Over the years, Detroit has crafted many classic cars. The 1957 T-Bird is one of them and that makes restoring one to original condition a very special project for Muscle Up Performance.

"Yeah, it's a great car," said Rich Bickle, owner of Muscle Up Performance. "The owner of this car got it from his father-in-law, so he wants it to be restored back to what the factory originally provided. That's what we're going to give him."

The car was anything but a classic when the team of restoration experts at Muscle Up took possession of the vehicle.

"It was a Wisconsin car and it was very, very rusty," Bickle stated. "We acid dipped frame and body to remove all the rust and then we E-coated everything. E-coating is a  primer that gets into all surfaces to make it smooth again and then you sand it down. We did that instead of media blasting and the results are excellent."

Once completed, the 100 percent original restoration, all matching numbers car will 312 cubic inch engine with a four-barrel carburetor. Power will be transferred to the rear wheels through a four-speed transmission.

"This will be a show quality car when we're done with it," Bickle stated. "The original frame was in pretty good shape. It had a few tears in it and we fixed those and a few cracks it had in it. Then we treated it with POR-15, a chemical that neutralizes rust. After that, we went back and sanded the pits out, primed it and repainted it back to its original color - satin black."

The final product will feature a rust metallic color along with white hard and soft tops.

"The car is taking shape nicely," Bickle stated. "It's a great example of kind of work we can do. We're not just a custom or a hot rod shop. We can take any car and restore it to original condition. It's all about attention to detail."

To see a photo gallery of this car, please click on the following Muscle Up Performance link. Once in the gallery, just click on any photo to enlarge.

http://www.muscleupperformance.com/photog/thumbnails.php?album=13

To discuss the restoration or repair of you classic, custom, muscle car, hot rod or truck, please call Muscle Up Performance today at 608-754-4545.