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Episode Transcript
(Pat)>> You're watching Powernation!
(Pat)>> The owner of a '77 Granada called us asking for help. We weren't expecting much, but when we got there we were pleasantly surprised at what we saw. Look it!
(Frankie)>> Plus, from old school circle track race cars to cutting edge automotive technology. Whatever your passion you can pursue it at the University of Northwestern Ohio. [ Music ]
(Pat)>> Today we are out of the shop. It's nice to get out every once in a while and do some actual work on cars, and this is something that I think we can handle. We don't know cause we don't know a lot about it.
(Frankie)>> We're going down here to check out a 1977 Ford Granada that supposedly ran when parked. Everything runs and then you park it, and then it doesn't run anymore. So that's pretty common. The owner thinks it's something simple but we're not 100 percent sure. So, the big thing here is we got a bunch of parts pre-ordered from RockAuto. So, we're heading down here kinda blind, but we think we can figure it out and hopefully get this thing running again.
(Pat)>> He said the transmission leaks. This is a car that this person wants to get back running again so they can drive it and maybe sell it. Sounds like a cool project. I'm a fan of the old '70s Fords and this one seems pretty cool. It's allegedly a V-8 car. So, we're gonna know a whole lot more when we get there.
(Frankie)>> I think we're getting close here.
(Pat)>> No, we're close.
(Frankie)>> It should be right up here on the right.
(Pat)>> There it is!
(Frankie)>> Oh yeah!
(Pat)>> Now we're talking. This is nicer than I thought. It's sunk.
(Frankie)>> I like how he rolled the windows down so it would air out. That makes me feel there's gonna be a smell in here.
(Pat)>> There is a smell.
(Frankie)>> Look at the inside though. This thing had to have been garage kept for how nice that is. For that not to be cracked you know?
(Pat)>> I don't see any goofy stuff under that vinyl.
(Frankie)>> I think it's just been sitting here and it's dirty.
(Pat)>> It's trying to return to the Earth. Are the keys in it? Make sure the keys are somewhere.
(Frankie)>> They're on the floorboard. Usually, the only reason you leave the keys in the car is when it doesn't run. The oil is a little high, but it seems clear of any water or fuel. So, it was probably just overfilled. The battery was completely dead. So, we'll throw on the Matco jump box and see if it'll turn over.
(Pat)>> Yeah, go ahead. [ Oh bleep ] [ engine cranking ]
(Pat)>> I don't think it tried to fire. It's getting gas. What does it have for a fuel gauge right now?
(Frankie)>> It's got at least a quarter. A little over a quarter.
(Pat)>> If it moves let's see if this thing has spark.
(Frankie)>> Pull a plug or pull a wire and see if it touches. There you go. Arc that on something. [ engine cranking ]
(Frankie)>> So did you have spark?
(Pat)>> No! Here we go, here's one thing. Let's try this. This isn't plugged in.
(Frankie)>> So it came unplugged I guess, but it looks okay.
(Pat)>> I could hear spark that time.
(Frankie)>> Pull a wire and let's see if we actually have spark.
(Pat)>> Pull a wire? I can hear it cracking. Okay, that is a major piece missing. I say we just put a rotor in it. I just want to see if it runs. If it runs we're gonna do all that other stuff, but I want to see if it runs. RockAuto dot com offers complete kits for several different jobs, like this United Motor tune-up kit. It comes with a set of spark plug wires, distributor cap, and the rotor that we need. Their website makes it easy to find what you're looking for, and it even makes suggestions for other tools or parts you might need to complete the job.
(Frankie)>> Let's try that. [ engine revving ]
(Pat)>> She's a little smokey, and it's got a dead hole.
(Frankie)>> It's only on 7.
(Pat)>> It's got a little bit of valvetrain noise.
(Frankie)>> Runs pretty good though.
(Pat)>> Now that we know it runs we can install the rest of the tune-up kit and look for the cause of our dead cylinder. That sounded nice.
