Building a Dream Car in a Brooklyn Back Yard

On the corner of Mckinley Avenue, Chevin Ramtahal changes out of his white button up and into his coveralls. Oil-stained and time-worn, the coveralls are a hand-me-down from Ramtahal’s father Aiden. Now the older Ramthahal begins to jack up their new project car, a 2004 Acura RSX. 

Chevin, a 21-year-old recent graduate from LaGuardia Community College, said he has saved for his car since 2021: “Right after college, I got two jobs and immediately started saving up. I was working at Home Depot before but after college I got a job in the city. I’d be on Facebook Marketplace for hours trying to find a good model with good specs. Finally, I found a guy selling this one, went to go check it out, and fell in love with it.” 

Ramtahal’s 2004 Acura RSX parked in his backyard

Chevin explained that he spent five thousand dollars to buy the car and has since spent about fourteen thousand on repairs. 

“I mean, I bought it to fix it,” he said. “I wanted to learn how to drive a manual and to do repairs myself so this seemed like a good fit. An expensive fit, but a good one. I wanted to do something with my hands and have something that I can say I worked on and for now, this is doing the job. 

“So far, I’ve had to put on a catalytic converter, change some fuses and lights, add sensors, an exhaust, motor mounts, and an alternator. I plan to do mostly cosmetic stuff next. I already put some LED lights in the back seat and under the front dashboard.” 

Chevin also talks about his father, a mechanic of over thirty years.as the inspiration for the work that he does. 

 “I grew up watching my dad work on cars. He knows all about this kind of stuff. He comes home from work first so he jacks up the car while he waits for me. It’s been great working with him on it too, I feel like we’ve gotten closer and I’ve learned so much that I wouldn’t have been able to figure it out myself,” Chevin said. 

Aiden works as an auto technician for the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). He says that seeing his son take interest in these cars has made him very proud: “I feel very accomplished when I see him working on it and taking time to do it. It shows me that he actually wants these things and has an interest in it. I keep telling him to go into the MTA if he likes fixing so much, but I don’t know if he’ll take me up on that.”

While Chevin does not intend to pursue any further education, he hopes to continue his job in the city as a customer service representative while giving up his job at Home Depot. 

Chevin and his father are both eager to work on the car and hope that the time and money invested into it will be well worth it.