Decked out in arm-length gloves and a protective mask, junior Ben Lopez hesitantly began to weld his car, after beginning to build the car about a month before. He said he found welding frightening because he had to anxiously wait until the exact moment the welding machine started.

“I’m a very jumpy person, so the loud noise and the bright flash and not knowing exactly what’s [going to] happen because you have to look through the [mask’s] screen, which is almost black, [made welding scary],” Lopez said.

According to Lopez, he and his father started to build a 1981 Camaro from the car’s exterior, consisting of the body and a base frame, in the fall. Lopez said they share the responsibilities equally, each paying for the necessary parts and having equal ownership of the car. Even though his father was not initially thrilled about building it, Lopez eventually convinced him to take on the project. The process required many tasks including welding, installing parts and overall assembly.

Lopez said he vividly remembers the moment the car’s exterior arrived at his house. He had been excited the whole day, not being able to focus on anything but the car.

“[It was] like when you get … a trailer to a movie that you can’t wait to see,” Lopez said. 

Lopez has several miniature models of the Camaro he wanted to build, he said. He uses them not only for references to assist in locating where certain parts should be, but also for motivation as they remind him of what he wants his finished car to resemble. He said the models are the reason he has been so interested in cars since his childhood.

According to Lopez, his inspiration to build a car came from his friend, junior Sammy Bellman.

Bellman said she suggested Lopez attend Shermerfest, an event featuring antique cars in the Village Green Park.

“Ben and I had been talking about cars recently, and so knowing that Ben was really into Camaros, I started sending him pictures of the old Camaros there,” Bellman said.

Lopez said seeing the cars there encouraged him to build one.

In order to prepare to build the car, Lopez said he often spent hours reading instructional books, indexes and other online information from many websites. This extensive research was necessary, as he and his father had no background knowledge on building cars other than a few minor repairs. 

“I have [one of the books] annotated almost like it’s an English assignment,” Lopez said.

According to Lopez, he has wanted to take an autos class since sophomore year, but could not due to scheduling conflicts. However, next year, he plans on taking Autos 161 and 261. 

Anthony Romito, career and technological education teacher, said building a car can be difficult due to the amount of in-depth knowledge necessary of the way every part works both individually and together.

“Not only do you have to understand the academic side of the vehicle and how all your vehicular systems operate and function, but you also have to be able to apply that knowledge,” Romito said.

According to Lopez, a spark of fire exploded out through the top of the engine after the first time they tested it. 

“I was afraid that I had just blown up my … $6,000 engine,” Lopez said.

After countless attempts, Lopez said the first time he was able to get the engine working felt incredible.

“After everything had just not been functioning correctly, the moment when you just turn [the engine] and everything works in perfect synchronization, I mean, it’s just perfect,” Lopez said.

Over winter break, Lopez said he would work on the car every day for as long as he could, even in “ungodly cold temperatures.”

“Seeing the car constantly and imagining what it could look like [when] done, that’s what always gets me out there,” Lopez said.