Customer Vehicle Jobs Give Students Variety of Opportunities
Launch the media gallery 1 player - media #1Amanda Sanderson and Brianna Gibson (both of Somonauk) are sanding for the final buff.
Launch the media gallery 1 player - media #2Sandwich student Evan Gottlieb sands the fender of the Monte Carlo.
Launch the media gallery 1 player - media #3Work on the Toyota Solara is complete; car is ready for delivery.
The semester is winding down in the Auto Body Repair class and so are a couple of projects. We were able to do repairs on customer vehicles including a Jeep Wrangler, Toyota Solara, Honda Pilot, and we also started to work on a Chevy Monte Carlo. The second semester looks to be busy again with a few more projects coming in.
The Honda Pilot had a little rust in the quarter panel and the rear lift gate. That was repaired and painted to match the existing finish. This project was a great starting point for students to begin the steps in the repair process. It taught us how to take apart and label parts removed for reinstallation. It allowed us to work through the paint blending process and what to do to make the repair look like we were never there.
The Jeep Wrangler was in a minor accident where the passenger front fender was damaged, and the customer wanted the flares around the Jeep replaced. The repair took a little time as we had to use a slide hammer to pull the fender back into shape before we could complete our repair work. Once that was done we repaired the surface rust from the damage and repaired the remaining minor damage with Bondo. We replaced the hood latches and the flares around the vehicle. Overall this was a little more work than expected, but the final result was a project in which the students learned a lot.
The Toyota Solara project was a little more involved to complete. There was a little body damage on the driver’s side quarter panel and the passenger side door and fender. The front bumper had a crack and the rear bumper needed to be freshened up. We also took the old hazy headlights and brought them back to life. When all was said and done most of this car was painted bringing the color back to its original glory. This project really helped us learn how to properly mask a car for final paint.
We just began working on a Chevy Monte Carlo; this car will require a fair amount of work to be completed. We are replacing the front bumper, and painting the hood and trunk to match the original black paint job. We will also be working on a few faded paint areas on the vehicle.
Our second semester will be a big one with more projects on the way. We are looking forward to the new opportunities that will be put in front of us!