By: Tara Feeney
The sheds have long since been home to all the project cars belonging to students in the automotive restoration program. When walking around the property, you can expect to find a vehicle from just about every era. Some of which are currently undergoing repair and reconstruction. Some, like Marcello Dean’s 1971 Jeepster Commando – Hurst edition, are in the middle of being deconstructed and taken apart, to begin what will be a complete restoration when it’s finished.
He hasn’t had this jeep in his possession for long, but he kept an eye on it for almost a year. He finally pulled the trigger in August and bought the jeep from a seller in Kansas City. It took him two trips to bring it all back, as the jeep came with several spare parts along with other major parts the seller had already removed from the car.
Since purchasing it, Dean has removed the engine, which turned out to be the wrong one, swapped the suspension, removed a number of parts for inspection/restoration, and begun diagnosing the electrical system. He plans to tackle everything on the Jeep himself, including painting it, reupholstering the seats, and refinishing the interior, rebuilding the engine, etc. When Dean is finished, he plans on selling it on an auction site like “Bring a Trailer”.
While he works on the project, he continues to drive his other Jeep – a 1969 Commando, which was his first restoration project. Dean did a frame-off restoration on it with his grandpa in high school. Although he has only restored jeeps thus far, he doesn’t plan to do it exclusively forever. He hopes to expand into other eras and types of vehicles after completing his current project. For anyone interested in following along on his restoration journey, they can follow his car account @jeepner_customs on Instagram.
