From MSN: https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/ent...rs-in-unmarked-garage-in-macomb-co/ar-BBYR2Md Summary: "Dave Dudek does most of the work in an unmarked garage in Clinton Township, having moved from Warren after someone bought the building and evicted everyone. His small private business is word-of-mouth only and he turns away more projects than he accepts. Dudek, a skilled tradesman who lives in St. Clair Shores, has repaired lift trucks and carts in the Fiat Chrysler Stamping Plant factory for 23 years. As the son of a hot-tar roofer and homemaker, he fell in love with muscle cars when his dad brought home a blue 1969 Barracuda convertible. "Dad was into cars a little bit but I fell in love with that car. I was, like, 14," said Dudek, who grew up in Taylor and Sterling Heights. "If he was getting a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread for mom, I was going no matter what." He is working on 11 cars from clients who live in Miami, New York and near Alberta, Canada. Transforming them is his hobby. A single car can take up to a year. And finding original parts is like a national scavenger hunt of junkyards. "I put in a couple-three hours a day on these cars," Dudek said. "I am making sure every bolt is the exact bolt the car left the factory with. Each one has an insignia. Who made the bolt for Chrysler or GM or wherever? If they're supposed to be silver zinc, it's silver zinc. I'm constantly running into dead ends. I've got six bolts I need and I have four bolts and I need to find a junkyard in Arizona or Minnesota to see if they have two bolts for me. It's just a constant challenge." The private car restoration business happened by accident for Dudek. About 15 years ago, he took his repainted 1968 GTS Dodge Dart to a car show in Columbus, Ohio. Someone left a note on his windshield asking to do a magazine photo shoot. Dudek knew his friends were around and thought the note was a prank. But it was legit. Since then, he has worked on hundreds of cars — from total restoration to special treatment including engine modification. So he does authentic restoration and also engine modification, making the cars more reliable than they were originally. These are called resto-mods. His current projects include two '70 'Cuda convertibles, a '71 'Cuda convertible, a '71 Hemi Charger R/T, a '71 Charger R/T, a '71 Charger R/T with a rare sunroof, a '68 Charger R/T, a '69 Hemi Road Runner, a '71 Hemi GTX, a '69 Dodge Daytona and a '69 Plymouth Belvedere. Collectors come to Dudek because he has created hundreds of spreadsheets illustrating what the cars used to look like. It is his own reference guide. He fully restores Chrysler muscle cars and has done engine work on the Chevrolet Camaro, Pontiac GTO and Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. "I've done a lot of record-breaking cars," Dudek said. "One sold for $305,000, a green 1970 Coronet RT Hemi. ... It was just attention to detail, every nut and bolt from bottom of the tire to the top of the roof. Every fastener, even under the dashboard things you don't see. The paint color, everything. Just exactly as it left the factory." Two decades ago, Dudek co-founded a racing organization called F.A.S.T., which stands for "Factory Appearing Stock Tire." Muscle car owners from across the U.S. and Canada come together about six times a year and drag race around the states, including New York, Ohio, Maryland, New Jersey and Georgia. The race at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan, can attract up to 100 racers. "Many of the racing cars are wearing original window stickers and look like they drove off the showroom floor," said Dudek, who races his 1969 Hemi-powered Plymouth Road Runner. He wowed spectators by clocking in 9.902 seconds at 140.31 mph at the Maryland International Raceway. "I like working on stuff," he said. I'm now seven years away from retirement with a pension. I'm not going to mess that up. I'm a cancer survivor, six years now cancer-free of non-Hodgkins lymphoma. You don't know how long you're going to live. I like these cars. Working for Chrysler is good money to pay the house payment and everyday life. If I want to take my family on vacation or race my own cars, I'll need extra money. I've got two boys. I like making show cars run fast as heck. I've got a little niche here." His wife, Kelly, 49, a plastics company administrator, met her husband while cruising with her girlfriends on Gratiot Avenue in Roseville. "He was out cruising with his friends in his '88 Mustang GT convertible looking for a race," she said. "His passion for cars was abnormal and obsessive at the time. Over the course of 30 years, it has never gone away." She went on, "This has rubbed off on me and our two children. Three years ago, I purchased a 2016 Dodge Challenger Hellcat and he prodded me to run it down the drag strip. I did and love it." She ran a 10.71 at 128 mph."
