Muscle car stolen from Fresno father and son

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Fresno father and son are searching for their stolen muscle car. The two were restoring it together as part of a family tradition and a crook swiped it.

Bobby Martin's home is missing some American muscle, a classic 1972 Chevelle. He says it was parked outside Sunday night and in the morning, it was gone.

Martin said, "Put it in the driveway, took the battery out, thinking nobody would be able to drive it off, and we get up this morning and it was gone."

Martin says he didn't hear anything so he thinks someone broke into the car, pushed it down the street and towed it away.

"Sick to my stomach. We've been saving up. My son really loves that car," Martin added.

Martin actually bought the car for his son, Nicholas, a year ago. Back then, the Chevelle was a rusty shell. They invested $10,000, and they were restoring it together.

"We were getting close, we had the seats in there all mocked up, we were doing all the fab work. I was showing my son how to weld," Martin said, "just showing him all the stuff my dad showed me, and it just got took from us, heartbreaking."

Nicholas is 15 years old and in a year, the keys would have been his. "I really loved that car. I worked on that car with my dad. He sold a car just to get it. It was his car... just to get that car I wanted," he said.

The Martins searched the neighborhood and checked surveillance cameras with no luck. They're willing to offer a reward for the car and would even pick it up, with no questions asked.

"We're a hardworking family. We can't just go buy a new one. Even if we could, they're not out there for sale," Bobby Martin said.

For this family, it wasn't just a car. It was part of a tradition -- a love of American muscle passing from father to son.