The Potosi High School mechanics class has always been reliant on kids bringing their own vehicles in to work on as a project, but not any more. The shop is now receiving a 1971 MG MGB Convertible that has been graciously donated to the shop by Linda Trumm, who is a Potosi alum. This car will give the students a great opportunity to learn, and since this car was donated, Mr. Bockenhauer doesn't have to spend a huge amount of the shop's money for students to learn in his mechanics class.
The 1971 MG MGB Convertible is a two door, four-cylinder, soft top sports car. It has a five bearing crankshaft 1,798 cc BMC B-series engine which produces 95 hp at 5,400 rpm. The MGB was one of the first cars to feature controlled crumple zones that protected the driver and passenger. It had a fuel consumption of around 25 mpg. This car was innovative with its controlled crumple zones when it first came out, but it is definitely nothing like we have today. It is still a car the students of the mechanics class can work on. They can learn the basics of an engine and all the parts involved in it.
Mr. Bockenhauer’s mechanic’s class is focused on teaching students what an engine is, what it does, how it works, and how to fix it. At Potosi this is the class you want to be in if you want to be a mechanic, as you can get a little taste of what being a mechanic is like. This car will help these students achieve their learning objectives and start their first steps toward being a mechanic. Mr. Bockenhauer explained, “It depends what condition the car is in, but I want the kids to learn what different parts of the engine do and how they work. I would also like to have them work on it obviously.” That is a huge advantage of shop classes like mechanics; you get to learn a lot of things hands-on. This is a huge advantage for most students as that is a great way to learn for them. This car will be a hands-on project that Mr. Bockenhauer hopes to finish by the end of the semester. “Again, depending on what condition the car is in will depend on how long it will take to fix it. I hope we can have it done by the end of the semester and we could possibly show it off. We could do that in the homecoming parade, and we could possibly sell it as well to get money to buy new shop equipment,” he mentioned.
If the car gets sold, that means many things for the shop. They can buy new equipment or another car to work on, which means more opportunities for the students to create new and improved projects. It also allows more opportunities for the students to learn how the new equipment or car works and what it is used for. He also plans to show it off in the homecoming parade, which could be good advertisement for the shop. It shows how much hard work the students put into it and what students coming into mechanics can work on. This could also bring in more donations to the shop as people don’t really think about donating to it but the car could open the doors for other donors. This car could mean big things for the shop; the question is where will it bring them in the future?