In 1993, it was stolen while parked in his driveway and 10 days later it was located in Opotiki, but had been stripped down to its body, which Mr Cramp described as being "cannabalised" .
Two trips to Australia to visit wreckers' yards and numerous road trips to find replacement parts, and thousands of hours of labour later, the car is better than ever.
Mr Cramp said the car is insured for $40,000 but he has spent far more money than that.
The previous weekend the car won Best Ford at a car show at Paeroa, and has also won Best Australian Ford three times at the All Ford Day car show.
Fellow enthusiast Mike Garaway from Welcome Bay said he had been coming to the show for about six years, and rated Mr Cramp's car as the best restoration he had seen.
The BOP Mustang Club's 38 glistening mustangs were also a crowd favourite.
Ford Muscle Car Club president Barry Gordon said more than 3000 people attended and there was a record number of cars on show, including some of the latest Fords. Last year 316 vehicles took part.
"There weren't as many hot rods as previous years. I'd like to see more, but there were lots of American and Australian Fords, a lot of Euro cars, as well as quite a few project cars," Mr Gordon said.
