26d • Shop Talk Stories
Chapter 3: Len the Legendary Body Guy
By Stephen Lavoie & ChatGPT
© 2025 Stephen Lavoie
All rights reserved.
Part of the Mechanic Shop Series
At most shops, 20% of a car means it’s headed for the scrapyard.
But not in Bay 1.
Not with Len on shift.
To everyone else, it was a rotted shell.
No doors. No roof. Just the ghost of a frame and a VIN tag that barely clung on.
But Len — paint-stained coveralls, coffee in hand — looked at the wreck and smiled.
“Perfect,” he said. “She’s still got 20%. That’s a starting point.”
Derek paused mid-step. “You mean a starting point… for what?”
Len didn’t look up. “A comeback.”
He fired up the old spray gun with a hiss.
Dust settled. Primer floated. And slowly, steel started to remember what it meant to shine.
By the time Toby walked by to “check progress,” the jokes had already begun.
“Len’s building cars from imagination now.”
“That thing’s got less structure than Derek’s sleep schedule.”
“If you give Len a hubcap and a dream, he’ll give you a Camaro.”
Toby leaned into the bay.
“How much of that car’s actually original?”
Len didn’t miss a beat. “About 20%.”
“And the rest?”
“Hope. Elbow grease. And parts Daryl swore we didn’t carry.”
Two weeks later, the shop stood in silence.
Fresh paint glowed like candy. Panels aligned like they were born that way.
It wasn’t the same car.
It was better.
Derek ran a hand across the hood. “I don’t get it. It was a pile of nothing.”
Len took a slow sip of coffee. “Was.”
Since then, anytime something half-dead rolls into Bay 1, no one panics.
They just say:
“Len’ll probably call it a starting point.”
And every now and then, if you walk past the bay while the radio hums and the air
smells like fresh clearcoat,
you’ll hear him mutter under his breath—
“20% is plenty… if you know how to dream.”
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Chapter 3: Len the Legendary Body Guy
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