A common thread that pops up about once a month is how the car community is doomed because “young folk” aren’t into the hobby. “Young folk”, which essentially means thirty or younger by most standards, are too into technology to give a hoot about their cars. They’d rather have the new phone, or are too busy with video games, or are slaving away working off a mountain of student debt they mired themselves in after trying to better themselves in college to have something as frivolous as a project car. Besides, would any of today’s children even be able to pay attention long enough to learn how to work on a car or would they need a prescription for that?
Let me let you in on a little secret, ok? If there isn’t an environment that fosters learning how to work with your hands, if there isn’t support for a dream, and if there isn’t encouragement to get out there and to try to do something, of course no kid is going to want to get to work. But give the kid the right tools and teach them how to do things right, and give them an incentive to keep at it, and you’ll see some magic happen. Take Hannah here…she’s restoring her 1962 Volkswagen with the goal of having it running and driving before she takes her driver’s test. Not a bad goal to have, even if the VeeDub has seen the worst part of some salted roads and showed up sans engine. Don’t focus on the bad though. Focus on the good…this young lady welding her patch panels on after clearly explaining the how and why behind what she’s doing. And she’s doing the work in a Harbor Freight garage she put up, she’s done the rust removal, and she’s even built a gantry crane setup to remove the body from the pan.
We know there’s some help behind the scenes, no doubt. But she’s the one welding, she’s the one working. She’s the kind of kid that’ll keep the hobby going and encourage others to give it a shot.
(Thanks to Dennis Rannebeck for the tip!)
Great video! If you take the time to teach a kid something in a engaging fashion it sticks with them forever
I find the people that say kids aren’t into cars, actually mean they aren’t into the cars the people that post it are. The same people are the ones that complain about kids in civics with loud exhausts and forget what they started out in. The car hobby is safe imo. It is great to see a kid dong the work though, and I bet some of her friends (if not already) get interested too. She’ll have more pride in that car than any other she owns in her life
I gave my daughter a 1980 Camaro when she turned 5. Yes, it is her car. She knows it and demands to be driven around in it. True, I built the engine, wired it, painted it, built the trans, basically built the entire car as it is fully restored. But it’s her car
When she is old enough to drive, I will give her a beater if she re-restores it out of her pocket. She wants to repaint it pink and purple, which is fine. But she has to sand off the black that I painted it and she has to paint it herself. I’ll help her out and teach her how, but it’s her car.
She’s not a huge car fan now, but she does love to come out to the shop when it’s time to work on her car.
Simply awesome!
She needs to be invited on All Girls Garage, she could be Bogie’s “Mini Me”.
She definitely knows what she is doing with the sheetmetal, and I respect that she is doing it herself.
I taught my daughter how to work on cars at about her age. Now she doesn’t just beat them until dead and wonder why they died. She can catch small things before they become big ones, and help fix them. This girl will probably do the same. Dad and Mom should be proud.
Wonderful! So nice to see.
So nice! VW:)
She has a pretty good series of videos. Unfortunately she hasn’t updated in more than a year. I hope she hasn’t given up or moved on to other interests.
There was another teenaged girl featured on BS a few years ago who was restoring a Fiero. I wonder what became of her.
This. All of this. I would love to know who inspired her to get after this project and take instruction so well.
Finally, a female doing auto work that doesn\’t feel the need to sexualize herself.
The video is from 2016. Hopefully she has it finished and driving by now.