DANNY KOKER: Kevin just called, said
he's got a couple of clients who have a really cool project
they want to talk about.
Kevin sounds pretty excited about it,
and he doesn't get excited about much.
So if he's into it, it's bound to at least be interesting.
These guys have a '57 T-Bird, and they want
to restore it for their father.
And it's--
Already love it.
Yeah, and it's the E.
E-Code?
Yeah.
They called them E-Birds.
That was like the factory high-performance version.
That's a really-- a rare thing.
It makes this car that much more valuable.
They want to redo it--
Yes.
--and they want to keep it all original--
Perfect.
--and then surprise their father with it.
Dude, first off, gentlemen, that's
extremely cool that you guys are doing this for your dad.
What's the background on this car?
I've been hearing about this car
since I was about five years old.
It's a family car.
It was owned, I believe, by my dad's father's cousin,
and they bought it original in '57,
and actually was able to buy it from still family.
DANNY KOKER: Really?
So this car's been in the family since new?
Right.
Yeah, this is something my dad has wanted to have done.
He's wanted to rebuild it himself,
and he's been talking about it for a lot of years.
So this is-- this is going to be something really cool for him.
Is your dad going to have any clue of where is this car?
Because, I mean, it's going to take some time.
He's in Alaska right now and going to be up there for
a while, so--
OK.
--we just used that and said, here we go.
Well, what kind of shape is she in?
It's pretty rough.
We--
Ugh.
--pulled it out of a pasture for him, so it's been sitting
in the pasture for a few years.
Oh, boy.
Hide the story from him as long as you can, and we will
do our best to try to get her done in-- in as timely manner
as we can with a car like this.
It'll be a challenge, but I think we can do it.
I love it. I dig it.
- All right. - Do your thing.
- All right, [INAUDIBLE]. - Thank you, guys.
Thank you, Danny.
I'll see you guys later.
DANNY KOKER (VOICEOVER): Well, the car is done.
And today, we're going to give Jim and Ty's dad Hershel
the surprise of his life.
He thinks he's here getting a special VIP tour of Count's
Kustoms and that there's some local news crew here
covering that event as well.
He has no idea, man, that at the end of this tour,
he's going to see this gorgeous T-Bird that's actually his.
Being car guys, do you guys have cars?
Do you guys do--
Well, I do.
What do you got?
'57 T-Bird.
- Oh, seriously? - Yeah.
Dude, I just finished mine. You'll-- you'll dig that.
It's around the corner.
You'll like that.
You guys got to see the inside of this thing.
Hey, Ryan, what's up?
Ryan, this is Hershel.
Nice to meet you, Hershel.
- Ty. - Ty.
- Nice to meet you, Ty. - And Jim.
Nice to meet you, Jim.
Boy, I'm good.
Hershel, you said you got a T-Bird,
so you'll probably know some of the things about this car.
You got a '57.
Tell me about it.
It was actually my--
my dad's cousin's car.
Really?
- It's a family car? - Yeah.
Hopefully one day, it'll look like this.
Well, it's a challenge, I can tell you.
There's-- there's a lot of unusual parts on these cars,
like almost every piece and part.
It's not like they cross-referenced
to a lot of the other Fords.
Of anything.
She was a real challenge.
What kind of shape is yours in?
- 1 to 10. - 1.
Is it white?
It-- it used to be.
[LAUGHTER]
What is it now?
It's got a little rust on it.
I'm kind of smelling that-- that the car probably
is not a 1 or a 2 or a 3.
It's probably a straight up 10.
Straight 10.
Yeah, I mean, the bottom line is, I've been
lying to you the whole time.
This is your car, Hershel.
Your family is a beautiful, beautiful group of people.
I like your family.
That's your car, man.
I wish I had a family like that.
You can drive it now.
Yeah, man.
And we're not messing with you.
No, we're not.
[INAUDIBLE] this ain't no joke.
This is your ride.
DANNY KOKER (VOICEOVER): I'll tell you,
when this little Bird finally got to us,
she was in worse shape than I thought
and had some of the worst rust problems I've seen in a while.
But I got to say, our team completely blew me away
and left no detail untouched.
Now, because this baby is a numbers-matching car,
it was important that we kept that same original engine
block.
So we got her all cleaned up, rebuilt, rewired, and kept
her running on that same beautiful engine that's
kept her alive since 1957.
And Pauly worked his magic on her interior,
restoring her to look like she just
came off the showroom floor.
And finally, Ryan finished her off
with a fresh new paint job that would make anyone stop
and look twice.
I think she's a 10.
I think it's a 12.
I think you're right, bro.
We went nuts.
We really did.
It happens to be a two-top car, so it's got the convertible top
tucked away behind the seat and the removable hard top,
which is a great option.
Look at the interior of this thing.
And under the hood, every nut and bolt was redone
on this car, all the wiring.
Every little bit--
That looks so clean.
--is exactly as it was.
This whole car is just-- is just awesome, you know?
Just-- you just let them shut.
You hop on in, man.
Try her on.
Duck.
Yeah.
They're low.
I was a lot younger the last time that I started one.
[ENGINE RUMBLES]
Wow.
Man.
Wow.
Oh my gosh.
Sweet.
Purrs like a kitten.
Yeah.
And the clock works.
[INAUDIBLE] didn't even notice that a while ago.
DANNY KOKER: Man, seeing that look on Hershel's face when he
found out that this beautiful little T-Bird was his
made the project all worthwhile.
Tell you what, man, it made me so happy that we could make
Hershel and his family's day.
But pretending that this T-Bird was mine got me thinking,
I might need one of these in my collection.
I'd better get on that.
Ryan, why don't we head out the front, brother man?
Works for me.
All right.
Dude, we'll have to get her out and get
her ready to ship her to Texas.
Yeah.
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