Pulling into the parking lot, his cream-colored paint reflects the sky above in glimmering distortions. Gliding between cars until he finds an empty spot, he steps on the clutch and slides into the space. Taking the key out of the ignition, he gets off the leather interior and locks the car with a beep.

Student parking lots are most commonly filled with SUVs, sedans and pickup trucks passed on to new drivers from their parents, but there are sometimes a few eye-catching cars hidden among the rows, such as senior Alex Trebilco’s car and year-long restoration project, a 1970 Ford Maverick. 

“I restored the Maverick completely,” Trebilco said. “It’s [currently] a stock fashion. I rewired that whole car, and we put a custom interior in it out of a 2016 Mustang. I restored it back to stock because it was my father’s first car, but I want to start going more toward the performance aspect side of things. I plan to put in a V8 [engine] in the coming months here.”

Trebilco, who works at Don Rucker Tire & Auto, works on cars with his father, and the two of them have worked on several car projects together.

“We’ve been [working on cars] as a family since we were really young,” Trebilco said. “My sister a little bit, but mostly just me and my dad. There’s pictures of me at six, seven months old in the garage messing around with [car] parts on the floor. He bought his truck six months before I was born, so [I’ve been working on cars] my entire life.”

Owner of the 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX STI, senior Matthew Sauers also got into cars and working on them because of his dad, who competed in Motocross for Honda and has done restorations.

“[My dad has] always loved cars, and it just went over to me,” Sauers said. “When I was around 11, [he] started [showing me] basic stuff, like an oil change, how you replace the air filter. Over time, I slowly progressed to actually working [with him].”

Sauers bought his car off his uncle for $5,000, a very reduced price, which Sauers credits to buying it from family.

“I got really lucky because my uncle bought it new in 2006, but then he bought another car, a Miata, and he’s building that out, so he stopped driving his Subaru,” Sauers said. “When COVID hit, the car market went down the drain, so my uncle offered [me] the car. It’s an STI, so why wouldn’t I [take it]. And it gives me an opportunity to work on cars.”

Besides his Maverick, Trebilco has worked on several other cars, which he buys at a reduced or discounted price before restoring them.

“My truck, a 1995 F-150, was probably my biggest build,” Trebilco said. “Everything was done on it; I built the motor, put on a big lift, big tires, wheels. Pretty much everything on that truck was touched. I think the rear end was the only thing left stock. It’s so much cheaper when I [work on a car] myself, and I know that it’s done the way I like it done. If it breaks or gets messed up, there’s no one else to blame. It’s just me.”

Sauers’ STI is mainly in stock condition, but his uncle made a few alterations to it before passing it to Sauers, who has now done some alterations of his own.

“[My STI] already came with a turbo charger,” Sauers said. “The only thing we did was add some KW shots on it [and] lowered it an inch. We did replace the engine because it blew at fifty thousand miles. If I could change anything [about the car], [it would] be a brand new interior. My uncle would drive with his dogs and he wouldn’t clean the car, so the rear seats are kind of messed up, there’s claw marks on it. If I could just replace the interior, for free, I would.”

The seniors take their cars to a variety of events, such as car meets, shows and fundraisers.

“I participate in a lot of fundraiser car shows for a lot of charities,” Trebilco said. “We do a big one out in Georgetown every year. We’ve been doing this a long time and know a lot of people. We [also] do calendar shoots, magazine covers, stuff like that. I haven’t taken any of my [cars] to the track yet, [but] if the Maverick gets a V8, it’ll probably start being raced in the classic drag bracket.”

Trebilco and Sauers said their dream cars would be ones they could work on and add accessories to to make it more custom.

“[My dream car] is actually one of our good friend’s cars that’s been sitting and rotting in a barn that I’m trying to buy,” Trebilco said. “It’s a 1969 Mach-1 Mustang with a 420 coverage end and a T-56 five speed [manual transmission]. That would be a full restoration.”

Sauers said he likes to ride down Lime Creek Road, a popular street where locals take their cars and bikes to meet up and drive around, take pictures, talk cars and hang out on weekends.

“I mainly take my car down Lime Creek [Road],” Sauers said. “I met with the Lime Creek Club a couple times, those are cool guys, but if I’m going to go somewhere [with my car] it’s most likely going to be Lime Creek.”

For Trebilco, it’s enough for him to drive around town in his Maverick, often accompanied by his father.

“[My favorite memory with my car is] honestly just cruising with my dad in his truck and my car,” Trebilco said. “Both of the [cars] are restored. He did the truck and we did the Maverick, so it’s cool to roll down in two cars that we made run together.”