I haven't bothered to make a project thread on here yet, but the local media got wind of the project and decided to stop by my classroom last week. article : New Article Link Here!
That's really cool!! I would have loved to work on a classic like that when I was in school! The kids will learn a lot of good basics. Pass on the passion Bill
Top notch man, great way to get kids into old cars, most kids are into that rice rocket crap, maybe you can set a few of them straight. Good luck to you and your students on an awesome and safe build.
A big pat-on-the-back for what you are doing for the kids. Wish I had been given that opportunity in school.
thats what I'm trying to do but our county see's no value in something like that. ALL of our kids are going to college (yeah right). They apparently dont need real world skills. thats awesome man! Keep up the good work.
Nice...way to get kids away from video games and learn a real world career... If you, or any of them want to view a four year build on my '55 Caddy, have them clik on: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=329070&highlight=the+best+55+caddy+build R-
Man that is great and what a good influence on kids. Back in the 90's my wife and I ran a group home for 6 troubled teenaged boys in Reno, NV. I had an old 1950 Dodge pick-up that we used as our "family project" and I'd let the boys work on it and I'd take it to school so those that could would get extra credit in their auto shop class. We also would attend cruise nights and local car shows and the boys would answer most of the questions that was asked about the truck. That was a very rewarding job but very tuff at times!!!
Not only do the kids get to learn, but it's free labor! Seriously though, its a cool thing your doing with the kids.
Great to see your passing on the torch (not Olympic, but cutting torch) to these students! Keep us Posted!
That'd be a better show than Jersey Shore. That's what New Jersey is really about! Sweet Cadillac. Keep us posted.
semi-original. I plan on keeping the body stock with exception to the paint color. Interior will be kept traditional with little touches here and there. frame and suspension will be kept stock with exception to a bigger sway bar up front and possibly different coil springs. engine and drivetrain will be "temporarily" upgraded to an LS-style GM engine with 4L60E trans. I will probably swap the rear with a more modern unit from an early 90's caprice or impala SS. I still havent figured out how I want to tackle the power brakes, but I will probably end up with disc brakes all around. Nothing I plan on doing will be irreversible, so once I get the funds and the time to rebuild the original engine correctly and freshen up the trans, they will easily be able to find their way back into the car. I'm lucky and thankful that my school district still sees the need for such courses, although some were close to extinction during the past 12 years since I graduated, they are back to decent numbers thanks to some talented and dedicated teachers. yeah Ill get around to that one of these days thank you very much. Ive actually read your thread from start to finish just for my own benefit & enjoyment. I have a good core group of kids who have been burning the midnight oil.... well, 5:00pm oil after school a couple days a week. If it was up to them they would probably live in my classroom. I was only able to get a dozen or so when the newspaper came (many were involved with sports), but I know a bunch wanted to be there. I hear that comment a lot! It might not be free if I end up hearing from parents about their kids trashing their clothes in my class, hahahaha. Thanks. I suppose so, I was excited to read it and Im glad the school and my department is getting some coverage, especially as I am only in my first year. Hopefully things will only get better from here. oh man.... that show is absolutely horrible. Unfortunately I dont live all that far from where that show takes place, but thankfully the real Jersey Shore is nowhere near as ridiculous as that crap. Thank you everyone for the encouraging comments. I will certainly keep everyone posted on the progress and I'll get around to making a dedicated project thread shortly.
Yep...keep them boys busy. really really solid looking caddy. They should be grateful to have a teach like you.
Great story.What an excelent idea and a great way to teach not only the mechanical but organiziation ,preservation and many other life skills all at the same time. The schools could use more guys like you. Those are some lucky students .Two thumbs up and good luck.Thanks for sharing the article with us.
oh the joys of teaching despite me stating very clearly NOT to touch or clean the control arms until they were removed from the chassis, I still had someone take the wire wheel to it and remove the old grease. Unfortunately they removed half the rubber from the seals as well!!!!!! :angry face here: So.... does anyone have a couple old seals they aren't needing anymore (I'll gladly pay for them and shipping) or does anyone know where to get JUST the seals instead of having to replace the entire pin and/or bushings for $87 - $150 just to get the seals??
Oops... Time to teach them the fine art of parts procurement. Seriously though,thanks for all that your doing in that I can testify the good it did for me all those years ago. And just as a suggestion, why not have the students document their work and post a build thread?
Unfortunately its not exactly like the old days. Today, students have to have media released even to get their picture or name mentioned in newspapers. I wouldnt even be able to publicly post a picture of my full class as some of them do not have these signed. I probably do have a couple who would document the project online, however I know that even if I gave my "good" students an account and password (on here for example), it would eventually leak out and havoc would probably follow soon afterwards. I plan to setup a website on the schools sever to document the progress, but even then I wouldnt be able to give the students access. The most I could do is have them type it out and I'd have to enter it to the site after proofing, which I will probably end up doing.
Updated the link on Post #1. Also, frame is finished, painted with ceramic satin black chassis paint over the weekend.
yeah hopefully, the kids seem to get more motivated as another piece of the puzzle gets completed. Unfortunately we had midterms last week so that set us back a little bit, but we're getting back at it this week. lol, nice
The Jalopy Journal
