Local grad on ace hot rod build team

Ryan Gridley knew his passion while he was still in high school. He liked to work on cars - and he was good at it.

Before his 2012 graduation from Sisters High School, he was already working with Gordon Aram at A-Team Racing in Bend. He's been an employee for two years. This year, he is part of a team that custom-built a car that has made the hot rod world sit up and take notice.

"We built a quarter-million-dollar custom Mustang," Gridley told The Nugget.

The build is featured in the May issue of Hot Rod Magazine - with a feature shot of Gridley driving the deep blue Mustang down the highways of Central Oregon.

The full story with numerous photos can be accessed at http://bit.ly/hotrod-gridley.

"They got ahold of us because they wanted to do a feature on it while it was being built," Gridley explained.

The car has been a big hit - not least because the 1978 Mustang II is something of a redheaded step-child in the beloved Mustang line. Owner Brett Behrens turned A-Team loose to create something special.

"It's the only Mustang that has a V-10 in it," Gridley explained.

The car can be used for everyday driving and for road course races.

The build has garnered a lot of attention.

"It's been all over the U.S., in magazines ... it's been on three TV shows," Gridley said. It made the top-10 builds at a SEMA (Specialty Equipment Marketplace Association) show in Las Vegas.

As described in the Hot Rod article, "A-Team Racing employees Avery Bell, Ryan Gridley, and Mike Teagarden did the bulk of the custom bodywork, with everything but the front fascia being made from metal. Upon completion, it was Aram who sprayed the R-M two-stage Kona Blue paint, a color from the current Mustang palate."

Working with that small crew to create a piece of all-American automotive art was the essence of the joy Gridley finds in his work.

"It's just four small-town country guys building cars for fun," he said.