Wish granted for teen wrencher
The 1989 Chevrolet S-10 Blazer needed a complete rebuild – engine and all. Everything had to be taken off the frame and put back together, wrote Max Henson, staff writer for Lowe’s.
It’s the kind of job for an experienced auto mechanic, he penned, or in this case, the passion project of a 16-year-old living in Oviedo, Fla.
Amber Allred reached out to the Lowe’s corporate office with a handwritten letter detailing the work she was doing on the 30-year-old truck she received as a 15th birthday present, including a photo of her reconstructing the engine, related the retailer.
She learned how to work on cars by helping at her uncle’s shop and viewing instructional YouTube videos. Over time, she developed a true passion for wrenching, the story continued. And now she needed some help to chart her own path.
“My uncle has been kind enough to let me use all his tools from the start,” she wrote, “but I think it’s time to try and create my own collection of tools and show him how much I want to do this.”
She humbly requested some assistance, Lowe’s said, in obtaining new Kobalt tools.
“Even the smallest gesture of support would be very exciting, not only for me but for my mom, who has done everything she can to make sure I can build this truck into something awesome,” Amber wrote.
Lowe’s responded by recently surprising her with a truckload of Kobalt tools – giving Amber the independence she craved and had so clearly earned.
“She already had the tools to succeed,” Lowe’s observed, adding that the company, “just helped her out with a few more.”
There is a YouTube video of her receiving the tools, as she stands in front of her S-10 Blazer.
“This is beyond anything I could have ever dreamed of,” Allred said.