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Great Falls High Auto Shop Students Inspect Faculty's Cars

By Charlie Keegan

Story Created: Jan 27, 2012 at 5:39 PM MST

Story Updated: Jan 27, 2012 at 9:18 PM MST

Get in it and go; that's how many of us treat our cars. But there's a lot of maintenance required to keep you on the road.

Staff and faculty at Great Falls High turned their cars over to students this week for inspections. In exchange for the once over, students raised money for their annual spring car show.

Around 30 cars came in and out of the GFH auto shop this week. And with each one comes a donation to the school's Motorsports Club.

When the club president was thinking of fundraising ideas he wanted to do oil changes for the school's faculty and staff, but the idea was shot down because of liability issues. “So we came up with just doing general service checks on vehicles like a normal shop would do,” President Tyler Waite explains.

Besides helping out the club, the teacher uses English and math lessons to prepare his students for future career paths. “We're showing them the process that a car will go through from the time it comes into a shop till the time it leaves,” Brad Warren says.

“You have to work side by side with other people that are doing stuff, you have to fill out the paperwork for it, and just check up on everything, you get pretty good at that from seeing different types of engines and cars,” adds Waite.

With a 42-point inspection, club members identify areas of concern. “Most of them were fine and pretty darn good. We got a couple that needed a little bit of this and that,” Warren says.

The schedule filled up fast. “I honestly thought it was going to be five or ten of them that would want it. We're up to 30 cars we'll do this week,” Warren admits.

It turns out the staff is more than happy to put their cars in the hands of the students. “Mr. Warren sent out an email and we were booked up pretty quick,” Waite says.

As the inspections end, the club is one step closer to the spring car show this May at the new NAPA auto parts store.
Warren wants to thank NAPA and CARQUEST for donating fluids and other equipment used during the inspections.

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