If you’ve got the right job at the right automaker, your career could come with all sorts of perks and benefits. Take, for example, the manager of the Flat Rock Assembly Plant in Michigan, where the Ford Mustang is built. The guy who runs that show surely has plenty of perks that come with being in charge of the production and assembly of Ford’s pony car.

Earlier this week, 9-year old Eli Williams was tapped to run the Flat Rock plant for a day, part of a field trip paid for by the UAW. Eli is battling brain cancer, reports the Detroit Free Press, but that hasn’t dampened the spirits of the lifelong Mustang fan.

Eli and his parents found out the diagnosis in December of 2011, and after nine months of intensive treatment the cancer went into remission. But this past December, on Eli’s birthday, the cancer made a comeback. Since then the Mustang community has come together to support the Williams.

At home, Eli has a Mustang-themed bedroom decorated with various memorabilia from local Mustang members, and the family has helped raise some $18,000 for St. Judes Childrens Hospital, which has helped Eli’s family pay for treatment. But the trip to the Flat Rock Assembly Plant is a real morale booster for the 9-year old, who got to meet plant manager Tim Young, was given a 50th Anniversary Mustang hat signed by Bill Ford Jr., and a full tour of the facilities.

Eli is a proven fighter, and his taste in cars is exceptional. Here’s hoping for a recovery as quick as the Shelby GT500.