Richard Rein's 1955 Ford Thunderbird Regal Roadster is a fiberglass and steel replica body on a Shay built replica frame.

Rein recalls the car being a "basket-case" when purchased and towed from Salt Lake City, Utah to their home in Sparks, Nevada in May of 2019.

Since then, Rein has updated the car regularly installing a Chevrolet 350 engine and a 700R4 transmission with a Ford 9 inch rear end, a Mustang II front suspension with power rack and pinion, and 4-wheel disc breaks.

For the interior restoration, Rein built it up from scratch. They did frame off the interior with new body mounts and bodywork to make everything fit properly. Rein recalls lots of stock "T-bird" parts were modified to fit this car.

When it came time to paint, Rein entrusted the two-stage paint services of SprayCraft in Sparks, Nevada

Poking a bit of fun at the car, Rein had the custom license plate created to read 55WANAB, "because it's not really a 1955 Thunderbird"

When revamping the radio, Rein trusted Classic Car Stereos to provide the Ford-look combination Radio/CD player and let us know the "sound is great".

Rein adds he still has a few minor details to finish and we wish him the best on wrapping up his restoration and build!