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!

Project Eclipse: March 22 Update

Well rested from the March Break, students and staff are back at school, and we are back in high gear as we work on Project Eclipse.

With the BR Spirit Car approximately 85% complete, Car Club students are working on finishing several smaller components as well as beginning the tedious job of wiring up the mega sound and video system in the car...

First, we decided to install a main switch panel behind the shifter knob so we can control three elements of the vehicle independent of the ignition key: the underglows, the in-dash tablet, and the audio video system, or "studio", since it will soon be able to film and upload short videos at special events on the school grounds.

We needed a custom mount for the switch panel, so we fabricated a wooden plate that will sit snugly in the center console.


After a test fit, we clothed and resined the part...




Once dry, we sanded it down and painted it white, to match a few other visual cues in the vehicle.


We will show it below, once other details are mentioned...

While we had the resin out, another car club student resined a wood plate into the modified hatch trim, followed up with some putty and sanding. We had to eliminate the hump in the hatch panel as it was interfering with the sub box when the hatch was closed.


After painting the switch panel, we decided to paint the radio trim plate, to add another school-coloured component to the interior of the car.



Being blessed with resources and skilled students, Car Club had its members working away on further details for the Spirit Car, like tracing out new Lion's Head decals for the lambo doors:



The grade nine TIJ students are also tracing out the front scoop to measure out an air grille to complete the look of the otherwise vacant scoop area.



More details were added as a couple of senior automotive students coated the inner trunk lip with a flat black paint, hiding some of the weathered car's original 1999 paint.



Even the shift knob was tricked out with some white paint until we can get our hands on a lion's head shifter!



While grade eleven students worked on creating adapter plates for the new front Kicker speakers, Mr. DaSilva laid out the heavy gauge wire for the heavy duty batteries that will start running the 1500 watt sound system.





With the help of the students, the two high power Kicker amplifiers were attached to the amp rack and pre-wired. An amp rack always gives any audio setup a clean look:







By the end of the day, the amp rack was test fitted in its place at the midpoint of the Eclipse, and we can't WAIT to get it up and running!



We also installed a main fuse and distribution panel at the rear of the vehicle for safety. From it, we pre-wired the LCD monitor, linear actuator and Android computer, then tested it out, checking travel distance and clearances:



On went a few more decals, including one for the company who kindly donated the monitor to our project!



One more shipment arrived- the in-dash DVD player which will be the hub for the entertainment system. The BOSS head unit will control and send various signals to and from the other two monitors in the vehicle as well as allow multiple format audio and video files to be played through Bluetooth, external sources or SD cards.

We anxiously test fitted the unit and are hoping to get the sound system fully wired and test run by the end of the month!

Here's a look at the cockpit as the BR Spirit Car nears completion!



There's a reason why students and parents alike are drawn to Bishop Reding High School...
Our community fosters an environment of opportunity for its students. "There is always something for you to do here," says a student during class.

To that, Mr. DaSilva says: "The staff is more than happy to give everyone the tools to be your best. Show respect, give your best effort, and you will succeed!"

RESPECT. EFFORT. SUCCESS.

Now that sounds like a plan!
See you next week!

Project Eclipse: March 1 to 8 Update

Now that the month of March is upon us, Project Eclipse's unveiling day is just over two months away, and we are over 75% complete in our fantastic journey!



As you can see by our first picture, we had a trick up our sleeve with the sign we created two weeks ago. The computer milled acrylic sign was carpeted and placed behind the front seats and above the new amp rack. This sign completes the "flying frame" around the motorized TV and, after we hooked the LED lights up to an Arduino computer to fade the lights, the sign gives off a warm glow inside the vehicle.



Now carpeted, the flying frame and sign completes the TV's layout in the trunk area.



With the 6x9 speakers now installed in the rear, the amp rack was soon constructed to finish off the "mid-frame" area.





The amp rack was constructed of wood, then covered in fleece, resined up for hardness, then carpeted for that smooth clean look.









We are hoping to get our hands on the double amplifier wiring kit after the March Break, so we can begin wiring up the entire audio system.

With the car seats back in the vehicle and accent pieces painted to reflect our school colours, Car Club students moved on to adding external details to the Eclipse.





Two Senior Transportation and SHSM students helped install the aftermarket racing pedals to add more detail to the vehicle's interior.







As a token of appreciation, students have begun to create and apply custom vinyl graphics to the exterior of the Spirit Car. We want to make sure everyone who sees our car knows the companies who have generously donated their time and equipment to our fantastic Student Success project!

On go the first few graphics...Kicker Audio, by Gemsen, who have donated the high power audio equipment for the Eclipse, and Crave Systems, one of our community partners who has donated networking equipment for the Spirit Car.

One of the Senior Transportation students was in charge of the graphics application. With a steady hand, she replicated, cut and applied the first of many sponsorship graphics to come.





The car is looking great! But, sometimes, setbacks are inevitable.
One day, dust was wiped off the Spirit Car with a dirty rag, which left some noticeable scratches all over the hood. Yikes!



The class quickly brainstormed possible ways to remove the scratches, and used a wax paste to buff out the unwanted marks. Whew!!!



At the end of this week's Car Club, we performed a trial run by hooking up the trunk batteries to the inverter and powered the retractable TV and Android computer. Looking great!

Mr. Da Silva found it neat when two students from an Oakville high school passed by on their bikes and looked at our car in amazement of what our students have created.

BR is proud of its students and their abilities, and on May 18th, the school will revel in its technical skill for its creation of the BR Spirit Car!

Have a safe and happy March break, and we will see you back soon!