Students, volunteers help rebuild classic car
Karen Peterson
The primer on the 1972 Chevy El Camino Super Sport is sanded smooth before it can be painted inferno orange
Karen Peterson
The Mission Valley Cruisers donate $500 to Charlo High School’s automotive class. From left are Richard Santorno, Mike Lee, John Moon, Toby Odom, Tim Arneson, Stan Atchley, and Jack Bishop.
Karen Peterson
Shop teacher Stan Atchley gives student Toby Odom a few words of advice as they sand the car.
Karen Peterson
Karen Peterson
Karen Peterson
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CHARLO – The body of an unpainted vintage 1972 Chevy El Camino Super Sport sits in a small room at the Charlo High School.
“It’s on a rotisserie like a chicken so it’s easier to work on,” said Stan Atchley, Charlo’s shop teacher. The car’s frame and engine sit in the next room. The students are working on the classic sports car as part of an automotive class, and they get to rebuild it from the ground up.
“It’s a complete restoration project,” he said.
The automotive class is the only one of its kind from Missoula to Bigfork. And Atchley is proud of the program he teaches.
“This is an awesome shop,” he said.
It’s such a great project that other people outside the school want to make sure it continues. The Mission Valley Cruisers recently donated $500 to the class.
“Having a class like this might be what kids need to learn about what they want to do for their future work,” said Mike Lee, Mission Valley Cruisers vice president. “I wish I had something like this when I was in high school.”
This is Toby Odom’s first year participating in the class. He is a sophomore this year.
“This is what I like to do,” he said adding that he wants to be a professional mechanic someday, although he has worked on many vehicles on his own. He said his mom and dad are both mechanics. But the class is giving him his first opportunity to do body work.
“I’ve learned about Bondo and primer,” he said adding that spraying a layer of primer on the car’s body was his favorite part of the project so far.
On Saturday, Dec. 9, the Valley Cruisers showed up to the school’s shop with their coveralls on ready to help Toby and Atchley sand the first layer of primer on the car until it was smooth.
“We are donating money and our time,” said Mission Valley Cruisers President Richard Santorno.
The Valley Cruisers love talking about cars and sharing ideas. They are a nonprofit group that raises money for community projects by hosting swap meets and similar events. They used to organize a car show in Polson, but they turned the event over to the town after it got too big.
“We go to shops and talk about projects,” Lee said. “We give advice and get advice. It’s about sharing thoughts and education on cars. Many people have a certain passion and cars are our passion.”
The vintage car needs another layer of primer before the painting process can begin. Atchley hopes the car will be finished this year. The project started several years ago. The first year they worked on the motor. The frame was worked on in the second year.
“I’ve got some kids that could weld better than the original welding job,” Atchley said.
The next class learned about body work.
“This year, we are working on finishing it,” he said.
The Valley Cruisers helped along the way with advice on how to finish the rims and other projects. They also donated their time to help with some of complicated tasks. Lee took the transmission to his shop and did some work on it.
“This transmission was simple,” he said. “It only had 400 parts. Newer cars have about 1,200.”
Tim Arneson is donating his painting skills to help finish the car with inferno orange paint. The school is providing the paint. When the car is finished, the school will sell it to make money to buy another classic car that needs to be rebuilt for the next class.
“The school helped purchase the first car with the understanding that this would become a self-sustaining project,” said Atchley.
The group sanded the car with fine grain sandpaper, looked closely at the car, stopped to run their hands over the metal, and continued sanding until every inch was smooth. Toby was given a few words of advice about how to sand over the car’s angles.
“Work like this helps clear your mind,” Lee said. “There is something Zen about it as my son would say. And we enjoy helping.”
