Auto Lass: The mechanic taking on gender norms and raising money for veterans
Video Report by Granada Reports correspondent Paul Crone
A mechanic from Oldham is raising money for charity by restoring a vintage car.
Jody Bevan is fixing a 1975 GM Midget to raise money for Help for Heroes.
“You cannot drive this car without wheel spinning, it is amazing. It wraps around you, it is a dodgem on speed,” said Jody.
She has been a mechanic for 26 years but says she has loved cars since she was a child.
Jody said: “I’ve always loved cars, it used to drive my mum mad because she used to dress me up as a princess with big flowery, fluffy dresses on and pink ponytails and I just wanted to play with my big bucket of cars.”
The tickets for the vintage car are being sold for £10 each with the winner being announced on Armistice Day.
The MG Midget was donated by one of her YouTube subscribers and will be rebuilt as a one off in a military theme and to honour the late Queen Elizabeth II.
John Ashton, a veteran from the King’s Royal Hussar’s served in Kosovo in a Challenger 2 tank.
He said: “She’s doing a great job, especially working with the charity’s that she’s doing.
“It’s doing a lot of help for veterans like myself, she’s doing a lot as well for the mechanic community because she’s bringing it all into the light for us all.”
The restoration is a huge amount of work and she is sharing it on her YouTube channel, ‘Auto Lass’.
She is also using her platform to promote women in the automotive trade and support sustainable skills as she is an ambassador for the Association of Heritage Engineers.
“I had the idea to recommission an affordable starter classic, whilst trying to encourage people to work on their own classic cars at home so hopefully the younger generation will want to have a go,” said Jody.
“From two wheels to classic cars, retro, to modern day machinery and everything in between, I want to provide an insight into my world and what that entails in the industry.
“My goal which is to save classic cars, recommissioning them and get them back on the road."
Jody started off working on cars, plant and machinery as well as carrying out inspections on HGVs and now runs two workshops - MNJ Autocare and MNJ Classics both in Springhead, Oldham.
“Saving these cars fills me with joy. The simplicity of them but also the wonderful craftsmanship of the day is what I am trying to preserve, as well as the childhood memories that so many of us have of these cars.
“The nostalgia reminds us of times where life was a little more certain, we appreciated what we had, and those moments can be very grounding.
Jody said: "Everyone has a memory from these eras, and it makes everyone smile and be grateful."
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