this is a very bs thread but i thought it could cool considering it gave many of us are start wrenching so here is the thread topic what auto shops did you attend or have memory's of cause auto shop is becoming are rarer in schools so tell us the school {tech or public] and great memory's you have from there my school is Upper cape tech
R.S.Vo Tech. Welding and Autobody for 3 yrs. I think vocational schools are great. Everyone isnt suited for alife of acadamia. Oscar [ol dog] Lewis was the insructor and became a best friend. He p***ed away, but his wife and son gave me his 56 F100 which I'm currently building. Sure do miis him.
Hard to read your posting. Maybe you should have paid attention in English cl*** to things like punctuation as well, so people can read what you are trying to say. That was one long drawn out sentence
My shop teacher helped me a great deal. I was getting in trouble, had poor grades, and had zero direction at home. He realized this and got me an after school job at a local independent auto parts store. I worked at that store for four years, and then got a job at Kenz & Leslie. He really helped turn my life around and I am still in contact with him to this day.
Mr. Mortel in autos and advanced metals. Guy was a total hard *** but is one of the greatest guys I'll ever meet. Glad I had him for the last year he was teaching, and when I graduated. Still see him at car shows.
public schooled for my edumacation. home schooled on cars (grew up in a working body shop). wish we had some sort of auto mechanic course in school though.
sorry, About that I wasn't usually paying attention. I to busy thinking about the hot girl in the front of the cl*** or for that matter my car in the parking lot.
Didnt have much to do with my auto shop cl***es because I'd already dealt with the main teacher for it in boy scouts and I couldn't take him anymore (lyiar, cheater thief) So I chose to spend a LOT of time in welding cl***es. Had a great teacher there that taught me a lot, 3 time VICA state champ welder to be exact. Also spent a lot of time in the wood shop/carpentry cl***es Its really sad that all these cl***es are being dumped. I did good in academics as well, but my heart was in the hands on stuff. Now I've got a desk type job in a nice building, but if push comes to shove I have the skills/knowledge to get out and work where work is available. Also nice being able to do damned near anything by myself or be educated about work I hire out.
^^haha. My auto shop cl*** was tought by a pencil pusher who knew more about theory than practical application. I dont really remember how a coil works, BUT, I know what not to touch when the cars running.
West Noble High teacher was Willie Slabaugh was in his late 60s when i graduated in 95. He was a real hard *** but i learned alot. But i do remember getting 500 hours of detention for leaving posi black marks thru the entire auto shop.
Goshen High School '68-'69, Mr. Bud Rogers. What a trip,he wore a bad tupe, but really knew his stuff. Ah,good times.
I took all 3 levels of auto mechanics when I was in high school. Now I'm back teaching in the cl***room which I graduated from 13 years earlier. Being on the other side of the desk was a bit weird at first, but it's very rewarding to not only share my knowledge and experience with my students, but also share things my predecessors taught me when I was in their shoes. here is the project thread I started for our cl*** project : http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=444032
Mesquite High School Vocational Auto mechanics, Mesquite, TX. 1966-1968. Arvel Farr, an ex-Cadillac mechanic, was a hell of a hands-on mechanic and teacher.
E.C.Goodwin Technical high School New Britain Connecticut 1965-1967 Shop honors graduate. Mr. Angililo who went on to be the head guy for all tech schools in Ct. Pretty good for an old mechanic. Saw him a couple years ago and he still remembered me. Said a couple of guys from the cl*** are now multimillionaires from starting their own general repair shops way back then........I should have followed their example.
SCHS,,1981,,,we had a great time and learned a few things. I had already done most of the stuff we did in the cl***. My dad had a construction company (small time),,and he was a natural mechanic from way back. He had me repairing our D8 dozer (cable operated blade) by then,,I was running it when I was 14,,,and working on it from there on,,it had a pony motor to start the main engine,,that was cool! We were poor,,and I had to help out,,but,,it taught me a lot about how things work,,and that has paid off since I have been grown. My old man is 81 years old now,,he had the old dozer down last winter CAT D8 15A series,,that old man is tough as nails,he still amazes me working on machines,,but that is all he ever knew. I cant repay him for everything he ever did for me. (That D8 is a 57 model,,,so I guess it is still on topic,,LOL) Tommy
Mr. Barry for Metal Shop and Mr. Gordos for Wood Shop - I wish I could show them both my dragster project as I used skills taught by both of them to complete it.
