Lake County >> Teri Molini is one of three women in the Lake Lords car club. But she doesn’t mind. She’s never had a problem hanging with the guys.
Raised with two brothers, in a family enamored of cars, Molini learned from a young age how to work on engines. And though men far outnumber women when it comes to the racing world, Molini has never believed that cars are strictly a man’s hobby. “My dad instilled in me, just because you’re a girl doesn’t mean you can’t get out there and be with the boys,” she explained.
By the time she reached her late teens, Molini could do everything her father could — to the awe of some of her friends, including a girl who didn’t know how to put gas in her car. Even to this day, people always look at her a little funny when they find out she owns a hot rod. But she only laughs. She wouldn’t be content to sit inside and sew in her free time.
As an avid car enthusiast, Molini’s father owned and worked on three cars: a 1937 Chevy, and 1957 Chevy and a 1970 Chevy El Camino. He passed away in July 2011, leaving his vehicles with Molini’s mother. When she first offered Molini the El Camino, Molini turned it down — she’d never much cared for the model. Then she realized she couldn’t bear the thought of the car going to a stranger.
Molini took the Camino. With the help of her two brothers, they restored the car to pristine condition. The car is a what Molini considers a true hot rod, built from bumper to bumper by her father. It may have 1971 headlights — her dad couldn’t get his hands in ‘70 headlights when building it — but the Camino is indeed a 1970.
When she gets behind the wheel, Molini feels just a little bit closer to her father, and since she owes her love of classic cars to him, Molini decided to organize a memorial car show to pay him homage. In 2014, the JDS Memorial Car Show was born. The show celebrated its second year at the Middletown Days event back in June.
Molini does the mechanical work herself, much to the surprise of many people she meets. When she takes her car out, she’ll often receive comments along the lines of, “It’s really cool that your husband is letting you drive his car.”
Then she tells them the story of how the car came to be in her hands. And it is something of a unique tale. “Not many gals inherit a car from their dad,” Molini said. “Not many gals work on them and enjoy them like I do.”
Molini does admit that the mechanical work is her least favorite part of owning a classic car. It’s more of a chore to change the oil and keep the engine running smoothly. The best part comes when she gets her El Camino out on the open road.
Molini takes the car out every weekend, weather permitting. Like many car enthusiasts, she sees no point in owning a classic car if you’re not going to drive it. She recalled a weekend when she and 15 other car owners carpooled to a show. “It’s hard to describe that feeling but I can think of no better way to spend a Saturday afternoon, just caravaning with a whole bunch of hot rodders to an event,” she said.
Aside from driving her car, Molini also enjoys the friendships formed through car clubs and shows. “A car is a conversation piece,” she said. “Everywhere I drive it inevitably a guy will come up to me and say, ‘Man, I used to have a Chevy. I used to have an El Camino.’”
While the El Camino is Molini’s first classic car, it’s never been her dream car. For years she’s been lusting after a ‘63 Impala Convertible and though the timing has never been right, she still has her eye on the popular model.
The El Camino is what’s called a muscle car — or a hot rod — a car built between the mid-’60s and 1972. She’s had some debates about it, but Molini doesn’t consider a car a true hot rod unless it was built lovingly by hand. “A lot of people will just go get their checkbook and will go buy one in this condition,” she said. “Unless you’ve taken a car and built it from scratch and been a part of it, then I dub the a true hot rodder.”
But Molini doesn’t take these things too seriously. She’d just out to have a good time behind the wheel of her father’s El Camino.
