The DelSol Project
The engine needed some maintenance such as oil change, spark plugs, coil-overs, and a new clutch. I researched how to do these things myself and got it done in the first few months. This was easy. It was the “beat up” exterior that really needed the most attention. I had a connection through a friend. There was a guy who did car paint jobs in our neighbourhood. He worked out of his home close to my place.
This was a perfect scenario.
Though it took some convincing to get Joe “take on” this task, he agreed to it because he believed that I wanted to learn his craft, and I would do the majority of the work. I knew I could and I wanted to. I was determined to restore this car to its former glory!
Last Spring break, the project began, and I spent every single day of my Spring break 2024 from 7 in the morning till 9 at night, working on my car and then evenings after that for months. Joe and I worked tirelessly.
Now Joe is an interesting and amazing man. Let me take a few minutes to give this guy accolades for his incredible knowledge and abilities with cars. Joe is a 76-year-old man who loves his cars. He could tell I wanted to learn. He decided to help me out with this paint job and “teach me the ways”, he said. The only rule was, that I had to "show up ready to work" and do 95% of it. The countless hours I spent sanding and filling in holes just to ask him, “Is this good?” and he would reply, “ Nope, do it again”.
With those instructions, I started working at it again. Joe's generosity is like no other. Every day when I would be working with him someone would come into his shop and ask for some help. He would instantly start analyzing what was going wrong and try to help. He always told me that his goal in life is to be able to spread his knowledge and help others in the future. He always tells me, “When you are older and some kid comes asking for a paint job, I hope you will take the time and teach them”.
And, you know what, I will.