Everybody has their own way of relaxing at the end of a long day. For some, it’s resting and doing no physical work. For others, it’s spending a lot of time getting their hands dirty and modifying their cars to e
nhance the performance and looks of the vehicle.
For junior Chris Hale, the hobby is not only a great way to learn and grow, but it also helps her develop a sense of community with other people who are fascinated by cars.
“I enjoy learning more about cars while getting hands-on experience, even if it’s something simple like an at-home oil change,” Hale said. “The community is also amazing. I’ve learned a lot by talking to other people in the hobby, and I’ve made a lot of new friends too.”
Junior Eli Duby loves modifying his car as a way to unwind from the day’s stresses.
“I don’t know if [modding cars] would be a career path, but it’s definitely something that I’d stick with forever, just as a hobby,” Duby said.
By modifying their cars, students can gain hands-on experience in automotive work. Senior Adam Mack sees it as a way to turn his favorite hobby into a lucrative business.
“It used to be a hobby, but now I flip and sell all sorts of different things with motors, like motorcycles and four-wheelers,” Mack said. “I also do lots of side jobs, not only for cars, but I’ve gotten more into doing maintenance on boats and fixing up four-wheelers.”
While making money is great, Hale believes that the biggest reward comes from the benefits of her physical work.
“It makes me have a sense of individuality and control over an aspect in my life, and I enjoy every step of the way,” Hale said. “My favorite part of the ‘accomplishment’ side of things has to be at car shows when I have the opportunity to compete and earn rewards for my hard work.”
Although working on cars can be a fun pastime, it doesn’t come without challenges. For Mack, his biggest struggle is something he can’t control.
“The hardest part about modding cars is where we live,” Mack said. “We live in the rustbelt which makes everything a pain to take off. The rustbelt is when the area you live in has lots of rust. Snowy winters with lots of salt on the roads cause cars to rust. Lots of the bolts and other parts can be so rusted that they break when you try to take them off. When this happens, it takes much longer to remove these parts.”
Hale’s biggest struggle is the stressful workload with putting on different parts using the equipment for the car, such as jacks and other tools.
“The actual physical part of doing the mods has to be the hardest because sometimes you don’t know what works and what doesn’t work [and] you have to experiment a lot. If you don’t have the patience, it can get super frustrating,” Hale said. “I’ve found that, especially for my car, I have to modify some of the parts I put on because my car isn’t specifically made to be modified in the way I’m doing it, so running back and forth to the store can get annoying.”
Despite these challenges, Mack feels that the reward is worth all the effort he puts in.
“I like going out and cruising in something that not many people get to cruise in,” Mack said. “I also enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that you were the one who got the car running and driving, and that you know how to fix it if it breaks.”
Mack’s love for working on cars all circles back to all of the memories he has of working on cars with his family.
“I used to work on cars with my dad, and I used to do simple maintenance jobs when I was little. Now I have moved on to my own projects,” Mack said. “I always enjoyed working on cars because it gives you a great sense of accomplishment when you get something done.”
