Project Eclipse: April 26 Update

With less than one month to go, Car Club is putting the final touches on Project Eclipse, now dubbed the Bishop Reding School Spirit Car!

During the last week, we focussed on a few maintenance and repair bits as well as installing a few end pieces in the vehicle.

First, we struggled to keep the Eclipse's hood back to a new car shine. Our prior hand polishing of a few scratches yielded some hazy spots. But with careful use of a random orbital polisher, a Senior Car Club student applied some compound, polish and wax, to give the hood a new shine. Here's an AFTER/BEFORE pic of the difference one of these polishers make!



A couple of our grade 9 Car Club members helped to paint some finishing touches on the bottoms of the doors, which have some very light rust that was not reworked before the paint job. Our car is not perfect, but the odd mark of valour gives any machine character!



Moving onto the interior, we wanted to trick out the center console with a few toys. First, we converted the Eclipse to a push starter, wiring the relay necessary to start the car with a push of a button!



In this next pic, you can see the push starter installed in the factory cigarette lighter hole. As well, we wanted to be able to monitor the voltage in the primary cell unit (that starts the car) as well as the secondary cell unit (that powers the stereo, underglows and TV). This way, we can tell when the batteries run low and are in need of charging. We marked two cut outs in the console beside the push starter, and then cut them out and installed twin voltmeters with a digital display.



Now we have the ability to start the vehicle Formula One style, and can also keep an eye on the vehicle's electrical system while on location!



We then moved onto the floors and midsection of the vehicle, where we assembled four more LED strips to add accent lighting to the foot wells and amplifiers.







As the lighting system was connected onto the main switch panel, other students also tested the duplicate screen feature of the tablet onto the rear TV, and its working great!



Our dedication plaque came in, and it was installed into the rear of the trunk, and it will now act as a battery cover as well as a lid for a small box that houses the keyboard and remote for the TV. Most of the students who participated in Project Eclipse have signed the plaque as a symbol of pride in their hard work and accomplishment over the last two years.



Any students who graduated last year and worked on the car are encouraged to drop by the school and sign the plaque any time!

Now, with the vehicle 99% complete (other than a few cosmetic details), we found it fitting to take a lap around the premises to show the BR Car its new home, and pose for a few pics!



The Spirit Car even caught the eye of several grade 7 students this week as they took in a tour of our school, and they loved it! The tech students loves seeing the smiles on the kids faces, knowing this is one example of student potential and success!



We are just DAYS away from unveiling a custom built machine, created by the hard work and dedication of many BR students, with over 1000 hours logged over two years!
Drop by on the 19th of May and see WHO WE ARE, and WHAT WE BUILT!

Project Eclipse: April 19 Update

It is now officially one month until we unveil our wonderful masterpiece to the world, and all of us in Car Club are very excited to show off our hard work, having transformed an old coupe into a cool new lowrider!



As it nears final completion, we gave the Eclipse a wash out in the warm sun, then opened its doors for some fresh air. It did a good job of catching the eyes of many passing students on their way to class. Then, it was back into the auto shop after its quick tease, for some more work...



While running the engine outside for a bit, we noticed a strange smell and some vapors coming from the vents and discovered that the original heater core was leaking. Not a problem. Seeing as how we will not be driving the vehicle in the winter, we elected to bypass the heater with some couplings. This will easily prevent the heater from leaking antifreeze and vapors into the passenger area.



We have been blessed with the support of wonderful community sponsors, all of which we want to ensure are promoted on our vehicle. So on went the last of the decals, citing Atlantic Towing and our SHSM program for their support.



Finally, we needed to put our own mark on Project Eclipse, and there is no better way to signify it as our own endeavour than with the Reding Royals lion's head! The sunroof became the best location for our final decal, custom cut and installed by two young ladies in our Transportation Technology program:







After working on removing a few air bubbles from our largest decal, we moved onto repairing an issue we weren't expecting...

The rear hatch trim had cracked in Monday's hot weather. This was because of the expansion of three different materials against each other. So we removed the panel, sanded it down, and resined in a thin sheet of cloth which will be sanded and painted soon, ready for its graphics. Hopefully, the newly layered hatch trim will withstand hot temperatures without deforming or cracking.





And on to good news again...
After some careful disassembly of panels, trimming and routing, we were able to install the Webcast system into the Eclipse. This system uses two webcams- one in the front and one in the rear of the car, to capture pics and videos of interviewees during special on-site events like sports games and charity events.

Once installed, we initialized the cameras and interfaced them with a video editing app on the in-car android computer.



This dash cam will capture footage of interviews in the "Hot Seat":



and the rear cam will capture footage of interviews when groups of people are standing
in the "Cool Zone," behind the vehicle.



The footage then gets edited in-car, then uploaded to the school hallway monitors or our upcoming new website: specialevents.redingroyals.com.



Mr. DaSilva is encouraging BR students to make use of the Spirit Car and it's technology as a venue for promoting on-site events. From a music station to a broadcast vehicle to a sales booth, the BR Spirit Car is up for any task...just like our BR students!

We get things done!

Stay tuned for details on our unveiling day, and feel free to email Mr. DaSilva at brautoshop@gmail.com if you have any questions about the vehicle or our official launch!

See you soon!

Project Eclipse: April 12 Update

BR's Car Club is officially in the home stretch to completing and unveiling it's Spirit Car!
Yes, the tired old 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse has been given new life, thanks to the passion
and dedication of the Bishop Reding students in Car Club and the automotive department!

Let's see what the last seven days have encompassed:

The underglows are in, and in order to install them under the car, two senior Transportation students traced and cut out three bumper plates which will form a recessed lip under the front and rear bumpers. These bumper plates will allow for the LED light strips to be installed without making them the lowest point on the vehicle's body. This is important so that the lights don't break off when we drive this low rider over a speed bump.

