The Story

In 2015 Matt Peach, owner of 20 Maaco Collision Repair and Auto Painting stores in California was contacted by a customer to come to their house to look at restoring an old vehicle.

Matt saw the Radio Flyer that was mid-project and offered to buy the vehicle on the spot. The customer had worked at a metal fabrication company and been working on his project for several years. Matt, the consummate marketeer, saw the vehicle as a great marketing tool.

The chassis, engine, and drive train were all original from a 1990 Toyota Truck. Matt had his Maaco team complete the project by welding the tub onto the frame and completing the interior. Maaco Los Angeles successfully used the Maaco Flyer for several years in parades and charity events. Matt is still one of Maaco’s most successful owners and operates Maaco Orlando, but in 2016, Matt sold his California Maaco stores to a New York Private Equity Firm and the Maaco Radio Flyer was forgotten about. It was parked outside where it rusted and was left to vandalism. 

J&A Companies bought the California and Las Vegas stores from the Private Equity firm in 2019. Joe Taormina, President, found the flyer and wanted to restore it to its former glory. One problem,,,, no one wanted to work on it!! The engine compartment was impossible to get to, it had major electrical problems, the welds holding the body onto the frame were cracked, the engine was on its’ last legs, and the transmission was failing…. Besides that, the Maaco Flyer was Awesome….

Joe decided he wanted to make the Flyer a little more bullet proof. He had a couple of things he wanted, a new engine that was noisy and he wanted it to be a show piece for Maaco. Joe moved the Flyer to Las Vegas where he lives and reached out to Count’s Kustoms to see if they were interested in attacking the project. Count’s was booked solid for at least a year and recommended Greg Young of Silver Arrow Restorations.  Joe and Greg met and Joe knew right away Greg understood Joe’s vision and beyond. Greg looked at the Flyer and recommended starting from scratch. The only thing that was salvageable was the Radio Flyer tub.

Greg had a concept to have the tub lift up so that the engine could be exposed for maintenance (and show) and to make it easy to get in and out of.

He found a 1999 GMC Sonoma truck that was on its last legs and the build began. Greg and his team at Silver Arrow tore down and stripped the GMC removing everything!  The body and engine were removed. The frame was too long so they had to shorten the frame 2 feet; and then reweld. A custom drive shaft had to be fabricated to compensate for the shortened frame.

A GM Performance 350 C.I. crate motor producing 330 HP was purchased.  Behind it is a rebuilt turbo 350 transmission, and a 10 bolt rear axle with a 4 bar setup, and coilovers.

When the crew shortened the frame 2 feet, they also fabricated a steel tubular substructure. This built- in lower cage has the custom steel Fire Wall, dash and integrated interior. Below the rear deck an aluminum 17 gallon fuel tank was installed.

The chassis was now ready for paint. Maaco used Sherwin Williams gloss black Single Stage Urethane Paint with Integrated Clear (Dimension Line) for the chassis and The Dominator Bedliner by USC (a Sherwin Williams Company) for the cabin area. For the exposed areas Maaco used Sherwin Williams Gloss Black Base Coat Clear Coat (Ultra 7000 Line).

Silver Arrow reinforced the wagon tub by welding in a steel frame constructed with 4” tube. This allows the tub to rise up on 4000 lb. electric actuators and hold for display and ease of entrance.

A monitor directly in front of the driver has front and rear view low mounted cameras for safety and ease of driving. An Alpine Stereo was installed with speakers affixed in the rear compartment. The dash was finished off with Stewart Warner gauges, an Ididit aluminum tilt column, and a dual battery electrical system to run the stereo and PA system all day.

This vehicle’s open top design, oversized air conditioner, oversized radiator, and transmission cooling system accommodates slow driving for use in parades, even in the Las Vegas 115 degree summer days.  

Now the tub was ready for a paint refresh. Maaco used Sherwin Williams Base Coat Clear Coat (Ultra 7000 Line) and a Performance Clear Coat. The tub was then Color Sanded and Buffed Out.

Greg’s team did the final assembly and then Greg did the maiden voyage on Fremont Street where admirers took pictures and video. A Las Vegas Police Officer even used his PA system to tell Greg, “That is the coolest F***ing thing I have ever seen!” After a few more tweaks, the Flyer was delivered, and it was a huge hit…….. 

Everywhere it goes it creates smiles and enthusiastic fans. People are constantly taking video and pictures of the Maaco Flyer and post to TikTok and other social media.

In its first Car Show (The Miss Rukkus Qualifier), the first week on the road…..the Maaco Radio Flyer took Overall 1st Place – Best in Show. 

More stories to follow!!