News about Collision Repair & Restoration

Penn College Classic Cruisers, a student organization whose mission includes promoting interest in and preservation of vintage automobiles, did just that through a Saturday car show on the Carl Building Technologies Center parking lot. “We appreciated the support from everyone who showed up that day,” said club President Riley E. Mahl, of Easton, an automotive restoration technology student. About 50 people were on hand to appreciate the 25 vehicles displayed on the grounds; the gorgeous day included food, awards and giveaways, and optional tours of instructional labs.
Photos by J.J. Boettcher, student photographer

Second-year collision repair majors and students in the automotive technology: Honda PACT program recently visited the Honda Heritage Center and Honda manufacturing facility in Marysville, Ohio, learning about the history of the Honda Motor Co. and its various technologies, as well as how the manufacturing process relates to their curriculum at Penn College. The Heritage Center, a museum showcasing the history of Honda manufacturing in the U.S., includes vehicles from motorcycles and ATVs to passenger cars, race vehicles and jet engines. It also features information about company founder Soichiro Honda, while the Honda manufacturing facility introduced students to vehicle manufacturing from its start as a coil of sheet metal to a finished product driving off the assembly line. The students were accompanied by Loren R. Bruckhart, collision repair instructor, and Joe A. Tavani, Honda PACT instructor. For more about the college’s automotive and collision repair majors, visit the School of Transportation & Natural Resources Technologies.
Photos provided

Members of the Hershey Region of the Antique Automobile Association of America, among the generous champions of Penn College’s automotive restoration technology major, recently returned to main campus as the first stop on this season’s “Point Run” schedule. The group enjoyed a buffet lunch, toured several instructional areas, and met with student members of the Penn College Motorsports Association and the Classic Cruisers Club.

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The Keystone Region Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club has established a $25,000 endowed scholarship fund to benefit students enrolled in the automotive restoration technology program at Pennsylvania College of Technology.

To apply for the scholarship, applicants must be enrolled full time in the automotive restoration program at Penn College and have completed two semesters with a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

The Keystone Region Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club, based in central Pennsylvania, is dedicated to the preservation and restoration of Studebaker vehicles. The chapter’s first meet was held in 1968 in Union County, with 42 cars and trucks and nearly 100 Studebaker fans attending. The club, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, has grown its original membership from about 20 to more than 250 today.

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The empowering combination of applied technology education and financial support was celebrated Sunday afternoon, as Pennsylvania College of Technology hosted its second annual Scholarship Luncheon in the campus Field House.

“I am overwhelmed by the collective energies in this room to transform tomorrow,” President Davie Jane Gilmour said, addressing students, families and donors alike. Announcing that the coming academic year will include the largest total amount of scholarships awarded in any one year during the college’s history, she thanked attendees for their significant role in helping students succeed.

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A diesel drag truck, which has provided nearly 20 years’ worth of unique laboratory experience for Pennsylvania College of Technology students, recently captured first place at a popular automotive festival in Harrisburg.

The college’s Diesel Performance Club took the modified 1959 Mack B61 truck to the Motorama Speed Show at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex for the second year and brought home the trophy as the event’s “Top Race Vehicle.”

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Building construction has been added to the abounding schedule of pre-college initiatives offered at Pennsylvania College of Technology, hands-on summer activities that mirror the nationally renowned opportunities afforded postsecondary students.

“Our Pre-College Programs offer living and learning experiences in which students have opportunities to explore unique academic interests in a state-of-the-art environment,” said Deborah B. Wescott, manager of conference and guest relations. “It’s a chance to work and make connections with industry leaders, meet and mingle with your peers, and establish a path that could lead to all sorts of future possibilities.”

The signup deadline is May 31 for the institution’s 12 residential programs and its one day camp.

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A Penn College faculty member and a New York high school senior planning to enroll in the college’s automotive restoration technology major will be among the guests on Saturday’s broadcast of The Auto Lab, a radio series about the automotive industry, its history and culture. The Feb. 23 episode will include an interview with instructor Roy H. Klinger and student Gram P. Spina, of Floral Park, New York. Interested listeners can hear their segment of the live, two-hour call-in show beginning at about 7:30 a.m. through WNYM Radio in Salem, New York.

