Hollywood’s hottest rising star is also a gearhead extraordinaire.
If you don’t know the name Sydney Sweeney yet, you will soon enough.
The 24-year-old actress is in the midst of a hot streak right now. She’s racking up acclaim and attention for her star-making role on HBO’s latest hit series Euphoria, as well as her previous turns in the network’s The White Lotus and Sharp Objects miniseries and a supporting role on Hulu’s The Handmade’s Tale.
She’s also, as it turns out, quite the gearhead. Indeed, in spite of keeping the sort of very busy schedule that it takes to add 11 credits to your IMDb page in the last two years, Sweeney even managed to find the time to personally restore a vintage 1969 Ford Bronco that she picked up on Bring a Trailer, then document it on TikTok using on the account @syds_garage.
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@syds_garage she’s finally driveable! sending her off to get reupholstered this weekend 🙂 #bronco
♬ Fake – The Tech Thieves
It was that restored Bronco that earned her the attention of the folks at eBay Motors, who tapped her to be one of their representatives at their “Re-Concept Car” auto builder showcase at Classic Car Club Manhattan during the 2022 New York International Auto Show — which, in turn, is how she wound up on the Gear Patrol radar scopes.
Sadly, scheduling conflicts prevented us from meeting up — as luck would have it, your humble author was in the actress’s home state of California while Sweeney was in his home of New York — but in spite of that, she was kind enough to answer some questions via email about her Bronco, the build process and more.
Sweeney and her lovingly restored ’69 Bronco.
eBay Motors
GP: How did you decide to start with a Ford Bronco? Have you always been a Bronco fan?
SS: Yes, I’ve always wanted a Bronco. I love a good all-American car.
How’d you decide what you wanted to do with your first build?
I knew automatically that I wanted to change the interior to make it feel more clean, classic and elevated. I also, selfishly, wanted the Bronco to be a daily driver — and having a stick in L.A. sucks. I tried it [for] a few months, and people don’t seem to appreciate old cars that roll back on a hill. So I switched to automatic, which a lot of people are mad about.
What was the toughest part of the restoration?
The car hasn’t been worked on, clearly, since ‘69, so a lot of the bolts had to be cut off — and it was hard to find some of the parts. But, eBay Motors has been instrumental in helping me finish the build.
What’s your favorite part of the finished product?
My favorite part is knowing that I actually put the work in, and that she’s built from my own blood, sweat and tears.
The finished product.
eBay Motors
What other rides do you have?
I have a 2019 Range Rover Sport, a baby blue 1965 Mustang…and I have my next secret project car.
What car or cars do you want to get next?
I’m gonna take a break, because this next project car of mine is gonna take a lot of money and a lot of time!
Keyword: Actress Sydney Sweeney Opens Up About Restoring Her 1969 Ford Bronco