Are there any hot rod/custom guys at Wyo Tech? What gives?

We were running our blowin Alky front engine digger in Douglas Wyoming last weekend and it was the Wyo tech weekend. I hoped to see some cool **** up there but nothing showed up. Is this no longer a hot rod school or do they just not like the drags what gives??

 

That school has gone to ****. I was there three years ago and the place has changed since then. Corinthian College owns it now.

 

I think thats part of the reason I decided not to go. Well, that and the fact it was gonna be $50k CAN for schooling in a job that I might make $30K/year starting.

I heard from alot of people that its rich kids that thier parents send there cause they dont know what else to do with them. They are plobly only interested in getting pissed on the weekends.

 

it's the sheep.

 

Spotty,

We get guys from Wyo in the shop from time to time lookin for work. God forbid if you offer them an entry level position in the shop. Most of them think with a few semesters of school behind them that they have already learned it all & are worth top dollar. I'm not saying that they are all that way but I have met quite a few that are

 

let them burn, same thing happens in the movie business... you get big headed students wanting top dollar, based solely on their reputation in college, i guess they were bad***'s a****st their peers? but they have never sweated it out in REAL production... the time and budget contraints custom/hotrod builders deal with is no different.

in the end these people get weeded out. your worth is based on how many tricks you have up your sleeve to creatively solve problems.

 

I worked with a Wyo tech grad. From what I noticed is their arogance exceeds their ability. I don't care how many numbers you can rattle off the top of your head, if you've never done it, don't act like you have. I've learned everything from old skoolers or just by figuring it out myself. I ended up quitting and so did another person because we kept tripping over his big head..A little bit of a rant sorry..

 

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it's the sheep.

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ah, **** the sheep.

what kind of shop are you guys running frontmotr? wish i would have known that was going on in douglas, i need a reason to go.

trey

 

<<<< I have made my thoughts well known here before, been chastized by the staff before and have even been given an oportunity to attend a conference there. I will still go to lend my thoughts on the subject.

The concept is there. The teachers are there. The tools are there. What is not there is time and skill needed to mold these young skulls full of mush into honest rod builders. With the glut of TV shows related to our hobby comes the wanna-be followers, or if you like "sheep" wanting to be the next Jimmy "Shine" or Jesse James. The WyoTech marketing agents have made sure to firmly plant the seed in these minds that all you need to do is attend this top notch school (read expensive) and you will be an instant hit.

For those of us that have been in the "business" know what it takes to pull off the stuff we do and that no ammount of school makes up for the years of experience and the stack of mistakes it took to get where we are.

Maybe if you were attending an import drag the bleachers would have been full.

 

I am a Wyotech instructor and when the subject of Wyotech grads and there inflated egos come up I am sure to not only relay this to my students but to actually show the cl*** your posts.
I'm not sure where the problem actually lies but I think it has something to do with the age of 90% of our students. They get so much info in the short time that they are here they believe to have learned all there is to know.
I believe that the best grads are the ones a year or two out of school that are still trying to make it as a car builder/fabricator because by then the losers have weeded themselves out and have taken jobs outside this field. The ones that truly want to do it will pay their dues and I believe will prove to be successful in this field.

As far as why we didn't have anything at the drag races, well...... I guess we're all poor! students and staff.

I would like to say "HI" to all the HAMB/Wyotech grads , BarnCore, Fishtank, Rodney, Danno, ****apunch, POOP, and even my good buddy Aaron Von SAVAGE(yes he went to wyotech too) and any others I don't know of.

 

I graduated from there in 2000, worked in a rod shop for 4 years, and now am a shop manager at a small body shop. I have worked with other grads from there. Right out of school, there is a bit of an ego thing going on. The guy that had the ego and wouldn't loose it, went back to doing what he did before he went to school. The other guy still works at the rod shop. His work and skills were kind of iffy when he first started, but he knew to ask for help. The work I have seen lately from him is majorly improved. We are friends, and he still calls me to ask questions about certain things if he runs into a problem doing body work or needs some information on painting and paint products. I believe that he has what it takes to last in the field. Time in the shop will weed out those that can't cut it. There is no subs***ute for time in the shop honing your skills, the school just gets you started and helps you to avoid a lot of the complications and screw ups getting started. It also helps you get in the door at a shop, I realize now that I have guys under me that having to train someone how to do the simplest of tasks while trying to get my work done is really a pain in the *** some times. At least if they have the basics, you don't have to babysit them all day. My .02.

Hey Brick, got any more done on your shoebox? Any update pics? Haven't seen anything since Bonneville last year.

 

Yes, I got some things done last winter
The first was a smooth panel for the lower portion of the trunk skin

 

Then I pulled the body so I could fab a new rear crossmember that the exhaust could p*** thru. I modified a '50 Buick rear bumper over-rider into exhaust tips. At the same time I built some C-notches and took the extra time to build them in the same construction style as the stock frame with one c-channel inside another.

 

another

 

c-notch

 

lastly, I fabed a fuel tank secured with a faux belly pan, cause I wanted louvers somewhere. But I still don't have side windows.

So what's up with your Model A?

 

Thats a really nice C-notch. I think there are lots of guys on the board that would like to see just how you did that.

Good tech is always welcome on the HAMB.

