Looking for a Few Good Cars ...
by Nick Little
Well everybody, the year is underway here in
Auto Mechanics. Currently we are in the safety and tool usage
portion of our studies. Our shop operates similar to a real auto
shop, so we have to orient everyone safely and make sure all
students have a good understanding of safety and basic tool
usage.
You can feel it in the air -- everyone is
excited to go to the shop, not just the students, but Bob & I
as well! Now that we are nearing the end of our orientation period,
we anxiously look forward to the projects to come, which brings me
to my next point … we need cars to work on!
Our shop curriculum starts out with basic tasks like tire
rotations, brake inspections, oil changes, windshield wiper and
light bulb replacements, mounting and balancing tires, and other
small jobs. We like to start out our shop time with rather easy
jobs to ensure our first year students can get acclimated to the
shop environment safely and to get our second year students back in
the swing of things.
For those who are unfamiliar with what we do here in IVVC Auto
Mechanics, we are able to perform most of the maintenance and light
repair service on the majority of foreign and domestic vehicles
seen on the road today. We also perform a cooling system diagnosis
(not to be confused with A/C), suspension system diagnosis and
repair, brake system diagnosis and repair (with limited ABS system
diagnosis), exhaust work (not custom), steering system diagnosis
and repair and very limited drivability and check engine light
diagnosis. We absolutely do not take “project cars.” When
scheduling work, it is at the instructors’ discretion, remembering
of course that we are working with high school students.
Our class works very hard to service vehicles for the school’s
faculty (not just IVVC, but other schools as well), students’
vehicles, and vehicles for the community. We work by an appointment
basis and try to use our curriculum as a guide for what work we
take on. If anyone has a vehicle that they think fits the
previous description, they can contact myself (nlittleivvc@yahoo.com) or Bob
Jones (junktoybob@aol.com) by e-mail for more information. Please
include a telephone number and we can determine if your vehicle is
one we can schedule for an appointment.
I want to thank everyone who stopped by the IVVC booth at the
Sandwich Fair, and congratulations to our T-shirt raffle
winner.
Thank you for your interest in IVVC, and especially in Auto
Mechanics. Please check back with us for updates on SkillsUSA, the
Chicago Auto Show and the Chi-Town Teardown Competition.
