Project Eclipse: April 28 Update

This week Car Club continued with a little fresh air, as the Eclipse is rolled off the hoist and sits outside for a while.

Before we rolled it out, we had to check and reseal some leaky beads on two of the car's tires.

Then, we rolled the Spirit Car out into the sun for some sanding, smoothing and cleaning. The headlight lenses were removed to check the halo eye LEDs for proper operation. We may have to remove and replace the front bumper cover as it has a bad crack in the side.

At the other end of the shop, two senior students continued their period 2 engine work by grinding their valves on the small block Chevy cylinder heads.

Two other students help install a broken rear door handle on a Toyota as an extra demonstration of learned skills in their period 1 class. Car Club is a great place to do extra work and practice the talents that students develop...

Another engines student decided to install the included short shifter kit into the car to lessen the rod travel and give the car that quick shift feel!

The rest of the interior is barren and as the carpeting is power washed and prepped for installation, Car Club students continue to discuss how the interior will be laid out for the new seats and electronics.

Finally, after diagnosing a faulty neutral safety wire to get the engine to crank, the senior engines class students were able to trace the no start condition to misaligned camshaft sprockets. One student caught a few moments of the final initial start up!

After celebrating many accomplishments this week, we will install the rest of the exhaust system and put final touch ups on the body before paint.

See you soon!

Project Eclipse: April 22 Update

As Car Club continues this week, our students continue to work on a variety of things, from getting caught up on class work, to performing real world vehicular repairs, to continuing the rebuild of the BR Spirit Car.

Some students take to the Eclipse and spend more time sanding other key parts of the vehicle's exterior.

While our senior level and SHSM students work away on the exterior, another student carefully installs the radiator, coolant hoses and electric fan, to keep our engine cool!

Making good use of the day's time, some senior level engine rebuilding students take to the old valve grinder to recondition the valves on their small block V8 engines. They will complete the rebuild of their engines as part of the course objectives, and start their engines before the end of the semester!

Over in another end of the classroom, two ladies from our senior class take to a Honda Accord to perform a full brake job.

When we began Project Eclipse in September, we scanned its Engine Control Module and found a code for cooling system malfunction. Careful diagnosis led to the discovery of an open circuit on the plug wiring to the engine's coolant sensor. We will have to get a new plug and pigtail assembly to replace the broken old one. An open circuit sensor would lead the Eclipse's computer to think it is operating the engine in -40 degree weather! we don't want that!

And before Car Club was over, both senior and junior students pooled their resources and skills to help merge parts from two BMX bicycles to make one bike. The frame was bead blasted to be later painted and reassembled.

Finally, one other student tackled those pesky little holes on the trunk that secured the original stock spoiler. By using the brazing technique, he filled one of the bigger holes in the trunk for later sanding and prepping for paint.

One ongoing concern was the inoperation of the starter motor when the key is turned. With any luck, we will be able to diagnose and repair the problem, making the engine closer to an initial start up!
See you soon in room 114 for the next update on Project Eclipse!

Mr. Da Silva

Project Eclipse: April 14 Update

The weather is warming up, and we are liking it!

With sandpaper in hand, students continue to add body filler to some small holes on the trunk of the Eclipse, and smooth it to match.

With the holes filled and basic contours laid out, we added spot putty to fill any scratches and imperfections on the surface.

The body looks far from perfect right now, but we are hoping that a community partner will shine it up with an amazing paint job! Nearly ready for paint!

We also spent some time installing a few gaskets on the exhaust manifold. We also installed a replacement coil pack, since the old one was accidentally snapped by the engine crane when the powertrain was hoisted into the car.

Car Club continues to allow students the opportunity to catch up on missed work, learn new concepts, and contribute to a team environment with Student Success projects like our BR Spirit Car.

See you next week for more fun from room 114!!

Project Eclipse: April 7 Update

Car Club continues, now on Tuesdays, and our students continue to shape up the body of the Eclipse.
The outer shell of our Spirit Car still has a few nooks and crannies that require that extra smoothing. Some Junior and Senior level students tend to the problem, adding filler and sanding the affected area.

Some other details are tended to under the hood. While we still have to replace the rotten clutch slave cylinder line, our younger Car Club member looks after reconnecting the shifter cables and brackets to the top of the transaxle so that we can once again shift through the gears seamlessly.

There are still many smaller details under the hood and throughout the car to be taken care of. At the end of Mr. Da Silva's engine rebuilding class, senior students helped install the wiring harness onto the engine's sensors and fuel injectors. Soon, the two litre engine will come to life!

Nearing the end of car club, another student helped install the throttle cable onto the intake manifold and throttle body.

Car Club continues next week. Tune in for more on the BR Spirit Car!

Later this week on April 9th, our talented Transportation Technology Student Adam Hancock competed in the 26th annual Halton Skills Competition. At the scene, Adam took first place among the Catholic Board competitors, and will be moving on to compete at the Ontario Skills Competition next month at Rim Park in Waterloo.

We congratulate his victory and wish him luck in the Ontario Competition! Great job Adam!


See you next week for Car Club's April 14th update!

Mr. Da Silva

Project Eclipse: April 1 Update

Spring is inching its temperatures up slowly, and the auto shop is now able to open the shop doors and feel the sun's rays teasing us with what's more to come...

The Car Club continued its pace to ace the shell of the mighty Eclipse...

Junior and senior level students took to the sheet metal again this week to fill in and sand down imperfections. Body work is long and tedious, requiring great patience. But the efforts are definitely worth the end goal. We are hoping to have the BR Spirit Car in a paint booth very soon to get it's shiny new black coat...

Careful examination of the exterior is essential for preparing the body for paint. Any scratches or imperfections will show under a coat of fresh paint. Later into the year, we will have our design tech students create custom vinyl graphics for the car's exterior.

As the body gets some TLC, other Car Club students make good use of time after school to get familiar with upcoming in-class assignments, like suspension removal, inspection and reinstallation. 

We even had a couple of senior students help to perform some repairs on an out of shop vehicle, by changing the oil and replacing a cracked serpentine belt. Good work!

As Car Club wraps up for the day, we have a gander at the new racing seats that the folks at CARID.COM were kind enough to send us for the Eclipse's transformation!

We push on, looking forward, and with the Spirit of BR inside, we never give up!

Our Car Club students are working hard to make the BR Spirit Car a unique product of teamwork and student skill and success! 

See you next week!

By the way, car club will now be switched to every TUESDAY after school, until the end of the school year.

Next session: Tuesday April 7th.