SuperStockDodge
Active Member
Buddy gave me this, his uncle won it a dealership at what he thinks was a Rapid Transit System clinic contest in 1969 for troubleshooting wires and ignition...anybody ever see one before?
Cool Plymouth Prize Tool Box from 1969...
- Thread starter SuperStockDodge
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BeeKool
Well-Known Member
Never seen one. Pretty cool though. Like the patina with the plymouth logo
belvedere 67
Well-Known Member
Very cool.
SuperStockDodge
Active Member
Do you have more details on these contests?
SuperStockDodge
Active Member
I cleaned it up a bit and it looks pretty nice, and your right the wear on it is just the right amount and it will look good in the trunk of my 69 Road Runner.
mmissile
Well-Known Member
SuperStockDodge
Active Member
Got screwed out of getting to go in 74 by an asshole shop teacher.
I feel your pain. The one who went to the contest, lost it for us by getting the firing order wrong. We came in second place, all because the smartest student in class (per the teacher) blew it.
Ought to start a thread on asshole auto shop teachers! Although my general shop teacher was a decent knowledgable guy.
BeeKool
Well-Known Member
My shop teacher taught shop for over 35 years. Taught my dad, myself, my brothers. Was a decent guy. I skip all my other classes and change a transmission in my truck or car. I hated school but loved shop. Our school was little and pod unknown but our ad hop was massive and we'll equipped.
Really good teachers are few, my auto shop teacher would take attendance then go sit in his office reading the paper while we washed teachers cars. Pretty sure he pocketed the money. Didn't learn much in that class. We had a great shop, all snap-on tools, fully equipped. We each had a tool box assigned to us which we were responsible for, the teacher had the keys. At the end of the year everybody had tools missing which we had to pay for to graduate. Found out later that he was filling his tool box at home. He left after 3-4 years, I think it was a mutual agreement. 40+ years ago, I'm still pissed. Our school system doesn't even have any shop classes or home ec. No working with your hands anymore, it's all about getting students ready for college and sports. Only thing I looked forward to in school was shop classes. Could that be part of the problem today? Rant over!
BeeKool
Well-Known Member
That's no good. Sorry to hear.
Mr. Ford, was my shop teachers name (I know, funny) He would let us slack off for most the semester then buckle down the last month and pass us with a C. He new that boys will be boys and th as ts just a fact of life. Our school would have closed its doors if it weren't for our shop. Like you we had all the finest snap-on tools. Car hoists supplied by Napa. A paint room. My dad and brother restored a 71 Chevelle in that shop. Anything that could be imagined. He would even come in and let us use the shop in off school time.
khryslerkid
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Sounds like we had the same teacher! Lol
Mine would take up a collection for his cab fare. He learned what he knew, hanging out at the local Texaco garage. Brand new school with the new auto shop (vo-tech). We read the manuals to all of the new equipment and taught ourselves.
That teacher blew up countless batteries, started an old chevy, in gear. It went into a bunch of metal cabinets on a wall. Bought a Caddillac from the police auction that someone had died in. Stunk up the whole place! What a joke he was but we all managed to pass two years of that class...
BeeKool
Well-Known Member
Wow!.! Lol. Just goes to show, it's really hard to get rid of bad teachers.
I don't know what condition our shop program is in. We merged with a larger school 15 years ago. A year after my teacher retired.Our state of the art shop and program were mothballed. Last I knew everything was still there ender an inch of dust.
YY1
Well-Known Member
My high school had an attached vocational school. Kinda rare.
In order to get out of 2 years of math and 1 year of English, not to mention get to work on cars for 5 of 7 periods a day for 2 years, I took Vocational Auto Mech. The body shop class was next door. We had a 12 bay shop with a lift in every bay plus an alignment rack. Everyone was issued a tool box and could check out more specific tools from a tool crib. One of my favorite tools was the Gray brand bumper lifts. It took me almost 25 years, but I finally own two of them.
The Junior year teacher was GREAT. Was a Mopar guy and recognized who knew what they were doing. He also recognized individual strengths and taught to them. He taught me to do alignments by feel and then check them with the machine. I was about 95%. He used to bet the other teachers that I could get it within spec before it even went on the machine.
The senior year guy was just OK, and had a hard time controlling the class. Much more book and life as a mechanic oriented than hands on.
Our top three guys went to the contest. I was technically the alternate, but got to play at the local, where we came in second. In the regionals I sat out and we came in third, but only 1st and 2nd advanced. The prize IIRC was a kind of cheap, but gold finished box end wrench set that wasn't as nice as the Craftsman stuff I already had.
In order to qualify, you had to take tests in several areas of trouble shooting, such as Brakes, engine, electrical, etc. If you qualified in that area, you got a patch to go under the main "wrench in hand" patch. IIRC you had to get 5 out of 7 in order to qualify. I seem to remember getting all of them, and I still have them in a manila envelop, which I'd love to find.
In order to get out of 2 years of math and 1 year of English, not to mention get to work on cars for 5 of 7 periods a day for 2 years, I took Vocational Auto Mech. The body shop class was next door. We had a 12 bay shop with a lift in every bay plus an alignment rack. Everyone was issued a tool box and could check out more specific tools from a tool crib. One of my favorite tools was the Gray brand bumper lifts. It took me almost 25 years, but I finally own two of them.
The Junior year teacher was GREAT. Was a Mopar guy and recognized who knew what they were doing. He also recognized individual strengths and taught to them. He taught me to do alignments by feel and then check them with the machine. I was about 95%. He used to bet the other teachers that I could get it within spec before it even went on the machine.
The senior year guy was just OK, and had a hard time controlling the class. Much more book and life as a mechanic oriented than hands on.
Our top three guys went to the contest. I was technically the alternate, but got to play at the local, where we came in second. In the regionals I sat out and we came in third, but only 1st and 2nd advanced. The prize IIRC was a kind of cheap, but gold finished box end wrench set that wasn't as nice as the Craftsman stuff I already had.
In order to qualify, you had to take tests in several areas of trouble shooting, such as Brakes, engine, electrical, etc. If you qualified in that area, you got a patch to go under the main "wrench in hand" patch. IIRC you had to get 5 out of 7 in order to qualify. I seem to remember getting all of them, and I still have them in a manila envelop, which I'd love to find.
If this was the mid 70s it probably was the same guy or his twin!
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