Troy was born in the affluent locale of Newport Beach, California, but his birthright didn’t include a membership in the “Born Lucky” club,” it was out of necessity Troy learned how to repair the Mustang. Troy’s mom was a single parent and his dad a VW dune buggy guy with visitation rights. Troy’s ever-present mechanical influence was his grandfather, an engineer who came from an era where one did everything for himself. Troy said he never saw a tradesman come to their house to remedy a problem. Troy’s grandfather would enlist his help and the two took on domestic projects ranging from plumbing to auto repair. With Grandpa’s guidance making the Mustang roadworthy, it evolved into bodywork and custom paint that then led to hopping up the 289 for street racing.

At age 19 Troy knew hardly anything about a 1936 Ford but he bought one because it was “old and cool.” Troy’s engine of choice based on bigger is better was a 400-inch small-block Chevy. Building hot rods was fun but Troy came from a family of scientists and engineers. His grandfather’s work ethic to Troy was get a college degree and take steps up the corporate ladder to establish a lifelong career. Troy took his grandfather’s advice and enrolled at California State University, Fullerton, then transferred to Vanguard University where he completed a bachelor’s degree in business. Troy landed a series of corporate jobs where every move garnered a better position with a higher salary. 

Troy’s love for the car hobby never waned and in every spare moment he attended autobody courses at Golden West College and shared a rented garage workspace at the South Pointe apartments with his buddy Chris Shelton. For only $200 a month it was a perfect spot where Troy could wrench on his hot rods at night. Perfect that is until tragedy struck when a neighbor renting an adjacent garage kicked over a candle and started a fire. The two interlopers ran for their lives leaving Troy and Chris to put out the fire. Eviction followed and Troy’s next chapter was renting an industrial unit in Stanton, California, behind Bernt Karlsson’s shop. By now Troy had built over half a dozen cars and was well versed in every phase of constructing a hot rod. In 2002 his girlfriend convinced him he should quit his corporate job and open a hot rod shop.

Troy told us he didn’t come from a family of risk-takers, so the thought was kind of scary. What he did know was how to write a business plan and do due diligence before he made the move. The study concluded Huntington Beach and Costa Mesa were saturated with hot rod shops, but hot rod shops were sparse in Burbank. After a lot of searching Troy finally found a bank to grant a $50,000 business loan but he needed to pitch in a $15,000 down payment. Troy sold everything he had to raise the cash and then found a building in Burbank to lease. In the beginning he was sharing the 3,000-square-foot building with a motorcycle shop, but within a very short period of time he took over the entire building.

In 2017 Troy bought an industrial building with all the right elements to conduct an automotive business and moved Hollywood Hot Rods 1 mile away from its original location. The move shaped Hollywood Hot Rods’ operation into a perfect working environment. Troy said with a five-man staff of craftsmen that sometimes grows to seven, he will never want to expand his staff further or increase his shop’s overhead. 

Flashing back in time it was Troy’s 1936 Ford that gave him his first taste of magazine exposure when it appeared in Street Rodder’s Jan. ’91 issue with event coverage of the 1990 Labor Day Cruise at the Orange County Fairgrounds. That was all it took; now Troy was really hooked on the hot rod lifestyle. Troy told us reading the tech articles in Street Rodder was how he learned volumes about how to build a car. Troy and Hollywood Hot Rods’ relationship with Street Rodder grew exponentially with years to follow of car features, tech articles, and ultimately constructing three iconic cars to lead Street Rodder’s annual Road Tour for 2012, 2015, and 2019.

The number count of hot rods and custom cars that have entered and left Hollywood Hot Rods’ portals likely exceeds 100. The known number of builds includes the “Mulholland Speedster” 1936 Custom Coach–built Packard, the “Long Beach Legend” 1936 Ford roadster, “Full Metal Jacket” 2014 Ford Mustang GT convertible, the Street Rodder Road Tour 1940 Ford Coupe, the “Zulu T” 1927 Ford Tall Model T coupe, the “Brooklands Special” 1932 Ford roadster, Coyote Comet convertible, the Raybestos Coyote-powered 1932 Ford roadster pickup, the “Platinum Bomb” 1932 Ford roadster, “Ruby Deluxe” 1935 Ford coupe, “El Correcaminos” 1931 Ford roadster pickup, the “Black Widow” 1926 Ford roadster pickup, and the “Respect Tradition” Hemi-powered 1932 Ford roadster.

Future builds for Hollywood Hot Rods includes a 1965 Chevelle convertible coming in for a full electric- powered conversion with instructions to incorporate regenerative braking, neck-snapping performance, the latest developments in EV efficiencies, and, of course, styled with the utmost respect for tradition.

3. Hoisted on a BendPak lift, this blown Olds powered-and-chopped 1932 five-window coupe was painted by Jim Aust’s Sussex Customs in Lewes, DE.

5. A Coyote motor with Inglese Eight Stack EFI, but at first glance the valve covers adapted from a 427 Ford SOHC motor might fool anyone it’s vintage.

7. A major project on a new chassis, here Troy contemplates future modifications to the interior of this 1957 Chevy Bel Air convertible.

9. Busy at the Apex Wheel, Kyle Connole looks like he’s trimming his fingernails but in actuality is trimming a fabricated part for “The Grande 36” in the background.

11. With a DeWalt 4-inch peanut grinder in hand, Sean Leger trims the doorpost for the custom-fabricated two-door hardtop door made for the 1956 Plymouth wagon.

13. This angle reveals original width 1957 Chevy rear wheelwells were widened (silver metal) to create a pair of deep tubs for wide wheels and tires.

15. Look above the horizon line and beyond the 1957 Chevy convert, you’ll spot an inventory of vintage Ford bodies awaiting a new life as a Hollywood Hot Rods hot rod.

17. For traditional old Ford hot rods ,Hollywood Hot Rods fabricates the chassis from the ’rails up. For the 1957 Chevy they looked to the Roadster Shop.

19. How rare is a 1956 Plymouth two-door hardtop wagon? There’s only one and it is being built by Hollywood Hot Rods. Note the massive bumper/grille.

21. There are slight differences that distinguish a 1964-1/2 Mustang from a 1965 or 1966. Here, Frenched headlight doors erase the ability to date which year model this is.

23. Here a template is being made to learn the curve. Troy stated the greatest unknown are the manhours it will take to craft one-off body panels.

25. Here are two of Hollywood Hot Rods frame tables side by side. The Grande 36 occupies the long wheelbase frame table used for cars of the Mulholland Speedster’s stature.