Driving Line VOLUME VI ISSUE 1 | WINTER 2020 | Page 60
Story by Ali Mansour
Photography Tim Sutton and Kristin Cline
Inspiration is a funny thing. Having seen Keith Northrup’s Trophy
Rat, Tim Odell became captivated with the idea of building a vehicle
that utilized modern technology and nearly forgotten sheetmetal. As
the owner of Vice Unlimited in Lincolnton, North Carolina, Odell has
built a reputation for creating extremely unique vehicles. Many of these
vehicles have been showcased here at Driving Line, in other global
magazines and on such shows as Jay Leno’s Garage.
Turning inspiration into action is no easy task. “Sometimes a design
element just comes to you and you nail building it right away,” explains
Odell. “Other times hours are spent working on something only to throw
it on the scrap heap at the end of the day.” Odell worked through all
those setbacks in his all-new shop truck build, which he’s dubbed the
“Trophy T.” “I didn’t want to just ‘settle’ and live with something I didn’t
love—I wanted to be excited about every single detail.”
From a functional standpoint, it’s essentially a 4400 Ultra4 Racing
car wrapped in sheetmetal from a 1946 Diamond T pickup. Unlike the
Trophy Rat from which this car pulls inspiration, Odell’s build is four-
wheel drive. Even with massive 40-inch Nitto Trail Grapplers strapped
at each corner, the Trophy T doesn’t resonate as a big truck.
Maybe it’s the tasteful details that run throughout, the TIG welded
chassis or the steampunk-meets-race-car styling, but the Trophy T
seems to supersede any traditional car category. It’s as much art as
it is machine.
We gave you the first look at the Trophy T while the build was
still underway, and since that time, Odell has wrapped up his one-off
build and took it to its first public showing at the 2019 SEMA Show.
With the Trophy T out west, Odell took full advantage of the Nevada
desert, where we were able to get some shots of the all-new build.
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