Class Hopes to Be Truckin’ Across U.S.

It’s little more than some wheels, a chassis and a mess of parts scattered around the Fillmore High School auto restoration class. But if teacher Lin Thomas gets his way, by June a fully restored 1930 Ford truck will carry a group of students across the country in a race against hundreds of other antique cars.

The 18th annual Great American Race, sponsored and televised by the History Channel, will take participants on a one-week road rally next year from Marietta, Ga., to Anaheim. Fillmore High School is one of a handful of schools participating in the event.

“The Great Race is not small potatoes, its big-time--and we’re very fortunate to be included,” Thomas said. “But we do have a lot of hills to climb. Were doing all the elbow work: grinding, sanding and restoring the parts.”

Thomas’ class is literally building the vehicle from the ground up. They retrieved enough bits and pieces of parts to start work Aug. 4, and students are working to complete the engine. Based on student effort in the restoration, Thomas said he’ll select a crew of at least four navigators to take part in the race. Among the navigators is sophomore Brandon Chewning, 15, whose father, Ted, will drive the vehicle.

“We talked about it a little bit, and I thought it would be a cool idea, and a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” Ted Chewning said.

With more than $25,000 available in scholarships to the winning schools, the students have a lot to gain. But so far, the class has painfully exceeded its own $5,000 restoration budget; pre-restoration engine work alone cost more than $2,500. Thomas said they are working to get local sponsorship, and hope to have the truck completed by May for trial runs.

For information on sponsoring the Fillmore High School auto restoration, call 524-6100.