Well when you go to HS autoshop teacher and your not sure if you should say Mr. Scott or Dad your somewhat screwed if cars are not something you enjoy. I still talk to my shop teacher, everyday just about except I call him dad now.
Unfortunately living in rural minnesota I did not have the privilege to attend a technical high school. So due to a rocky road in high school I droped out my senior year and went to the North Dakota State School Of Science at Wahpeton ND and took Auto Mech and a short diesel course. That was a defining moment on a new course in my life. I was not a total natural at it but hard work and study I charted a new course in life
I loved High School auto shop so much in my senior year (1982) it was more than half my day. My instructor was Bob Graff he was a former Chrysler employee that used to install bugs into cars for the mechanics to try to find. He had an office full of trophies for cars he had built along with framed magazine covers from HotRod and Car Craft with his cars on them, not fakes. ( He liked Flatheads and Hemi's) He always encouraged me and led me to tech school where I did very well (PIT Phoenix Ins***ute of Technology) After graduating from there I thought I knew it all, then I went to work in the field and found I knew nothing, dumb kid, now I find I still don't know anything.
retro rodder; Thank'ye for cruisin' the HAMB for your online activities. Apparently your experiences in shop cl*** has prompted you to be interested in traditional hot rodding. Good memories are important to all of us, in many different forms. That you have positive feelings about your shop cl***es of the past is a good thing. When I attended HS they didn't have shop cl***. Keep on keepin' on.
Thanks man. I try to keep the hot rodding torch going in shop my shop witch isn't as easy as it sounds its a 1\20 type deal, one being me a twenty being the ricer loving punks. Hey but what can you say at least I have 5 full days of shop every other week and it don't hurt to have teachers who support the traditional car hobby.
In my high school days (the 70's) autoshop, drafting, graffic art and surf club were my favorites. Now I have 2 teenage boys in H.S and they dont offer those type cl***es no more, the closest they have is Ag mechanics. Times have changed but as far as autoshop they have me as a teacher. Theres the right way, the wrong way and then, my way!
no welding cl***es or auto shop in my school...well the auto shop was a total joke (teacher would hide) and no good shops in the local area. i ended up at a gas station teaching myself and working on old cars at night for free . i was always jealous of other schools that had welding and machining. i remember reading an article in hot rod a few years after i graduated and a town over was building a flathead.......damn.
I went to Lincoln Community High in Lincoln Illinois. It was cool beyond your wildest dreams. I took my sister's 56 Desoto in for a tune up. In those days you had to clean the spark plugs every 3 or 4 thousand miles. The guys went nuts when the saw the hemi in it. The ****** died and the car headed for the wrecking yard. I later ******ed the engine and I still have it today. What is considered a rat today was every day suff back then. One guy had a Ford pickup with a Cadillac engine with dual quads. Another guy had a 52 Crosley with a 327 and 4 dueces in a square pattern. A 327 was considered a big motor then. Lots of 283s and 289s. Our teacher was cool and very knowledgeable. We had a program where we could go to work half days for credit. I worked in the back of an auto parts store where I learned to rebuild engines and was able to use tools the school couldn't provide. Bill
I attended Wayne Memorial H.S's autoshop program, It was nothing more than the instructors personal repair shop. The following year I transferred to the William Ford Vocational center, where I would begin to learn the fine art of autobody repair. The instructor there was a top notch instructor. I learned a great amount from him in the 2 years I was there. 20 years later I was able to give some young students a tool to hone there skills... Over a 2 year period 30 or so students at Canton High school in Michigan participated in the restoration of Big Mike Burkharts Camaro funny car body. Five of those students would spend there spring break at school laying out the scheme, and laying down the candy. One student Brandon Patterson has moved on to become a valuable part of my team.
Reading the stories in this thread really brings back some memories. Hope more people will add to it. I have a very small machine shop at home and am glad when my 16 year old grandson comes over with his buddies to work on a car. They don't have an auto shop at their school. Too bad since you can tell that they really want to know what goes on under the hoods of their first cars. Wish now I'd gone for a higher education and become a teacher. They know all about computers and games which is OK in these times I guess, but feel bad for them when they don't know the difference between a ratchet and a torque wrench. Bill
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