"It was a junker when I got it," Richard Schmidt of Sharon, Kansas, said. "There was rust, it was painted black, there was no interior, no wheels." Schmidt said he bought the vehicle from Steve Eck of Sharon "and it sat like that for 10 years. It's been a 40-year process," Schmidt said with a chuckle.

At Kiowa's Labor Day Classic Car Show Sunday, it seems impossible that he's talking about the same car when looking at his brilliant red with silver trim 1957 Chevy Bel Air. The interior is a sharp red and white.

This is one sleek car that now travels to car shows where it's admired. It's just as...