Titan Garage Gives Old Vehicle New Life
From battered old wagon to cool street ride! Students in the Webster Thomas High School automotive program have elevated a 1986 Dodge Aries K Wagon that was headed for the dump to a modern vehicle anyone would be proud to own.the wagon looked like this.
The wagon was wasting away in a barn in Westtown for 14 years when technology teacher Sean Campbell discovered it and thought it would be a great “fixer upper” for his Titan Garage automotive students.
“It was stored with the windows down and the interior had been overrun with vermin,” he recalled. “The engine did not run. It had rust in the floors and rocker panels and it was a general wreck that no one would have wanted.”
But Campbell and his students in the Titan Garage saw potential in the wagon and in the idea of “turning an old grocery getter into a high performance street car that could be driven to events and used to promote our program.”
Campbell trailered the vehicle home and brought it into the Webster Thomas Titan Garage on the first day of school in September. The students were tearing it down by day two, he said.
“We completely gutted the car by removing the entire drivetrain, fuel system, interior, wiring harnesses, etc.,” Campbell said. “From there, we repaired the rust in the floors and the rocker panels, replaced the fuel system from the gas tank all the way forward, installed a rebuilt 2.5L turbocharged Chrysler engine, a 5 speed manual transmission and rewired the car. We completely restored the interior, including new carpet and headliner, and moved on to replacing the suspension and brakes with upgraded parts.”
But they didn’t stop there! They also performed some paint correction on the car but left some of the decades old patina to achieve what they call the "rat rod" look.
While students will continue upgrading and fine tuning the wagon through the 2025-26 school year, Campbell said the vehicle is mostly finished and road ready. It will make its public debut at the Titan Garage’s annual Alumni Car Show slated for Friday, May 30, 9:00 -11:00 a.m. at the high school, 800 Five Mile Line.