 

i guess since i dont own a shop, i dont see the at***udes that you guys are talking about.

i have been to the open house/show that they have for a few years. but last year was the first time i took a car. i had fun for the most part. some of the students appreciated the metal work i have done, but some didnt. some of the guys acted like they were better than me because i didnt go to the school and had to learn on my own, or because i was dressed different? i forgot to roll up my jeans and slick back my hair with 30w oil that day.

but for the most part, it was ok. i dont know if ill be back next year or not, but i say that every year, and end up going anyway.

trey

 

So Wyo-Tech....Is it worth it or not? My brother is planning on going there as soon as his time is up with the AF. That is where he is planning on using his GI Bill. He is planning on doing all the courses for fabrication and paint.

Anyone with input....Good or bad. Is there an alternative?

 

The problem with arrogance isn't found only at Wyo-Tech. Any collage graduate will be pretty ****y as they enter the "real world". I was a college instructor ten years ago and got pretty feed-up with dealing with the at***udes.

 

it depends on your brother and his situation

 

I am sitting her in the shop after hours relaxing after a trash on some of my own stuff. I get Wyotech resumes on a regular basis, I can see the grads are EXPECTING to get a top flight job right out of the gates. You know what? THEY WONT. Only the top 2% will land that dream job like any other feild, be it law, engineering,or journalism. We would hire a kid that wanted to JUST GET HIS FOOT IN THE DOOR and do grunt work for a few weeks. Right now, we have a college part-timer (engineering student) that does all the teardown/polishing and guess what? After a few months he is doing fab work as well as some ***embly! Brick, your recruiters are the bad guys, not the teachers. these kids need to see reality. Many of them can get great jobs but they need to see that they need to pay their dues like the rest of us.

 

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The problem with arrogance isn't found only at Wyo-Tech. Any collage graduate will be pretty ****y as they enter the "real world". I was a college instructor ten years ago and got pretty feed-up with dealing with the at***udes.

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Used to shoot the **** with this kid from Colorado who asked me lots of questions bout AMCs as he just bought a old Gremlin and he was pretty cool to chat with and was eager to learn.He later went to Wyotech after H.S and came back acting like he was Jesus H. Christ himself sure not all at that school are egomaniacs but that ole saying don't never git to big fer yer britches,the kid graduated to an ***hole instead of a well schooled automotive body repair/mechanic whateverthe**** man.

 

Looks like some good progress on the Ford, that c-notch is bad ***. I love the factory look that it has. The bumper over-rider/exhaust outlets looks like that will be cool.

After Bonneville last year, I just drove the coupe up until the end of Feb this year. Then I pulled it in the shop, chopped the top 4 inches, cut off the beat up drip rails and welded steel tubing to the roof to form a bead above the doors and quarter windows, welded in the patch panels that had been sitting in my room for the last year, smoothed out a few dents, shot it with some satin black industrial paint, and scalloped it. I also had the heads rebuilt when it blew a head gasket. I'll drive it like this for a while, then it will probably get torn apart and finished out some more, it will never be finished. Here are some recent pics.

 

What I wanna know is if all this cool **** p***es thru Wyotech, why dont any of you make th 5 hour trip up to the Black Hills? I have had several cool events up here that could see some new tin!

 

Rodney, It looks killer! It would be great to meet up with all you guys from Texas again. Are you planning any major road trips for next summer? I went to Paso this year and I think it was the best show I've been too yet. If your headed remotely this way let me know.

Tman, If it warms up a little labor day weekend I was thinking of taking the wife and hot rod up to Mt.Rushmore, is there anything going on that weekend?

 

I went to school at Wyotech . I would have to say it was worth the money. I did not think it when I started. Wyo tech did not make me a good fabricator or painter or anything.. It did teach me the basics and they taught me how to present myself. I grew up on a farm like a hillbilly working on cars wearing dirty clothes. I learned at Wyoming tech how to look and act professional. They also have a good name in the industry. It is not easy there. I spent about 1-2 hours a night studying because most of the work there is hands on. with my good grades and attendance it helped me to get into an apprenticeship at BMW. Now I work in the Design center. Going to school may open your eyes to other avenues. **** I paid off my student loan about 2 years after I was out. I know going to school isn't like the real world. That is for sure. But At least Wyo Tech has alot of tools you can use to learn and I think you can do anything you put your mind to. As bad as it ****s. Its a good investment..

 

I also went to Wyo Tech but I went when it was still Wyoming Technical School and they still taught you how to lead in the refinishing phase there was no street rod cl***, I did learn the basics and took there custom painting cl*** I guess at the time it was worth it of course it only cost you about 9 grand to attend. I think most of the people that are arrogant aren't just from Wyotech I know of a guy that went to UTI and he knew nothing about mechanics and when he got out he thought he knew everything but still has the same guy working on his cars that did it before he went to school. I would recommend it if the cost was the same as when I went but not for the current costs you can pretty much learn and work at the same time just find a shop that does what really interest you.

 

Wyo is opening a new school / shop in west sacramento, I know for a fact there are at least two hot rod motor heads there, there friends of mine that just got hired. Now there trying to hire me.

 

hi,
As a 20 yr old who would like to get into the hot rod/custom buisness where should i go? I was thinking wyo tech would be a good option considering there is now a school in sac. cal (1.5 hours away from me) but if this place is not the place to learn then where do i? I know my skills arent very good but i want to learn. Any sugestions ? Can i sign up for some of this grunt work? Thanks,
Drew