Goodguys 2025 Classic Instruments Street Rod of the Year
We’re closing out the year with a review of the Goodguys 2025 Top 12 of the Year winners presented by BASF! Congratulations to Ross Myers and Rad Rides by Troy for being named the Classic Instruments Street Rod of the Year with the amazing 1936 Ford Roadster.
Leave it to the team at Rad Rides by Troy to blend innovative design, masterful craftsmanship, and incredible attention to detail to create a modern street rod masterpiece.
The concept for a fenderless ’36 roadster came about nearly a decade ago during a conversation between Myers, Trepanier, and Rad Rides fabricator Adam Banks. Rad Rides had previously built Myers a ’36 Ford three-window coupe that captured the prestigious Ridler Award in 2007, among many other accolades, and the prospect of a companion roadster seemed fitting. While the idea of stripping the shapely fenders off a ’36 Ford could have gone off the rails in any number of ways, the Rad Rides team – steered by project lead Adam Banks, who came up with the initial sketch – followed a creative and thoughtful design concept that resulted in a sleek and streamlined creation that will surely go down as a yet another game changer in street rod history. 
The roadster was coach built from scratch, starting with the body. A host of changes was made to the original Ford proportions so the car’s lines would flow smoothly and look correct without fenders. This included lengthening the doors and top, moving the cabin area further back on the body to stretch and accentuate the hood and cowl, and building custom doors to enhance the other body lines. Flared quarter panels flow into a reshaped rear with a custom deck lid, one-off taillights, and a rolled pan with exhaust outlets and a license recess.
The custom aluminum hood was also designed to flow better without fenders and incorporates custom vents in the hood sides. The hood leads to a reshaped nose and custom grille that reimagine the original ’36 design. Adam Banks did all the body panel fabrication, Casey Modert fabricated the floors and firewall, while bodywork was handled by Warren Lewis and Colby Marshall of Rad Rides and Darryl Hollenbeck from Vintage Color Studio. When everything was ready, Lewis sprayed the BASF finish, which is a modified version of Porsche Aventurine Green. The Haartz Cloth-covered aluminum top has no padding, which required the shape to be smooth and precise prior to covering.
The chassis was built by Banks, Modert, and Marshall to match the body and features a 113-inch wheelbase with custom front and rear torsion bars, machined wishbones, Ridetech adjustable shocks, a Winters quick-change rearend, and a CPP steering box. Custom front and rear brake assemblies incorporate Wilwood disc internals and were designed in collaboration with Jake Murry at Consuming Air Inc. Banks also worked with Jake Murray on the custom 18- and 19-inch wheel designs, which were machined by Jewell Group and feature custom badges machined at Rad Rides and enameled by Karla Maxwell. The wheels wear Excelsior 5.50-18 and 7.00-19 tires.
Much like the body, the engine is a reimagined classic – a ’57 Ford 312c.i. Y-block that’s highly modified and refined. A McCulloch supercharger works in conjunction with Autotrend EFI throttle bodies on a modified Fenton intake to feed a precise fuel/air mixture to the engine, with Holley electronics employed for engine management. An MSD ignition and plenty of ARP fasteners are part of the equation, while custom headers feed a stainless exhaust with custom-built mufflers and catalytic converters. Bowler Performance built the 4R70W transmission that’s controlled by a Lokar shifter.
The interior is just as custom as the exterior of the car and features a custom aluminum dash with a one-off cluster housing ’50 Buick gauges restored by Classic Instruments, a unique steering column and custom-machined steering wheel, and a purpose-built bench seat, pedals, and handles. Adam Banks stitched the seat and other soft parts in hand-tipped medium brown leather, which is complemented by square weave carpet on the floor.
The Myers roadster debuted to much acclaim at the 2025 Grand National Roadster Show in February, where it secured the 2025 America’s Most Beautiful Roadster award. Since then, it has earned the Legends Cup award at the Chicago World of Wheels and the Students Choice Award at the McPherson College Motoring Festival (several Rad Rides employees graduated from McPherson College). The Goodguys 2025 Classic Instruments Street Rod of the Year title adds to that illustrious list of accolades and will ensure that this incredible car will have a permanent place in street rod history. Congratulations to Ross and Beth Myers, the Rad Rides team, and everyone else involved in this truly groundbreaking car – the 2025 Classic Instruments Street Rod of the Year!
Photos by John Jackson
