“ARTISAN” Pro-Touring 1969 Nova

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With the speed at which the economy, the environment, the government, and the world have been changing lately, we hear a lot of people wondering what will become of the hot rodding community.  The vehicles of today are becoming harder to work on, and many schools have removed automotive and technical classes from their curriculum.  Here at RideTech, we really get behind projects that help the youth of today become the hotrodders of tomorrow, whether they’re local or halfway across the country.  So when we heard about this awesome project, we couldn’t wait to get on board!!

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Paul Estrella is an Automotive Instructor at the Greater New Bedford Vocational Technical High School in Massachusetts, one of the only schools in the state to still offer an automotive learning program.  This school currently has about 160 students in the rotational application of their automotive program, although specific projects like this one are NOT funded by the school due to lack of funding.  Located 40 minutes south of Boston, the school is home to a demographic where many of the students have never even seen a car like this…much less been in one, or had a hand in building one!  Paul is leading the kids in building this project to raise awareness for their shop and the kids who need a positive force in their lives.  They are learning a trade, and just as importantly, they’re learning life lessons like responsibility, accountability, and productivity.

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Building a high-end pro-touring ride isn’t easy, and doing it on a high-school teacher’s budget is even more tricky…but this is also teaching the students more skills like budgeting, buying and selling, and internet marketing as they work towards getting the necessary parts.  Plans for the build include a 6.0 engine with manual trans, lots of tricky sheet metal and body work, coilover suspension, disc brakes, mini-tubs, interior work, and more.  The work is being planned in a manner that will show off the talent and skills of the kids not just in the collision and metal fabrication divisions, but also the visual design, IT, media departments, and more!  These kids and their teacher will really have something to be proud of when they’re finished, and we can’t wait to see the next updates on the project!

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We encourage you to follow the build on any of the sites below, and let these kids & their awesome teacher know they’re doing a fantastic job!

Build Thread on Pro-Touring.com

Facebook Page

Build Thread on Bangshift.com

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