Paige Newhard is no stranger to grease, oil or hard work. In fact, she said she is most comfortable getting her hands dirty. The 17-year-old was born into a family of mechanics and motorheads and fully intends to continue the tradition.
Her first individual overhauling project began two years ago when she received her first truck -- a 1976 Dodge D100 Adventurer Sport, affectionately named Willard after the Footloose character. Paige had discovered the vehicle, located in Wichita, Kan., while scouring Craigslist and sent the listing to her father, Kenny Newhard.
Unbeknownst to Paige, Kenny had found the same listing and shared it with her mother, Tiffany Newhard. Paige's parents secretly contacted the seller, made the journey to Kansas to retrieve the truck, and surprised her with it shortly after.
"I was in complete shock ... awe. It was great," Paige said.
What drew Paige to the truck?
"The big steering wheel," she said. "It has that rustic look I've always liked."
The truck also has family ties. In the bed is a toolbox passed down from an old truck of Tiffany's.
Paige explained that her great-grandfather, whom she never met, had a Dodge D100 Adventurer Sport that was the same year and color as her truck -- the only difference is her great-grandfather's truck was a standard.
"The family history of the truck is my favorite part," Paige said. "My whole family is tied into this vehicle, and one day I would love to pass it on to my children."
It wasn't long before she popped the hood and got to work.
The truck came off the assembly line on March 28, 1967, and remains mostly original. Paige said the factory engine went out on the last day of her 2018 school year, in the pouring rain. She was then tasked with replacing the engine with another pulled from a 1971 Dodge Dart.
"She did the work completely by herself," Kenny said. "I was only around for muscle and guidance."
Paige utilized a former Chevrolet dealership in Anderson that is owned by her family and the auto bays and tools there to complete her build.
After replacing the wheels and tires, Paige resealed the rear-end, rebuilt the brakes and front end, fabricated the sway bar mounts, welded the floor pans, sanded and repainted the bumper, rewired the charging system, replaced the radio and speakers, installed new dual exhausts and mounted LED lights under the truck's dash.
Kenny estimates Paige has invested an "easy 300 hours" rebuilding the truck in the past two years. And she's not complete.
Resealing the windshield is next on Paige's to-do list, followed by some bodywork and the installation of a custom leather headliner. She hopes to rebuild the factory engine this winter so that all of the serial numbers on the vehicle match.
In addition to spending time under the hood, Paige maintained her school workload, multiple extracurricular activities and a job at Poppy's Donuts.
"She's worked and bought all her parts for the truck and paid us back for her truck," Tiffany said. "She managed to finish school with all A's. She's on the high school archery team and went to state individually. She's in FFA, National Honor Society and went to state with the varsity cheer team. She also helps take care of all the farm animals."
Besides a truckload of memories and knowledge, what did Paige take away from this experience?
"I learned that it takes a lot of patience, hard work, dedication and time to get everything done that needs to be done," she said. "I also learned that, no matter what, there was always people around me that would be there to help me if I ever needed it."
Whether that be words of support or an engine jump.
General News on 06/20/2019