Last updated on October 8, 2026
Today’s car is Trinity, a one-of-a-kind creation built by metal artisan Joe Magliato, which I photographed at the 2nd Annual Freak of the Week Car Show. Inspired by an idea he had in his head, Joe fabricated Trinity’s chassis and body, including the headers and fluted side pipes. It is powered by a Chevrolet 350 cu in Vortec small-block V8, backed by a GM 700R four-speed automatic transmission and a Jaguar independent rear end. Up front is a 1936 Ford axle with friction shocks and finned Corvette brake calipers, while the rear uses Wilwood brakes and dual Aldan American coilover shocks on each side.
Trinity is the second in a series of cars I photographed at Amelia Dalgaard’s 2nd Annual Freak of the Week Car Show, co-sponsored by Scott Martin and Caruso Classics. The event brings together cars with character and people with personality, celebrating the weird, the wacky, and the wonderfully original. Trinity certainly fits right in.
When I asked Joe what I was looking at, he told me the idea started with a question he asked himself: What would a futuristic stagecoach look like? From there, the design simply evolved. Looking at Trinity from almost any angle, the stagecoach influence is easy to see in its upright passenger compartment, exposed wheels, broad roof and carriage-like doors. Joe was creating his own interpretation in metal.
Joe Magliato is an artisan, blacksmith, coppersmith and metal fabricator whose commercial work and personal creations blend function with art. Joe applied those same metalworking talents to create a custom motorcycle that went on to win first place on the television program Build or Bust. He later designed and fabricated MadHamr, a rat rod that made the car show circuit before being sold to a collector in Australia. By the time Joe began Trinity, he already had plenty of experience turning his ideas into rolling art.
With the idea of the futuristic stagecoach, Joe began turning it into something he could build. There were no plans or existing design to follow; Trinity developed as the project progressed, with one idea leading to the next and changes being made along the way. What began as an idea eventually became Trinity.
The headlights were the only parts Joe made from repurposed items. As he was getting ready to build them, he came across two trophy-like brass urns whose openings were the right diameter for the lights he planned to use. He bought them and cut them apart until they began to resemble what he had envisioned. A few weeks later, he found two solid-brass fleur-de-lis pieces and initially thought he liked them better. Then came another idea: combine the two. The result is the unusual headlight housings seen on Trinity today.
Joe designed and built Trinity’s interior with practicality in mind. The aluminum and copper seats have copper inserts filling the open areas so the metal pattern wouldn’t be pressed into the passengers’ legs. His attention to detail extends to things most people might never notice. When I asked about an unusual piece of hexagonal metal used in the interior door closure hardware, Joe told me no one had ever noticed it before. He had found the hexagonal bar stock while in Italy. Its unique feature is that it is hexagonal both outside and inside. Originally some type of tractor part, Joe bought a length, carried it home in his suitcase and saved it until he finally found the right place to use it.
Then there is the seating arrangement. Instead of the expected two seats, Joe built Trinity for three, which gave the car its name. The third passenger sits in the center behind and above the driver and front passenger, with his or her head extending above the roofline. Joe laughed when he showed it to me and suggested that whoever rides back there should probably wear driving goggles. The third seat also sits between Trinity’s two fuel tanks, which led naturally to another bit of advice: no smoking.
After about seven years of work, Trinity was completed in 2025, a rolling piece of art that soon began collecting awards. It received awards at the Grand National Roadster Show and Benedict Castle Concours, was voted Best of Show at the 2025 Hot Wheels Legends Tour held in El Segundo, and took a first place at the 2nd Annual Freak of the Week Car Show, where I photographed it.
Trinity began as an idea in Joe’s head, and over the next seven years he turned that idea into something uniquely his own. Whether at a custom car show, a Cars & Coffee event, or simply rolling down the road, the artistic and functional Trinity is sure to attract attention wherever it goes.
Thank you for riding along with me and for being part of the Frank’s Cars in the Hood community.
Frank.