Penn College restoration and automotive students, joined by faculty and several members of the local Antique Automobile Club of America chapter, enjoyed a Friday visit from the project manager on one of history’s most iconic and beloved vehicles. Charles R. “Chuck” Cantwell Jr., who now lives in Chester County, shared an hourlong summary of his role in developing the street and racing versions of the Mustang GT350 for Carroll Shelby. Combining a substantial slideshow of historic photos with an anecdotal presentation that only an insider could deliver, Cantwell – co-author of “Shelby Mustang GT350: My Years Designing, Testing and Racing Carroll’s Legendary Mustangs” – regaled his audience with a colorful recap of Shelby American’s creation, from primitive mockup, through test-track experimentation, to cultural phenomenon. “You never know where your career will take you, I can tell you that!” said Cantwell, who went on to work for Roger Penske before eventually retiring from Lockheed Martin. “People are often asked in job interviews, ‘Where do you picture yourself five years from now?’ and the correct answer should be, ‘I don’t know.’ When I was working for the Allison aviation division of General Motors, I would never have known that, in five years, I’d be in L.A. working on a special racing program. I couldn’t have predicted that, so keep your options open and be ready for opportunities.”

Penn College’s decades-old tradition of large-scale holiday cards on the campus mall got an impressive add-on for the 2018 season: a massive toy soldier jointly fashioned by automotive restoration majors and manufacturing students in instructor Roy Klinger’s metal-shaping classes. “We were trying to think of something we could build to go with the holiday cards, and we came across an image of a 12-foot-tall toy soldier,” said Arthur M. Wright IV, an automotive restoration technology major from Woodbridge, New Jersey. “We figured we would give it a try because it could end up looking really cool!” A group of students from the manufacturing program assisted restoration majors with drawing and designing the toy soldier. The inner structure is mostly plywood arranged to help support the weight of the towering statue, Wright said, while the outer shell is completely made of aluminum. “The restoration students made paper patterns of the shapes provided by the drawing that the manufacturing students prepared for us,” he explained. “We then shaped all the pieces using the skills and techniques that we were learning in our metal-shaping class. The project really helped us display the skills that we had been working so hard to develop.” It was a total team effort to complete the project, he said, estimating that it took all of four three-hour classes to fully realize their shared vision. “When we came in the Wednesday morning of the card-lighting ceremony (Nov. 28), we didn’t think we were going to be able to get it done,” said Wright, who also shared some of the students’ photos. “Most of the soldier was still in pieces, with no paint. But thanks to the guidance and leadership of our teacher, we were able to get everything finished before the ceremony started!”

Reflecting the increasing use of aluminum by automakers and affirming the value of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s industry partners, Dent Fix Equipment has donated a self-contained aluminum dent-repair station for use by the institution’s collision repair and automotive restoration students.

“This equipment package provides all the necessary tools to complete aluminum repairs to an industry standard,” said Shaun D. Hack, instructor of collision repair. “This adds value to the collision repair technology, collision repair technician and automotive restoration technology majors by adding skill sets that will be desired by potential employers.”

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A 1956 Ford Thunderbird convertible has been given to Pennsylvania College of Technology by a Monroe County man who owned it for nearly 50 years.

Paul Hoffman, of Saylorsburg, donated the vintage vehicle – in its original Peacock Blue – for use by automotive restoration technology students.

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State Sen. Patrick M. Browne, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, visited Pennsylvania College of Technology on Thursday.

Browne, who represents the 16th District – which includes Allentown and other municipalities within Lehigh County – came to campus after presenting an election and legislative update at a breakfast sponsored by the Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce.

He was invited by fellow Appropriations Committee member Sen. Gene Yaw, who also serves as chairman of the Penn College Board of Directors. Yaw also hosted the Chamber legislative update event, held at the Genetti Hotel in Williamsport.

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A 1926 Ford Model T, traded to Alexander Nissan in 2013 by its Picture Rocks owner, has been passed on to Pennsylvania College of Technology students for use in a variety of automotive labs.

Blaise Alexander Family Dealerships donated the historic vehicle that was recently offloaded onto main campus, accompanied by brothers Adam and Aubrey Alexander.

“We appreciate this gift to our automotive restoration program from the Alexanders. In addition to value for our students in their curricular work, it serves as a way to engage prospective students in the restoration major,” said Elizabeth A. Biddle, the college’s director of corporate relations. “Our goal is to foster the interest in antique cars and the restoration industry among young people.”

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Students in a variety of automotive and collision repair majors at Pennsylvania College of Technology will be eligible for financial assistance from a second scholarship fund established by the Susquehanna Valley Corvette Club.

Annual awards from the Susquehanna Valley Corvette Club Foundation Endowed Scholarship Fund will be made to first-year students enrolled full time in the college’s automotive technology, automotive service sales and marketing, collision repair technology, or automotive restoration technology major.

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