Ever since junior Nicholas Brookswolf could walk, he has always been interested in cars. When he is not in school, he spends his time working as an apprentice at a car shop, fixing vintage vehicles.
“I can’t remember a time where I didn’t love cars,” Brookswolf said. “Even when I was as young as six months old, every picture of me had a Hot Wheel in each hand, and I always loved the “Cars” movie. If I had to pinpoint one thing, I’d say that video games got me really into cars and working on them, specifically.”
Brookswolf mostly learned how to repair cars independently through manuals and posts, but is now working at a car shop where he continues to hone his skills through working with mentors.
“Learning how to fix them was my own venture for the most part,” Brookswolf said. “Nobody in my family really knew how to or enjoyed working on cars, so I taught myself how to do the first few jobs I did using a Haynes Manual and old forum posts. Now, I’m learning a lot at the shop I work at. Most things I’m doing to my car are things my boss already taught me how to do.”
Rusty Wolf, Brookswolf’s dad, recalls Brookswolf’s passion for cars from his early days.
“Nico loved things with wheels before he could walk or talk,” Wolf said. “He was obsessed with the wheels on his stroller. Nico’s love for cars never stopped as he got older, it just became a more mature obsession. He constantly watches TV shows and Internet content about cars. He has learned so much over the years. Now, he has a great job in a garage that fixes up old muscle cars. He would do it if they didn’t pay him anything, and he found the job all by himself.”
Wolf watched proudly as Brookswolf took his love for cars to the next step with purchasing his own project car and his passion evolved into an experience.
“We were very proud of Nico for raising the money to buy his own car,” Wolf said. “He did all the research and found a great project car all on his own. We helped with the legal transaction, but that was about it. He did all the negotiations upfront with the seller. Since he got the car, he has been doing all the restoration work, including fully replacing the brake system and other intricate work.”
Brookswolf said he has learned valuable lessons beyond the skills needed to restore classic cars.
“The main thing working on cars teaches you is perseverance,” Brookswolf said. “Old cars, like my MGB, are really, really frustrating to work on sometimes. Rust makes bolts hard to break loose, parts always need more work than you’ll think they will, and every job takes longer than you plan for. Through working through these issues, I’ve learned to never cut corners, to never rush a project and to take breaks when I need to. Overcoming frustrating challenges leads to immense satisfaction, and knowing that I’m working towards getting a piece of history back on the road brings me joy every day.”
Brookswolf’s fascination with classic cars runs deep in his life, but he also recognizes the challenges that come with turning this passion into a stable career, given the uncertainty of the future of classic cars.
“In an ideal world, I’d like to continue working on classic cars for a living for the rest of my life,” Brookswolf said. “However, less and less people are getting into classic cars, and finding parts for these cars is getting harder and harder, so it’s not easy to make money doing work like that. And I’ve never had much interest in electric cars and such, so I think it’ll remain a hobby for a little while.”
Wolf believes the skills Brookswolf has learned with this experience has taught him to be a safe, responsible and independent worker.
“We find that Nico is a pretty safe driver for a kid his age,” Wolf said. “He is never distracted while driving and is very good about leaving his phone untouched while he’s driving. Nico has learned to be self taught when he needs to be. He is very independent when it comes to car repair. This has taught him the value of earning money for something you want and working extra hard to get the result you are after. He has had to learn to work through frustrations and has become even more persistent.”
Kian Az-Naimi, a friend of Brookswolf, believes dedication will guide Brookswolf in the long run.
”I don’t think most teenagers have the ability to follow through that Nico does,” Az-Naimi said. “No matter how bad shape that old British junk car turns out to be, I know that Nico is going to keep working on it.”
Wolf believes the skills his son has learned will not only help him currently, but will serve him well in the future with his career.
“These skills will be very helpful when Nico is away at school and when he starts his first job and has to set up housekeeping,” Wolf said. “I am very confident that he has the skills to succeed in life. It is amazing how much Nico has taught himself in the last several months since he bought his car and while he is at work in the auto shop. His understanding of how cars work and how to troubleshoot have grown tremendously. I think, in the future, he will continue to have a passion for restoring and maintaining his own car, but I also see this passion and curiosity developing into a more useful skill in engineering and design.”
