On a sunny Saturday morning, the scent of motor oil fills the garage as Coppell High School dual credit success coach Ryan Hilton crouches over a 1974 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia, carefully reassembling the brake pads.

Sunlight filters through the windows, illuminating the dust suspended in the air. Across the garage, his father, Billy Louis Hilton Jr., precisely points out a flaw in the alignment.

“Some people can quote football stats or baseball stats,” stepmother Alice Hilton said. “Ryan? He can quote cars. Every make, every model, every year.”

Mr. Hilton recently redeveloped a passion for restoring cars. His current project, the Karmann Ghia, represents an opportunity for him to apply the same level of attention to detail and craftsmanship that his father and grandfather passed down through generations.

“I’ve always thought it was a really cool car,” Mr. Hilton said. “I just never had the time to do anything until recently. A lot of my intentions were a little bit bigger than my actions. But, eventually, we were changing the brakes, fixing the seats, sending it to the body shop, and now we’re putting everything back together.”

Mr. Hilton’s love of cars started long before he could walk. He watched as his father and grandfather, Billy Louis Hilton Sr., restored vehicles together.

“There are pictures of me in a stroller next to him fixing up old cars with my grandpa,” Mr. Hilton said. “It’s always something I’ve been around and comfortable for our family, and it’s been fun to kind of jump back into it.”

At age 16, he tackled a 2002 Pontiac Firebird, learning the basics of mechanical problem-solving. Over the years, he worked on his father’s more complex restorations.

Billy Louis Hilton Jr. watches his son patiently restore old vehicles while feeling a great deal of pride.

“Sometimes at 10 o’clock, he’ll call me and ask ‘What do we need to do? What do I need to order and where do I get this?’ and I’ve just seen the passion grow in him with this car,” Billy Louis Hilton Jr. said. “My family means everything to me, so when he wants to come down and work on a car, I’m ready to help him in any way he can.”

Though coaching high school students, helping them register for college courses and keeping up with his Ph.D. consumes much of his time, Mr. Hilton still makes the effort to drive 90 minutes to Granbury on weekends.

“It’s kind of a way to reconnect with not only my family, but also an old habit that I used to have,” Mr. Hilton said. “It’s been a fun way to kind of reignite some of those old hobbies and old passions that we had back in the day.”

The 1974 Karmann Ghia demands patience. Weekends are spent stripping, installing and carefully reassembling every piece. But while the work can be frustrating, the rewards go beyond metal and paint.

“This is an experience I have with my dad, something that I don’t get to really do a whole lot anymore,” Mr. Hilton said. “And then once the project is complete, I’ll have something that both of us worked on. It’s a nice heirloom that I can share with my father.”

A 1965 Lincoln Continental waits in the garage for a multigenerational project. Mr. Hilton inherited it from his 99-year-old grandfather. It has been in the family since 1967.

“We associate that car with my grandfather, so it’ll be nice to see the car up and running, looking good again,” Mr. Hilton said. “I’m looking forward to it, but at the same time, it’s a big mountain ahead of me.”

As the afternoon sun fades, Mr. Hilton wipes grease from his hands and surveys the partially restored Karmann Ghia. It is not finished yet, but the memories and lessons already feel complete.

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