DANIELSON, Conn. -- Students at Ellis Technical School in Danielson are giving a local soldier's car a makeover while the soldier is busy defending the nation.

The students at the school's body shop are tasked with finishing customized body work on the soldier's 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse.

The biggest motivating factor in the 8-month-old project is the dedication to doing the job right, the students said, because the owner, Army Spc. Josh Glaude, is defending the country in Afghanistan.

Glaude said in an e-mail that he'd started the work himself, but got deployed before he finished.

The students said the car will go to the paint booth in about a week, and the final unveiling will take place once Glaude has returned from his deployment.