in other cars.
 
Those old cars weren’t cranking out 500 + horse power…so the frames were adequate. Big power..big frame..just saying..
 
James__WC said:
Brian: Are these $$ values published somewhere, or purely speculative?
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Based an items that I have seen done and the hours that went into it.

For example, JF Kustoms '56 Chryco wagon had 11,000 hours into it not including the one-off CNC parts and other parts.
JF's hourly rate back then was $100.
And the yellow Riv even had more hours.

I saw a '36 Ford handbuilt grille that has some 400 hours into it. The one that Rad Rides built has a lot more hours into it than that.

Rad Rides, like Chip Foose or Kindig-it, are not inexpensive and well over the $250/hour or higher.
Kindig-its carbon fiber bodied '53-style corvette that he builds cost over $750,000 once the prototype body was finalized.

their clients have very very deep pockets for the type of work required.
 
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Gotta wonder what they pay their workers…I’m guessing nowhere near that $250 a hour.….hosers.
 
JohnnyBgood said:
Gotta wonder what they pay their workers…I’m guessing nowhere near that $250 a hour.….hosers.
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Labour rates for the employees are cheaper. when you have a name and customers are flocking to the doors, you get to charge what you want.
Its a way of weeding out who is serious or not.
For example, Kindig-It has a two year waiting list and they are not taking on any new customers.

Had a friend who was offered a fabrication job at a major shop in Arizona, and at the time, they offered him $40/hour where in Canada he was making
over twice that as an independent fabricator/builder.
 
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