The average car owner’s experience with vehicles is limited to time-consuming visits to dealerships for yearly vehicle inspections. Skills that are essential to maintain cars are often overlooked because many drivers refrain from taking matters into their own hands. On the other hand, car maintenance and repair has become routine to Senior Jorge Valdez who grew up learning all there is to know about cars.
For the past 9 months, Valdez, his father, and a few of his friends have worked diligently to restore an old jeep acquired at a shop in Flatonia, Texas. Valdez and his father were on their way back from a San Antonio trip when they stumbled upon the Jeep; the pair saw a challenge and immediately went to purchase the vehicle.
“Originally, my dad is the one that’s always been passionate about cars, and he’s the one that has taught me everything I know,” Valdez said.
Although Valdez shares his passion with his father, it is clear that he has his own fascination with vehicles. The father-son duo have always worked on their own cars, tackling costly tasks such as routine maintenance and repairs by themselves.
“We… never take our cars to service or to the dealership–we always work on them ourselves,” Valdez said.
Although Valdez is no stranger to cars, the Jeep restoration project was a really big step up from the routine maintenance work he was accustomed to. Consequently, reviving a car from the ground up proved to be a difficult task as many components had to be taken care of at once.
“This was a whole different level from what we were used to doing,” Valdez said. “We definitely learned a lot of things like welding and how to use powder coating, which is a process that’s used in the car manufacturing industry.”
The pinnacle of the restoration, however, was taking the entire engine apart. The engine is the most complex and fundamental structure in a car; one small mistake could end up damaging the vehicle and setting back the project.
“The hardest part of revamping the car is learning where every piece goes because–like most things–every part has a specific place and purpose in the engine,” Valdez said.
Furthermore, Valdez has been exploring the engineering field, opting for electrical engineering as his first choice of major. His hands-on experience with the mechanical components and his theoretical knowledge pertaining to vehicles has given him a great head start in the career path of his choosing.
“I think it’s also really valuable that [to] know how to do this stuff, because getting cars fixed in garages is really expensive nowadays,” Valdez said.
In the midst of inflation, the cost of maintaining and repairing cars has become unsustainable. Valdez and his father have been able to dodge these expenses with their expertise while also enjoying the process. Most importantly, Valdez, his father and his friends get to spend quality time.
“Fixing cars is something I really like because I get to spend time with my dad, and the both of us also get to learn,” Valdez said.