And so, with the jigsaw, some sandpaper, paint, and a hot glue gun, the underglows are soon installed...









We also had two students help wire up the underglows through the firewall and into our main
switch panel, to have them turn on at the touch of a button, alongside the amp rack Reding Royals sign behind the seats...





A few more graphics went on the car...







We then focussed on other small details. A junior student worked on carving a small piece of wood that would later be used to cover an ugly gap just below the faux intercooler. It will then be painted and installed to complete the fit.



We also gave the rear license plate our pride treatment!



To further our attention to detail, we also had Car Club students remove the wheels and touch up the inner fender panels with some flat black paint, to cover old over spray from prior work...





We also closed the ugly gap between the TV and the subs with a thin carpeted flexible panel. It allows the TV to raise and retract without displaying the inner workings of the actuator and wires.



A few senior car club students worked painstakingly on our rear hatch cover trim. As mentioned before, we had to flatten the large hump that existed before, when it covered the rear wiper motor assembly. Since ditching the motor, we flushed the panel with MDF and fibreglass, sanded it, painted it, and applied some graphics, drawing some attention to our upcoming new website for the Spirit Car's new job: On Site Special Events Vehicle!









Now, other than a few minor installations and touch ups, like the webcast system, some interior trim, and a few final graphics, our special vehicle is ready to roll!!! With the lights shut off in the room, we enjoy the warm glow of the LED strips under the car.
Once away from the hoist, the BR CAR will be itching to take a low stance at all kinds of events around the school for years to come!

See you next week!!

Project Eclipse: March 29 to April 5 Update

Nearing 90 percent completion, the BR Spirit Car is shaping up to be one cool ride!

Let's check out what was done in the last two weeks...

For several days, Car Club students have been working on building adapter plates for the new Kicker speakers that will be going in the front doors. Soon, they are complete and ready for installation. The adapter plates ensure a smooth fit, and keep the large driver magnets from hitting the window panes.







Next, we moved on to replacing the factory dash tweeters with upgraded units, complete with passive crossovers. This will help distribute the correct sound frequencies to their respective drivers, giving the inside of the Eclipse that "concert sound."



We had to destroy the factory tweeter, as the original speaker basket was part of its housing. We then installed the new tweeter into the original housing and jigged it into place. It will then sit under the windshield, ready to drive cymbal crashes and techno beeps at its audience!





Safety is very important during our work in the shop. Even while wearing safety glasses and being cautious, a sneaky sliver snuck itself into Mr. DaSilva's thumb. Nothing we can't handle.Tweezers please...



One of our senior students removed the windshield wiper transmission from the car and painted it black, over the original weathered grey. Little details always contribute to a good overall image!



Junior and senior Car Club students helped trace out a jig for the vehicle's front bumper air intake. We decided to fill this otherwise drab opening with something more enticing.



We found an old radiator from a minivan, measured it, and cut it to size. Once cleaned up, we installed it behind the hood latch, to make for a decent looking imitation intercooler. Sometimes you can surprise yourself when you are resourceful, and Mr. DaSilva likes to teach his students to be resourceful. Not bad looking at all!



As you just saw, we added more graphics, like customized Kicker Audio Performance, and a couple of First Professional logos, in thanks for the great work our community partner down the street did with the exterior of the Spirt Car!

One of our junior Car Club students helped drill and affix the faux rear plate and frame to the rear of the car, which will soon have the words "WE ARE BR" on it, displayed proudly at on site events.



Car Club students continue to work diligently on our special project, knowing that our unveiling day is less than two months away. With many little details still to be completed, like the push starter, underglows, and lion's head graphics, it would be great if we could complete BR's Spirit Car ahead of schedule.



The sound system is now up and running, and although we can't show you an accurate video of the sound system's output, our students enjoyed listening to its clear, strong power output. Mr. DaSilva tested the system out with various music tracks, to see the system's capabilities, and even tested out the in-dash DVD player by watching a few minutes of Gone in 60 Seconds.

We also had a student in our small engines class begin to hook up and test the on-board studio system...the big feature of the Spirit Car. The Eclipse will be deemed our "Special Events Vehicle," placed at different locations around the school grounds. Once there, students can take and edit short videos, photos and interviews of sports and charity events, mix the footage down in car, and then upload it to the school's foyer monitors for event promotion. What a cool idea!!

One of the vehicle's two onboard webcams is initialized, as well as the video editing app. We plan to have an in-dash cam for "hot seat" interviews and dialogue, and a rear facing cam for group interviews outside of the car.



Mr. DaSilva decided to purchase some brushed aluminium vinyl and add an updated fender grill cover to the vehicle, as well as a few course codes in the old fighter plane style.

One of our senior auto students is very skilled in detail control, and she was able to trace out the fender area on paper, so we could plot the course code badges and grill covers. Soon, new badges were cut and voila...









With virtually all of the wiring complete, and the main switch panel active, we tested the in-dash tablet charger, amplifiers, rear monitor, and last but not least, the glowing Reding Royals sign:

By now, the BR Spirit Car is in need of a short rest, and some warm weather.
We need to wash all the fingerprints off its paint job and give it a thorough vaccuming before
we get into the home stretch towards completion.

Project Eclipse has been a great example of Student Success, with many students coming together and devoting nearly 1000 hours of labour time to the rebuild. This project could not be possible without the support of tech programs like SHSM and Pathways in the Halton Catholic Disctrict School Board. It is with these rewarding programs that students can discover and build upon their skills towards a successful future in the world of work.

Stay tuned for our home stretch coverage, as we complete the final steps of the rebuild and prepare the BR Spirit Car for its unveiling on May 18th!

See you soon!