Kristina Chadwick, mother of 3 and grandma of 3 with 1 on the way, was born in Seattle, Washington. She has over 3 decades of transmission building experience. She grew up in shops run by her dad, Melvern Pagels. They moved to Denver, Colorado, in 1972, and that’s where her transmission-building passion took off.
When Kristina was still in elementary school, her dad let her put check balls in valve bodies and do a few other little things that introduced her to what would soon become a lifelong career. When she was 16, she got a car and worked in the shop cleaning and taking out the trash for gas money. In 1988, after graduating high school, she started tearing down transmissions for her dad’s business, Don’s Garage. Six months later, after being unsuccessful at hiring a quality builder, her dad began training Kristina to fill the position.
Besides attending the transmission seminars her dad took her to, all her training was hands-on in the family shop, learning from her dad. She had no formal technical training. Turbo 350s and 700-R4s were her first units. Kristina and her father also did many classic cars back then. She recalls some transmissions from as far back as 1946.
There was a short time when Kristina took some time off. When she was ready to return to work, her daughter-in-law called Kristina to tell her that Whatever It Takes Transmission Parts was hiring transmission builders in Denver. So, she applied and was hired to build E4ODs, 4R100s, and anything they called “unidentifiable.” She said, “Anything they couldn’t figure out or was unmarked they gave to me.” That speaks volumes about her abilities and attention to detail. She worked at WIT until they moved the reman facility to Chicago. Then, she went back to the family business.
Today, Don’s Garage is run by Kristina’s husband, David Chadwick, and son, Garrett Hill. Her husband now builds the classic project cars her dad had always done. Kristina sticks to mostly 4 speeds and other miscellaneous units here and there. Whether Kristina is an owner on paper or not, she’s as dedicated and loyal to that company as any of us “official” shop owners.
Transmission building for her isn’t just a career. It holds a lot of sentimental value and fond memories of time spent with her father, who passed away in 2021. She feels closest to her dad when she’s building, stating, “My dad and I were just in synch.” She could hand him tools before he asked for them and recalls building units together sometimes until 10 o’clock at night.
I asked Kristina about some times when people reacted or were surprised by her knowledge and position. She shared a story of a gentleman who pulled up to their shop. They had built a Turbo 400 for him, and he demanded to speak to her father, who was gone. She inquired about the issue explaining that her dad was out and deduced from what little information he would share that it was just a linkage issue. He was irate and did not want to deal with her, so finally, she just told him, “Look, I’m the one who has to fix it, so you can either talk to me and leave it or go!” She said he immediately calmed down, and she never had an issue with him again. “The customer was always great from then on.”
Kristina mentioned that until we contacted her, she had no idea there were other female builders. This was one of the reasons we started AWIA. We wanted women like Kristina, with decades of knowledge, to be able to connect and share with other younger women entering the industry. She says, I wish more of our youth would take an interest in our industry.” She’s thankful her son joined their family business. While the grandbabies are still too small to take much interest, she hopes at least one will keep the family shop open and serve generations of customers for decades to come.
If you are an amazing woman in the auto industry and want to learn more about AWIA, please visit AmazingWIA.com and join their private ladies-only roundtable group on Facebook for info about the weekly meetings and events!
