Rick Scribner’s passion is high-performance muscle cars. He passed this passion down to his son, Alex, and his son-in-law, Mark Seelley.

In the past, Rick handled private sales of these classic, often limited-edition, cars on his own but he wanted to set up something more permanent that would include both Alex and Mark. What better way to establish a new career for all than to open a business they all could enjoy?

This led Rick to the historic railroad station in downtown Wilton. The high ceilings, brick exterior, sound construction, being a part of Wilton history and a fit with the era of the cars being sold all made this an appealing investment that is currently being renovated into Scribner Performance Vehicles show and sales room. Renovations include removing a portion of the far brick wall and a door installed designed to fit the age and character of the building and large enough to allow cars to easily move in and out.

In the meantime, all three partners are continuing to purchase ready-to-drive-out-the-door high-performance vehicles with clean titles to add to the stock already on hand. As Rick phrased it, “We intend to sell what people want. This will be strictly a muscle-car dealership and showroom.”

But there is also no chance this will be your usual monotonous showroom, not if Rick’s ideas unfold as planned. The business may more resemble a muscle car museum than a showroom, since every car will be unique in its own manner. There will even be an award-winning Nitti Roadster, one of the top 10 original 1932 Ford hot rods in the country in a special nook dedicated to its permanent display. Its most-recent award was won at the New England Racing Museum in Loudon, when it took the Martel Cup for Best in Show for cars with a racing history last year.

But that’s only its latest victory. It captured its first trophy in 1950 by winning the California’s Most Beautiful Roadster Award at the Los Angeles Hot Rod Show. Later it won the Bruce Meyer Hot Rod Preservation Award in 2000 at the Grand National Roadster Show. Rick inherited this prize car from his father, who purchased it in 2010.

Five or six cars will be on display and for sale in the shop at a time, with three or four others from their inventory listed on line and stored off-site until they are ready to sell. Look for the scribnermotors.com website once the contractors complete their renovations.

I asked Rick if he plans on selling car accessories and he replied, “No, just cars, but we will be decorating with period stuff and maybe a few unique non-motorized vehicles that should attract some attention. We may display some antique mag wheels on the balcony and we have an antique gas pump that will be showcased inside the building, along with some other period pieces.”

A few of the cars that will be for sale once the doors open are an eye-popping yellow Shelby Mustang GT350 with 12 original miles, a red 1973 Barracuda, a 1968 Camaro and a 1970 Challenger. Until recently, they had a 1968 Roadrunner, but it sold before the shop saw its first customer.

Rick said, when I asked, “It’s been good working with the people in town and I’ve known DJ from the Wilton House of Pizza for a long time so I don’t feel like a stranger.” He added “I’d like to hold some big event on Main Street where we bring in lots of cars and maybe we’ll do something like Cars and Coffee in the morning several times a year. That’s all still in the planning stages. “

No matter the future plans, this new Wilton business should be an attraction in itself that will bring back memories and, perhaps, fulfill the dreams of those who pass through its doors.