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Editor's note: This is part of a series at KSL.com featuring some of Utah's coolest cars. If you own a customized vehicle — from sports cars to semi trucks — email fjolley@ksl.com with a photo of the vehicle and a brief description for consideration.IVINS — Eric McFadden earned an engineering degree, and he’s putting it to work on and off the clock.
By day, he’s a civil designer; by night, he builds custom cars. Lots of them.
McFadden said it started when he was 10 years old, and he and his father restored a 1931 Model A Ford. He still has that car, and plenty others that he’s worked on over the years.
Here are a list of the cars he owns that he has restored over the years: (In order of age, not completion.)
1952 DeSoto: Years in the making, he expects to finish the vehicle this fall. McFadden is putting a 375 horse power (1000 pound-feet of torque) Cummins diesel engine (donated from a 1997 Chevrolet 2500) in it. He engineered and built his own custom channeled frame, and is building around it. It has a full air-ride suspension.
1953 Chevrolet pickup: His wife drives this; done up period-style. 1954 Chevrolet 210: This vehicle is channeled with independent front suspension and rack-and-pinion steering.
1964 Chevrolet Impala: A low-rider with extensive paint and chrome. It has hydraulics, but McFadden said he won’t make it jump because he put too much money into it.
1988 Ford Ranger: This vehicle has a hand-built frame that lets the cab sit on the ground without cutting into it.
1997 Harley-Davidson Road King: McFadden has customized this and a more extreme chopper.
McFadden said he uses his technical knowledge from his engineering degree as he designs and builds vehicles and it helps him solve problems with suspensions and their sometimes-tricky geometry.
He has had some of these vehicles for more than 20 years, and takes them to four to five big shows a year, from California to northern Colorado. His future projects include a 1988 Bronco II to go with the Ranger, and a radical 1951 GMC pickup.
Brian Champagne has reported on cars for more than nine years. He holds a master's degree in communications from the University of the Pacific and teaches at Utah State University. Contact him at iaabfl@yahoo.com.
