Bad Chad

If you’re like me you belong to a few car related groups on Fakebook. One that pops up on my newsfeed quite a bit is Car Museum. Mostly it is a love of cars of almost all types. On occasion someone will post a car that draws the ire and ridicule of the members and we don’t hold back. So, this guy Chad who appears to be new to the group posts about this build converting a Pinto into a European sports car, a super car. That’s a tall order. This thing looks ridiculous. From the pics it looks like it’s being built in someone’s dirty rural garage or barn. He’s beaming with pride over this hideous collection of parts and slapdash body work. There is a saying “don’t read the comments”. Chad got ripped by nearly everyone, including me. A few days later I’m checking out Motor Trend TV before retiring to bed for the night and I see this dude Chad building his Pintgo as I called it. I’m laughing my ass off watching this clown show as these guys build this adult size soap box derby racer.

Then I noticed some of his other builds, impressive. I noticed he’s a likable guy. So, I dug a little deeper. His builds are not super high dollar stuff. He works with whatever is available to him, scouring the farms and fields of his neighbors for parts. His approach to the car builds is creating art. Like those sculptors that use welding as a medium. Chad Hiltz is a modest guy with that rockabilly vibe, he’s teaching his son Colton life lessons through wrenching and knuckle busting. Also on the team is life long friend Aaron and mechanic Alex. The easy on the eyes shop manger at Hiltz Automotive is Jolene, also Chad’s fiancé.  None of these reality shows are completely unscripted so there is the standard crew is behind the clock on the build. 

The mission at Hiltz Automotive is not restorations or making big power and torque. It’s about Chad’s team creating rolling automotive art shade tree mechanic style. So, while some mock his work Chad is showing up, 80% of success is showing up. He's a passionate, talented, humble guy doing his thing.