| Meet Jason Ensz |
| Meet Jason Ensz |
From "Trade School"
episode DTRS-101 |
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Jason Ensz is an enthusiastic, energetic guy who's all about cars -- in particlar, restoring them. At Aims Community College in Greeley, Colorado, Ensz is studying to be an automotive "plastic surgeon," if you will. He has one year to go on an auto-collision tech degree, but he's got even bigger goals: his dream is to have his own repair and sales shop for high-end automobiles ....
As someone who never cared much for high school, Ensz is excited to be learning a hands-on trade like this one ... and his parents are pretty happy, too. Ensz's instructor, Pat Hergenreter, is making sure his student has a firm grasp of the basics before he dives in to his first full-fledged project, the restoration of a 1975 Jeep CJ-7. Here, he's demonstrating his mastery of the "hammer and dolly" method of smoothing damaged metal, one of the first things he learned in the program. Using a metal body hammer and a hardened steel dolly as a backing plate, Jason begins the process by beating out any small dents in a section of damaged metal. As Ensz works, Hergenreter looks on, reminding him to use "light hits" -- as well as a constant bouncing motion, in order to prevent stretching the panel. When Ensz is finished, Hergenreter declares his work good enough for the painting phase and tells Ensz he's ready to embark on his start-to-finish restoration of a badly damaged Jeep. For Ensz, the outcome remains to be seen: Will this jeep be a summer-quarter blockbuster ... or back-breaker?
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