He built a car with his bare hands

BY OLAMIDE OLUMIDE THE MIRROR NEWS & FEATURES EDITOR

Aperson's relationship with their car tells you a lot about them. For senior Warrakan Nate Reiwtavee, his car is his whole life.

Unlike most people, he made the decision to build his car from scratch instead of simply buying one. It took the teen about a year to build his 1991 Nissan 240sx during quarantine.

His interest in automobiles began when his dad sold his old drift car when Reiwtavee was 12. Reiwtavee’s passion for cars sprayed through his interest in drifting.

“My main goal for that car was to be a car that could be used daily that can still drift around,” he said.

Japanese drifter Keiichi Tsuchiya is one of Reiwtavee’s role models. He says that seeing how Tsuchiya drifts and manipulates his wheels is really inspiring.

“He's named the Drift King, and seeing him drive his car and drifting it on the track is really cool,” the teen said. “In my spare time I like to study the techniques of different drifters because they all drive differently and sometimes have completely different methods for initiating the drift.”

The journey of building his car wasn't smooth. He faced many challenges along the way, but persevered with his end result in mind.

“There hasn't been a point where I fully gave up on my car,” he said. “But there would be days when a problem stretched on for a while, and it would make me so frustrated.”

The thought of driving it when it was finished was what kept him going.

“Being able to drive is really fun for me,” Reiwtavee said. “I really like driving, so the idea of being able to drive it after building it is what kept my dedication up.”

While he does occasionally drift with his car, it's not as convenient because this hobby has its consequences.

“Once we towed the car up to the Apple Valley Speedway and drifted out there for a day and overall it was a really good experience,” he said. “If I could, I would drift every day. But since it wears down your tires pretty fast, it’s kind of tricky to do daily with that car when my tires are almost bald.”

Building the car wasn't the only laborious part of this project. Reiwtavee also had to find a way to raise money with which to buy the equipment necessary.

“I sold candy and clothes in school to make money,” he explained. “With the money that I made, I pitched in with purchasing the parts needed.”

The cost of constructing your own car depends on the type and function of the vehicle.

“I spent maybe anywhere from $1500 to $2500 for parts,” he said.

Though proud of his work, in hindsight, there are things Reiwtavee prefers to have done differently.

“If I could change one thing about the car it would definitely be the paint because while everything else can be done relatively easily, the paint takes a different set of skills that only so many people have,” he said.

Despite his car’s imperfections, Reiwtavee never plans to sell his car and gets many compliments when it's discovered that he built it.

“I don't think I would ever want to sell this car,” he said.

“Instead of selling it, it can be kept as a strictly track car so it can be modified even further. My relationship with my car is like a person’s relationship with their dog. It's very comforting being able to drive it and work on it, just like how someone finds comfort in playing with or petting their dog.”

As a professional mechanic, his dad lent him a hand with the project.

“We both built it but he definitely helped me a lot,” Reiwtavee said. “I'm kind of discrediting myself for it, but he did help me a lot.”

The automotive-enthusiast is one of many students taking auto shop as an elective this year.

“My dad and I finished the car before I joined the auto academy,” he said. “Definitely the things I learned along the way with that car have helped me in auto shop.”

He aspires to be like his dad, and is actively trying to follow in his footsteps.

“Just seeing how he provides for our family and works really hard inspired me to become a technician,” Reiwtavee said. “I'm going to enlist in the Air Force and hopefully be able to fix fighter jets.”