Legends in Hot Rodding: George Poteet’s Savoy Shuffle – the Rad Rides Built Sniper
In our modern era of hot rodding, the late George Poteet commissioned some of the most influential customs, race cars, and street rods of all time. He was a visionary, a trendsetter, and a hard-nosed racer all at the same time.
In his comprehensive retrospective on Poteet following his passing last July, Goodguys Gazette editor Damon Lee described the man as “a monumental force who influenced the course of hot rodding for the past three decades and left a legacy that is sure to affect it for years to come.” Well said, Damon.
Among the many varied and sweet rides in his stable of thoroughbred machines was the over-the-top, beyond-wild ’54 Plymouth Savoy custom known as the Sniper. Why a Plymouth Savoy? The model held a soft spot in Poteet’s heart seeing as he learned to drive in one. Coincidently, car builder extraordinaire Troy Trepanier also had become enamored with ’50s-era Plymouths. He had recently secured a mint-condition gennie ’54 Savoy convertible, via Hemmings, one with mere 40K on the odometer.
So, it was only natural that Poteet, Troy’s Rad Rides team, and Chip Foose would team up to create a mind-blowing custom. Troy had secured a totaled 1997 Dodge Viper sports car, from which the potent Dodge Viper 8.4-liter V10 was assigned to the Savoy’s engine bay. Foose had penned a dramatic design that featured a radical re-do of the exterior, including jettisoning the rag top for a hand-crafted steel roof.
Since Trepanier wanted to keep the project all Mopar, he called up his buddy Tom Gale at Chrysler, who had a strong interest in hot rods and was able to pull the right strings to provide not just the V10, but the entire mangled Viper. Electronics, suspension, and drivetrain components were all earmarked for adaptation. The complete build featured so much of the Viper’s underpinnings that “Sniper” was the only name that made sense.
At a time when most post-’48 custom cars received mild suspension alterations or maybe subframe swaps, the Sniper started with a hand-built 3×4-inch 10-gauge steel rectangular tube frame fitted with a narrowed ’97 Viper GTS front suspension, Appleton power steering rack, custom steering arms, Koni springs and dampers, Viper disc brakes, and hand-built 3/4-inch stainless tie rods. The rear suspension also came from the ’97 Viper GTS and was narrowed 10 inches. It had 3.08 gears, Spicer axles, Brembo discs, 13-inch rotors, and Koni
dampers and coil springs. To help get things rolling, Boyds machined up a set of 18×8- and 20×10-inch Sniper billet wheels wrapped in BF Goodrich P235/40R18 and P275/35R20 radials
The piece de resistance, of course, was the 488c.i. Dodge V10 engine. Outfitted with custom headers by Rad Rides and other trick one-off pieces, the engine reportedly made 520 horsepower and 500 lb-ft of torque, which was sent through a six-speed Borg-Warner transmission from the same ’97 Viper.
As for the body, Troy and the Rad Rides crew pulled off a metamorphosis worthy of Kafka. Sure, it started out as a Savoy convertible, but it ended up as a unique, other-worldly form. The metal magic included the aforementioned custom roof and windshield pillars, plus a modified deck lid, 3-inch sloped hood, reformed wheel openings, a one-off roll pan, smoothed doors, custom taillights, an inverted and reshaped stock front bumper, and a pair of frog-eyed E320 Mercedes-Benz headlights.
Troy and George decided on a deep moss and Spanish olive green exterior accented by tasteful graphics. The interior kept an olive-green theme across a blend of leather, suede, and carbon fiber. Recaro seats blended perfectly with a suede headliner and olive green carpet. The custom dash sported more Viper bits — Viper gauges and Viper steering wheel. Whew!
It’s been three decades since the Sniper blew the collective minds of the hot rod community, and journalists quickly dubbed it as an instant classic. It copped cover kudos at Hot Rod magazine and Custom Rodder magazine, and earned Goodguys 1998 Custom Rod of the Year honors. After a trip on the Hot Rod Power Tour, it found a home in the Petersen Automotive Museum. Last fall it was showcased at the 2024 SEMA Show, where more craniums blew apart.
The car collection and land speed exploits of George Poteet have been justifiably lionized. For example, no one has spent more time over 400mph at Bonneville — 55 passes! And in 2020, Poteet guided his awl-shaped streamliner, the Speed Demon, to a piston-engine/wheel-driven land speed record of an astonishing 470.015 mph.
Poteet, who lived just outside Memphis, had a 1000-acre compound that housed more than 100 cars, many of them among the best hot rods ever built. Car and Driver magazine called him a patron of small hot-rod shops, and Trepanier credits his association with Poteet as instrumental in his success. He’s not the only one.
Looking back, the Sniper embodied all aspects of the Poteet effect. Its place in hot rod history is well assured.
