02-05-2025
Classic car fabrication skills get fine-tune: On the Clock
WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — At this point in our On The Clock with Natalie McCain series, you've seen me lay down welds and precisely slice materials.
In this week's edition, I get to fine-tune my fabrication skills, combining my new skills from the past 10 weeks at Ruben's House of Classics.
Amateur welder braves 10K degrees, 300 mph sand blasting: On the Clock
'Right off the bat, this place is huge. There are a ton of cars here, and they're all waiting to get worked on,' I said. 'We have everything from the 1930s to the 1940s and 1950s; all these classic cars are getting their special touch.'
That special touch? Shop Supervisor Ruben Junior Rodriguez said it's from basic fabrication to full-blown restorations.
Our job is to drop this 1948 Chevy Fleetline — an intimidating job, but I'm revved up.
'We can start by cutting off the brackets that we need for the airbags in the 1948 Fleet, and then we'll lay them out,' Rodriguez said.
These brackets will go under the car and house the suspension airbags, allowing the car to be slow and low yet with maximum movement.
After cutting the brackets, we smooth them out with an air grinder.
'Pretty nervous to have that air grinder. Just the sparks flying. I could feel them coming and hitting me, but they didn't hurt,' I said. 'But just getting over that initial fear and moving past that, it's pretty incredible. So I'm excited to see what else we do here today.'
…Perfectly measure them out, and bend them in the press for a perfect fit. That in-house precision is Ruben Jr.'s favorite part.
'Learning the tricks of the trade, what works for us [and] having the equipment to be able to do everything ourselves in-house,' he said.
It's pedal to the metal for Ruben Jr., but the job isn't without its challenges.
'Working on a car that you've never done before,' he said. 'The issue you might have runs into another issue, which runs into another issue, and creates a chain effect.'
But between the geometry, grease, and sweat, the hardest tasks turn into reality.
With Ruben Jr.'s lifelong expertise on my side, it's time for us to mount our metal—my welding experience, coming in handy.
After two hours of grinding, welding and measuring, my time was up.
'Be completely honest with me. Based on my performance today and the things that we did, would you hire me as an apprentice?' I asked.
'Yes. You had a good start,' Ruben Jr. answered.
It's safe to say these classic cars are geared up for greatness.
'Keep it simple. Keep it straightforward,' he said. 'Do it step by step and you can't go wrong.'
Ruben's House of Classics is located at 417 Indiana Avenue.
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