FILLMORE HIGH STUDENTS READY TO ROLL; 1930 MODEL A PICKUP BUILT BY AUTO RESTORATION CLASSES TO TAKE PART IN GREAT RACE.Byline: Krystn Shrieve Daily News Staff Writer They scoured scour 1 v. scoured, scour·ing, scours v.tr. 1. a. To clean, polish, or wash by scrubbing vigorously: scour a dirty oven. b. swap meets swap meet n. An informal gathering for the barter or sale of used articles or handicrafts. and scrounged through friends' garages, sorting through rusting fenders and dusty carburetors for just the right part. Then the 70 students in Fillmore High School's three auto restoration classes spent hundreds of hours reconditioning the pile of parts, finally assembling them into the shiny blue 1930 Ford Model A pickup parked in the class garage. Next month, they will transport the truck to Georgia for the 17th annual Great Race, which takes 120 vintage vehicles on a grueling, 3,500-mile tour along back roads from Marietta, Ga., to Anaheim. ``When we first started, I didn't think there was any way we could finish building it in time,'' said Alex Lomeli, a 16-year-old sophomore, as he varnished planks that eventually would be used to line the truck's bed. ``We didn't have any new parts to work with, so we had to do a lot of sanding and priming to get rid of all the rust and grime.'' The teens are still putting the finishing touches finishing touches finish npl the finishing touches → der letzte Schliff finishing touches npl → ultimi ritocchi mpl on their truck, which they started working on in September. During one recent class, students were cleaning up the toolbox See toolkit and toolbar. that holds extra parts and adding an auxiliary gas tank. Next on the list is reassembling the pickup bed, rear fenders and running board. ``We still have to do the brakes and the transmission, too,'' said 16-year-old sophomore Daniel Garcia, who will be one of five student navigators on the Great Race team. And even when the truck is finished, the students have to keep an eye out for the kind of problem that occurred when they drove it during Fillmore's recent Orange Festival Parade. The budding budding, type of grafting in which a plant bud is inserted under the bark of the stock (usually not more than a year old). It is best done when the bark will peel easily and the buds are mature, as in spring, late summer, or early autumn. mechanics discovered a transmission leak and had to disassemble dis·as·sem·ble v. dis·as·sem·bled, dis·as·sem·bling, dis·as·sem·bles v.tr. To take apart: disassemble a toaster. v.intr. 1. their work - something that could spell real trouble if it happens during the Great Race. Sponsored by cable television's History Channel, the Great Race runs June 6 to 19. Drivers follow a specific set of directions for the route, down to the speed limit that must be driven along various sections. The Fillmore Flashes, and the truck they painted in blue hues to match their school colors, will compete in the X Cup division for high school students. Winners will receive $25,000 to $50,000 to use for scholarships at their school. ``This is the third year that high schools have participated,'' said Sister McRae, administrative director of the 17-year-old race. ``Fillmore is the only school building its car from scratch. They had no money. They had nothing. But this will be a great experience for them.'' Lin Thomas, who teaches the school's first auto restoration class, watched his students build the truck ``from the concrete up,'' and is proud of the progress they've made. ``We have experienced the mountain tops and the deepest valleys of encouragement and despair,'' said Thomas, who also teaches the school's other auto shop classes. ``We built it from absolute junk, so there were a lot of unknowns. At times it was frustrating frus·trate tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates 1. a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: because the kids often felt they had unlimited time to get this done. But now it's looking good.'' The next major challenge will be raising the $10,000 needed for the trip. In addition to the cost of gasoline, the seven-member team also must pay for food and lodging. ``We're simple folk,'' Thomas said. ``We were planning on brown-bagging it and sleeping-bagging it. But, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the rules, we have to stay in specified lodgings.'' Thomas, who will be a backup driver in the race, said he and his students have been so busy getting parts and building the truck that they haven't had time to raise money. Now, with only weeks left before the competition, they are a little nervous. ``How we're going to do it, I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. ,'' he said. Garcia and some of the other navigators said they can't wait to hit the road. Each day drivers and navigators will be given an itinerary which will show what route they must follow and the precise speeds they are to travel. The exact course is top secret and won't be revealed until 10 minutes before each day's leg of the race. Parent Ted Chewning, 40, will be the primary driver for the Fillmore team. Chewning said he has every confidence in the students' work. ``I've done a lot of traveling, but nothing like this,'' Chewning said. ``I think they've done a good job. It feels just like a regular car.'' DONATIONS Donations to the Fillmore Flashes can be sent to Fillmore High School Coordinates: Fillmore High School is a secondary school that is located in the Santa Clara River Valley in Fillmore, California. It can be found by the middle of California State Route 126 between Ventura and Valencia, California. , 555 Central Ave., Fillmore, CA 93016. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos, Box PHOTO (1--Color) Students Joey Fielding, left, J.T. Stone, Brandon Chewning and Daniel Garcia will navigate while Ted Chewning will drive during the race. (2--Ran in SAC Sac: see Sac and Fox. SAC - 1. An early system on the Datatron 200 series. [Listed in CACM 2(5):16 (May 1959)]. Edition only) Fillmore High students Hechmar Torres, left, and Alex Lomeli varnish varnish, homogeneous solution of gum or of natural or synthetic resins in oil (oil varnish) or in a volatile solvent (spirit varnish), which dries on exposure to air, forming a thin, hard, usually glossy film. planks of wood that will go in the bed of the 1930 Model A pickup the auto classes have built. Michael Owen
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