Long Beach High School’s automotive students have been involved in exciting, professional-level projects that require teamwork, skill and patience. After a successful feat in 2016-17 during which auto classes built a registered, fully functioning 1947 Ford Hot Rod Truck, they took on new challenges of restoring a 2004 Jeep Wrangler and a 1976 Harley Davidson Sportster motorcycle this school year.  

After about two months of dedication to the Jeep project, it is nearing its final phases. The students installed 33-inch tires, a four-inch suspension lift, front and rear bumpers, fenders and rock sliders. The motorcycle was finished this past fall. The group put approximately two and a half months of work into it as they hard-tailed and customized the bike. 

The high school’s automotive courses include Automotive Fundamentals, Automotive Systems and Automotive Mechanics. Students learn how cars work and are maintained, diagnose problems and prepare solutions and perform hands-on rebuilding, repair and service tasks. 

“It teaches us the basics of cars and how to become self-reliant,” senior Kieran Lent said of the auto program. “We gain the knowledge to figure out problems ourselves.”