Jake Nemecek's Senior Project: Can't Touch The Lug Nuts

A memorable moment from this week was buying a car. We all chipped in and bought a beautiful 1994 Ford Explorer that runs like it's brand new. We had to drive back from Aloha, Oregon and let me tell you, it was quite the experience. Despite its tattered blue paint and permanently closed left-passenger door, this beautiful vessel actually got around quite well. After about 25 minutes of smooth driving, we safely made it to Terin's house and parked the new piece in the slab. I've learned that cleaning isn't as easy as it looks. When buying a relatively cheap car, a welcoming, "easy on the nostrils" odor is never guaranteed. When we bought the 1994 Ford Explorer, its interior was kindly decorated with some interesting stains and marks. Me and Andrew were the ones who had to do the cleaning. I thought it'd be easy, but it took a multiple servings of sheer brawn to do the job. It was rough at first, but once we got accustomed to the cleaning products, the wor...

I, personally, have never done much work on cars. I’ll occasionally detail a few for 20 bucks, but I’ve never really gotten into it. When I heard the idea of learning the ins and outs of these beautiful, slick, cold-steel machines of movement, I was incredibly intrigued. How I heard this idea you may ask? Let me tell you.  We chose to work on learning how to repair cars for our senior project. Terin Snyder, one of our group mates, has always been really keen in the realm of automobiles, but me and my other group mates (Andrew Priest and Nate Paradis) have never really part taken. Terin has always enjoyed it, and lately, he’s really been trying to get us to join him. Eventually, we all gave in and decided we’d give the whole “car” thing a shot.  For our first car, we turned a beaten-up 2005 Honda Odyssey Touring edition into a beautiful vessel with three rows of wonderful leather seats, 4 working doors, a trunk with new automatic hydraulics (childproof), working AM/FM radio wit...