ATLANTA CAR NEWS
At 18, car-collector Chelsea Lorenz grew up around grease, gearsMcDonough woman does brakes, oil changes, points, plugs, condensers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 06/26/08
Like Marisa Tomei's Mona Lisa Vito character in the movie "My Cousin Vinny," Chelsea Lorenz of McDonough is a car-savvy female who can wow the average gear-head male with her knowledge of all things automotive.
Lorenz, an 18-year-old Ola High School senior, has been going to car shows and hot rod meets her entire life. Actually, it's been even longer than that according to her dad, Lance Lorenz.
 JOHNNY CRAWFORD/AJC | ||
| Lance Lorenz and his 18-year-old daughter, Chelsea, of McDonough are passionate and knowledgeable about cars. 'I'd put her up against any guy her age,' he says. ' She can do brakes, oil changes, points, plugs and condensers on old stuff.'\uFEFF | ||
 JOHNNY CRAWFORD/AJC | ||
| Chelsea Lorenz, a senior at Ola High School, inspects the engine of a Cadillac from the 1950s. Growing up, she was always around her father and two brothers while they worked on cars, and she often plunged in to help with the gears and grease.\uFEFF | ||
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"Chelsea's first car show was the Turkey Rod Run in Daytona in '89," he said. "My ex-wife was five months' pregnant with her.
"The next year she was there with us again. We packed up her playpen and toys and her brothers and off we went."
Chelsea said those early road trips to old-car gatherings are among her fondest memories.
"I grew up in a '34 Plymouth," she said. "That's the hot rod we had when I was born."
Over the years, when Lance Lorenz and his sons Ryan and Kevin were working on cars, Chelsea was always there. And she wasn't just watching. She was up to her elbows in grease and gears.
She said she considers herself a pretty good mechanic.
"I'm above average for a female my age," she said rather modestly.
Her father said she's selling herself short.
"I'd put her up against any guy her age," he said. "She can do brakes, oil changes, points, plugs and condensers on old stuff.
"She can change a tire, of course. And the nice part is if she breaks down somewhere, she can tell me what's wrong with the car and what tools to bring.
"It's not, 'Oh Dad, it's making a noise.' She'll say, 'It's the alternator, and we're going to need another one.' "
And like the automotively astute Ms. Vito in "My Cousin Vinny," car stats and specifications just roll off Miss Lorenz's tongue.
In describing her dad's Plymouth Fury, she immediately pointed out its unique characteristics. "It's one of 659, because of the four-speed transmission," she said.
And their Dodge Charger. "It's a '66, first year for the Charger," she said. "And it's got a 383 (cubic inch) big-block engine."
The prize of the Lorenz fleet is a radical 1953 Cadillac that Chelsea often enters in the Monday night cruise-ins at the local Summit Racing Equipment store.
"It originally had a 470 (cubic-inch engine) that has been bored to a 540," she said. "It has matching numbers. It's been channeled five inches above the frame. It has disc brakes on all four corners. Everything under the hood is all chrome."
Her story of how the car came to belong to the Lorenz family is one of a kind, as well.
"That's my fault," Chelsea said, smiling. "We had a 1950 Ford that was chopped, tubbed, shaved and decked with a 454 big block in it.
"We were at the swap meet in Moultrie, and I saw the pink Cadillac there, and I started talking to the guy that owned it.
"I asked him if he'd be interested in trading. I told him what we had. I ran it by my dad, and he was like 'pink?'
"We ended up bringing them home."
And they ended up painting it black, which Dad figures has dramatically increased its value.
But he said there's no price he can put on what the hot rod hobby has done for his relationship with his daughter.
"If it hadn't been for her, I'd have gotten out of hot rodding several years back," he said. "But she keeps saying, 'Dad, let's build one more car.' "
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