Tyler Ayers, a 17-year-old junior at FHN, is known by most kids as “The kid with the cool Mustang”. What makes the car so cool? The rims? The loud exhaust? Or the unique design that he has created himself?

“I like my car the Mustang because I built it 100 percent myself and bought it myself and made the most progress on,” Tyler said.

Tyler recently got in a car accident during the Great Missouri Blizzard of 2014. He crashed his one true love, the Mustang.  The car’s frame was bent, meaning it was totaled. He was mad, but was able to keep a calm mind. Tyler knew he had the ability to bring his car back to life. He went straight home and started searching the web, making phone calls, and asking family if anyone had a Fox Body chassis. Finally, after weeks of searching, he had hit the jackpot, a 1989 5.0 frame and started the rebuild right away.

“When I wrecked my Mustang I had to replace everything. It wasn’t a normal thing having to only replace one piece, it was the whole car,” Tyler said.

When he started to build his car he wasn’t quite sure of what he was doing or how he was going to afford it being a 17-year-old. He just had the basic idea of how to take everything apart and put it back together and made the choice to work instead of be with friends. He was never afraid to ask for help from family or friends, but it wasn’t an easy going project. Tyler did encounter problems on the way, from as simple as not being able to find a screw, to having to replace the whole suspension.

“It has taught me a ton. It’s given me discipline because sometimes I had to pull an all nighter just to make it to work in the morning,” Tyler said.

Tyler has always been a part of a family of gear heads. He started when he was only 2 years old working in the garage with his dad, uncle and grandfather. They have built many unique cars, like a two door 1956 Ford Izole. The projects created strong bonds that couldn’t be torn apart until the worst happened. At the age of 21 John Ayers, Tyler’s father passed away in a terrible car accident when Tyler was 2. The family didn’t know what to do except mourn the loss of their young brother, cousin, husband and father.

“I mean he was my best friend. He was the person I got along with the most. I mean we were practically the same person”, Tyler said.

Some may think that after having such a tragedy involving a father passing away in a car accident it would scare someone from being apart of it again. Tyler thought differently. He makes the stride to still live the legacy of his father. Tyler will always be the guy with a car that is loud and fast. He will always be pushing the limits. John Ayers will not be forgotten thanks to his son.

“If I could get any car when I’m older I want to get a twin turbo Dodge Viper SRT 10 because that’s what my dad died in,” Tyler said.