This article originally appeared in the December 2024 issue of THE SHOP magazine.
By Maura Keller
For over 40 years, Charles “Chuck” Siewert, owner of Madison, Wisconsin-based Regal Roadsters, has been building award-winning Ford Thunderbird (T-Bird) reproductions and restomods that he crafts to be “far better than the original.”
Initially focusing on the 1955 and ’56 styles, he added the venerable ’57 model after hundreds of requests to do so. As a result, Siewert has made a name for himself and his business, earning accolades and awards aplenty throughout his extensive career.
Over the years, Regal Roadsters’ clients have consisted mostly of T-Bird owners looking to celebrate the classic design of a revered automobile while also seeking modern-day amenities including power rack and pinion steering, power disc brakes and air conditioning.
As part of his offerings, Siewert has developed various chassis configurations from which clients can choose to make their T-Birds truly their own. Using 21st century technology, the customized classics range from classy and understated to over the top and with power to spare—from a practical small-block Ford to a fire-breathing, 1,150-hp big-block Chevy engine.
“I have really tried to help my clients realize the exact type of vehicle they are looking for,” Siewert says. “If you call me up and say, ‘Chuck, I want a pink ’57 with a big engine and pink and black leather interior,’ I can walk you through the process and proceed with creating the car of your dreams.”
FULL CIRCLE
Not surprising, during 43 years in business, Regal Roadsters has captured the attention of many fans throughout the industry for some of its awe-inspiring creations. At one point, prior to the COVID pandemic, the shop employed 23 people.
“Many of my staff were young and sometimes I felt like a professional babysitter, but I just love to train young minds and teach them this craft and I love to share the success,” Siewert says. “In the beginning it was a lot easier to find a fresh, young person and train them to be the best they could be. It’s obviously become more difficult, but if you love it, you stick with it, no matter how frustrating the challenges.”
Right before the pandemic hit, Siewert had decided, with the help of his wife and office manager, Joni, to dial back his business to only six employees as he began contemplating retirement and handing the business over to the next generation.
It proved to be proper timing for both of them, especially since Joni had complications from a lung disease and simply could not be exposed to COVID-19.
“I said, ‘Honey, we’re just going to have to shut down. And you’re not going to be managing the showroom or the offices anymore. Let’s put the guys off for a while,’” Siewert recalls. “So, we set up an office in one of the bedrooms in our home to handle the office work.”
Chuck continued to slowly reduce the square footage of his shop, eventually selling his building and shrinking his company’s footprint to about 3,000 square feet.
“Eventually, I made the conscious decision just to come back very lean with my shop,” he says.
With a smaller staff, Siewert found he was once again able to focus on the “fun stuff.” However, in October 2023, Regal Roadsters’ longtime employee Charles “Randy” Steinberg passed away unexpectedly. He had worked as a fabricator for Siewert for over 40 years, nearly since the inception of the business.
“I really built the company brand with Randy,” Siewert says. “When you wake up one day and your righthand man, someone you’ve worked side-by-side with for over 40 years, isn’t there, it really makes you question everything.”
READY FOR A HANDOFF
Today, Siewert still loves what he’s doing—namely, helping his clients realize their visions of T-Bird ownership—but he recognizes it’s time to hand the reins off to the next individual or company who can carry Regal Roadsters (regalroadsters.com) forward and continue the company’s legacy of producing high-quality, handcrafted T-Bird customs and reproductions.
After four decades in business, Siewert says he has invested a tremendous amount of money and energy into giving clients what they truly desire. Therefore, Siewert is eager to keep the Regal Roadsters legacy alive.
The ideal candidate to take over, he says, will see the value in taking custom built, award-winning, 1955 through ’57 T-Birds to the next level.
“We were doing mods before the original Thunderbird people started thinking about doing restomods,” Siewert says. “And that’s really cool. It’s not about restoring a Thunderbird to what it was originally. People don’t want that anymore. They want the classic design but with state-of-the-art technology. That’s the heart and soul of our company and that’s what I love to do. I love designing and engineering, implementing all the tooling to be able to get a vehicle to a point that it is really an amazing piece of work.”
Looking back, Siewert says it’s hard to identify a favorite build, as there have been so many during the life of the company. Each project has been unique and well-defined, he says.
Still, he admits to learning many lessons along the way.
“Under-promise and over-deliver,” Siewert advises. “I’ve seen so many associates and businesses fail miserably just because they underestimated what it was going to take. That’s one of the biggest mistakes you can make in this industry.”
Looking ahead, Siewert is eager to celebrate the longevity of his company, the impact he and his team have made on the lives of many Thunderbird owners and to find the next person who embraces his vision and can bring the Regal Roadsters brand into the future.
“If I had somebody who wanted to buy the business or if I had somebody that was going to come in and take the reins from me, how would I guide them? Basically, I’d split the business structure into two sections—continuing to manufacture reproductions with new fiberglass bodies and custom tube chassis, because we have the tooling and fixtures and everything required to produce the ’55 to ’57 body of the T-bird for somebody who doesn’t have a Thunderbird to start with,” Siewert says. “And the other half of the business, which has been very good to us and people really respect, is restoring the originals and creating restomods.”
He references a family wanting to upgrade the favorite car of a father or grandfather.
“Maybe someone has their dad’s ’55 Thunderbird and wants to keep it in the family, or a grandpa’s ’55 Thunderbird, but they want power rack and pinion, power disc brakes, tilt, air, cruise—all that sort of stuff,” he says. “It’s about keeping these cars alive, whether the original cars or reproductions. They are amazing vehicles, and it has been so rewarding working on them, creating them and keeping their design alive for so many people to enjoy.”
And a testament to longevity.
“One thing that speaks volumes about what we’ve created is that we are currently the only T-Bird body and chassis manufacturer in the world today,” he says. “When we started out there were over a dozen.”
