Photo By Rick Emert | FORT CARSON, Colo. — Spc. Chris Powell adjusts the carburetor on his 1976 Chevy Nova...... read more read more
By Scott Prater
Mountaineer staff
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Staff members at Fort Carson’s Auto Skills Center (ASC) are building a dragster. More specifically, a hot-rod show car that features a 10-foot-long frame, two V-8 engines, elongated exhaust pipes and a World War II-era Jeep body painted in Army green and stretched to cover the frame.
“We wanted to produce something we could transport around to showcase the Auto Skills Center that would be memorable and representative of what we can do here,” said Tom Woditsch, ASC manager. “The hot-rod notion won out as the best idea, and we’ve been working on it in our spare time for about six months now.”
Woditsch believes the project should be complete in the next year, dependent on staff’s time and the volunteer efforts of Soldiers and Family members who assist with the project.
“It’s our desire to see the car featured in hot rod magazines and other media that highlight unique vehicles,” he said. “It’s going to be a special car. The V-8 engines, once outfitted with high-performance parts, should produce upwards of 1,000 horsepower.”
As for now, ASC staff are unsure if they will race the vehicle, but for sure, they’ll enter the planned street-legal hot rod in car shows along the Front Range.
Woditsch created the initial design and staff mechanics Mike Hubbard and Michael Deibert have been providing their expertise during construction.
Local community members donated the engines, wheels and transmission for the project, while ASC staff has already welded a frame together and attached the transmission to the frame and rear axle.
As a facility operated by Fort Carson’s Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation, the ASC serves to assist Soldiers and Families with car repairs and maintenance. That’s what the staff hopes to convey when it shows the car at events, both on and off the installation.
“Really, the ASC serves a variety of roles that are beneficial to Soldiers,” Woditsch said. “People can do everything in our shop — from simple oil changes to engine overhauls and high-end modifications, either by themselves or with the instruction and assistance of our ASC certified staff mechanics.”
The shop features 23 maintenance bays as well as multiple auto-body repair bays and a large paint booth.
Spc. Chris Powell, 2nd General Support Aviation Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment, 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, mechanic spends many weekends at the shop, for example.
“I’ve done maintenance on the car I drive every day and helped quite a few of my friends with their cars in this shop,” he said. “I’ve also worked on several project cars during my past two years at Fort Carson.”
Powell is also a car hobbyist. He began replacing parts on a 1976 Chevy Nova that he purchased as a project car and plans to convert the stock Chevy to a high-performance vehicle with the help of the staff at ASC.
“Being a helicopter mechanic, I come into these projects with my own set of skills, but the mechanics here just have so much knowledge, and their help has been critical to my success,” he said. “This shop is way more than just a place to hang out. People can really learn valuable skills and knowledge here.”
Woditsch said the ASC often sees complete beginners, who come into the shop needing to fix a set of brakes or perform a tuneup.
“We can assign an instructor to those people who come in with little to no knowledge,” Woditsch said. “Our instructors can determine how much help they may need pretty quickly, then guide them through their work. Sometimes that means getting in there and turning the wrench. Other times, it means starting something and providing guidance the rest of the way. The idea is not to fix their vehicle for them, but provide the knowledge so they can do it.”
The ASC is in building 2427, located off of Wetzel Avenue and is open Wednesday-Friday from noon to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 526-2147 for more information.
Anyone who would like to help build the shop’s hot-rod is welcome and can contact Woditsch at the main shop phone number.
| Date Taken: | 06.04.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 06.07.2018 13:10 |
| Story ID: | 279975 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 58 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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