This year, VHS made many improvements to their auto shop inventory in order to provide auto shop students with more opportunities.

The school purchased 10 engines for its Advanced Auto class -which has around 20 students- so each engine will have a pair of students that will be disassembling and rebuilding it throughout the school year.

With the improvements made in the auto shop program this year, teacher Scott Hays removed his Biology courses to take on six periods of Auto, because “This is my passion,” stated Hays.

Hays purchased the engines from Summit Racing because of the large discount that he was able to receive from them.

When questioned about the source for the funding of these purchases, Hays said:

“Well the money comes from yearly money through the Perkins Grant and then VCOE money. And there was enough, like I said, I was able to purchase 10 engines and we bought 12 engine stands, and that cleared out the money. So it’s a hope this year, once I see the foundings that I have, we’ll be able to buy two more engines, in addition I would like to put drip trays underneath [the engine stands] cause when you turn them over they’ll drip.”

He said that the engines had been run before they were slightly disassembled and shipped to Ventura High School.

His long-term goal for these engines is for them to be completely rebuilt by students to include intake manifolds, carburetors, distributor caps, and running stands.

Summit Racing has also contributed the wood crates that the engines were packaged into the floral class at VHS, so that they can make pots out of them.