MARK STEVENS/Courtesy

Owner Dale Eslinger sits in the driver's seat of his newly restored 1956 Chevy Belair after a crew of 33 WyoTech students spent a week converting the car. Award-winning designer Chip Foose sits shotgun.

LARAMIE (AP) - It had all the makings of a really bad day: a stolen car, insurance fraud accusations, tape-recorded conversations and an incompetent police officer who wasn't what he appeared to be.

Had it been real, Dale Eslinger probably wouldn't be smiling today.

As it turned out, Eslinger was the latest victim of TLC's "Overhaulin'," a reality television show where junker cars are transformed in just one week into shiny, roaring beasts worthy of any garage calendar.

The entire episode, which aired Tuesday, was filmed in Laramie at Wyoming Technical Institute, where Eslinger is foundation director.

Like all victims of the show, Eslinger was scratching his head in confusion when a 1956 Chevy Belair was stolen from his home's driveway in late March. At the time, he was storing the car as a favor for the school.

"A man from Salt Lake City donated the car to WyoTech," Eslinger said. "In most cases, the cars are restored by students over the course of three to five years."

Eslinger was attending a breakfast meeting when he got a call from his office manager, informing him that his wife had noticed the car was missing. He immediately called police, not knowing they were also in on the prank.

"I was very upset about what happened," Eslinger said. "But I was more upset that a felony had been committed on my property."

Meanwhile, 33 students and faculty members began the tremendous task of changing the four-door sedan into a two-door roadster convertible. They worked alongside award-winning automobile designer Chip Foose, who makes regular appearances on the California-based show.

As the team secretly worked in a garage at the school, "Overhaulin'" host Chris Jacobs pretended to be an undercover cop with a corny accent who suspected Eslinger had committed insurance fraud.

The first close call came when Eslinger called the police department requesting Jacobs and was told there was no such person.

"They tried to pass it off that he was an undercover officer and doesn't let other people know he's there," Eslinger said. "I got a little suspicious when they said that."

All week long, WyoTech officials kept a close eye on Eslinger through hidden cameras, recorded phone conversations and other devious ploys. As an extra precaution, the garage doors were locked as the crew worked at night, just in case Eslinger made an unexpected appearance.

"We had pictures of Dale at every entrance, saying 'Don't let this guy in,'" said street rod coordinator Gary Puls. On the day of the big unveiling, Eslinger was called to the school with bad news. "They told me they found pieces of the car at a chop shop in Denver," Eslinger said.

"They had the parts piled in a trailer when I got there." He didn't mourn for long.

"I was asked if I had ever been on TV before, and then they brought me inside," Eslinger recalled. "Everyone who was in on the prank was standing by the car."

"Overhaulin'" producer Tod Schellinger said Eslinger was shocked by the stunning metamorphosis. "People can't believe what happened, so a lot of times they're just speechless and don't even believe it's the same car," Schellinger said.

Eslinger was even more stunned to learn how hard the crew had worked. "A lot of them worked over 100 hours that week," Eslinger said. "There were people working on the car 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

During that time, the crew managed to increase the value of the car from $5,000 to an estimated $150,000 or more. Some of the improvements include a 425-horsepower engine, an overdrive transmission, Cobra seats and custom rims with flame-treaded tires.

Only eight pieces from the original car - such as the fenders, hood, floor and deck lid - were salvaged. All other parts were donated, including the windshield, which was originally the rear window of a 1951 Mercury.

The car was also painted steel blue and silver, in honor of the official WyoTech colors.

"The car is beautiful," Eslinger said. "It's an amazing change."

The school's nonprofit foundation will sell the hot rod to boost its scholarship program. "As a foundation director, I can't thank them enough," Eslinger said. "If we get the car to enough shows, we think we can auction it off for up to $250,000."

The eye-popping convertible will appear in eight car shows over the next six months, including a private showing with The Tonight Show host Jay Leno, who is an avid car collector.

"The car gets invited out more than we do," Eslinger joked.

Although it's tempting, Eslinger said he has no plans to go cruising in the roadster. Not since the odometer was rolled back to zero.

"It would hurt its value to add miles to the car," he said. "It's essentially brand-new right now."