(Frankie)>> There's the problem. The wire is right there but somebody has ripped that out at one point, and also ripped the boot. I think that's our culprit.
(Pat)>> Do you know the firing order of this?
(Frankie)>> Good reason is I don't have to cause it's one-five-four-two six-three-seven-eight. Work smarter not harder right?
(Pat)>> Or you can just know. If you didn't know and were not familiar, you would just change them one at a time, right?
(Frankie)>> Yeah if you didn't know the firing order and didn't know where number one is, but these actually have it marked on the rotor, which is super helpful.
(Pat)>> So you could go one, and then you just do this, and then you throw them away.
(Frankie)>> You don't have to take them off if you don't want to cause we're changing that anyways.
(Pat)>> Now fresh rotor! We have to reuse that. Oh yeah, Ford blue. Here's your numbers so you know where it goes. To clean out the innards of the distributor Seafoam's Deep Creep Penetrating Lubricant makes it easy to wipe out the dirt and debris. [ Music ]
(Frankie)>> The plugs are fowled. So, we will replace them with a brand new set from RockAuto dot com. We'll gap them to the spec that RockAuto gives for our application, which is 50 thousandths. The dielectric grease came with the tune-up kit, very convenient. With any tune-up a fresh air filter is a great idea. Look at that. You always find good stuff. I mean it's broken but now we know where it went.
(Pat)>> That's perfect! [ Music ] [ engine starting ]
(Pat)>> That's automatically nicer.
(Frankie)>> That purrs like a kitten.
(Pat)>> The smoke is less, sort of. [ engine revving ]
(Frankie)>> So it's definitely charging, just had a dead battery, but that's good to know the charging system actually works. [ air compressor humming ]
(Pat)>> Alright you dirty dog. Please move under your own power.
(Frankie)>> The owner was kind enough to let us take the Granada back to the shop to work on the transmission leak.
(Pat)>> There's something!
(Frankie)>> Since it's 102 degrees out today we'll gladly accept that offer.
(Pat)>> Up next, with just a few hours work the old Ford becomes road worthy again. We look good in this.
(Frankie)>> Then I give Pat a tour of my old stomping grounds, The University of Northwestern Ohio.
(Pat)>> We've got the Granada back in the shop trying to find the source of a substantial transmission leak. This car is very, very nice underneath. A quick inspection told us two things. One, this car is super clean and rust free. Two, the transmission pan gasket is clearly the source of the leak. Now we've seen this, right?
(Frankie)>> Yeah, you notice there's some signs.
(Pat)>> Some signs this thing's been out. There's no washer here.
(Frankie)>> There's some pry marks, there's some dents.
(Pat)>> There's bolts that obviously don't go where they are. This is kinda stuck down. There it goes!
(Frankie)>> Let her go. That worked pretty good. Smells good, doesn't smell burnt.
(Pat)>> I'm not gonna say it smells good. It smells like it's supposed to.
(Frankie)>> There's the normal amount of silveriness in it, but there's no chunks.
(Pat)>> Oh yeah! [ Music ] We went to RockAuto dot com for a new gasket along with a few other helpful items. Even though the 1977 Granada is definitely not one of the most popular cars on the roads these days, they had a big selection of parts for the Ford including economy, o-e-m replacement, and performance options. After scraping off the remainder of the gasket and cleaning the pan, the new filter with the check ball is installed. [ Music ] When tightening down the pan don't get too aggressive, or you could squish or tear the gasket. [ Music ] When you're poking around under a car sometimes you find unexpected things, like a loose engine mount. This just needs to be tightened.
(Frankie)>> After lubing the new oil filter we'll spin it on. [ Music ] Both the filter and oil came from RockAuto dot com. Any engine, especially an older one like this, will benefit from Seafoam Motor Treatment. It helps clean up any built-up deposits or crud and doesn't contain any chemicals that can harm your engine. We'll pour in the recommended amount for our engine's oil capacity. Next, we'll add new transmission fluid. To help clean out the fuel system we'll add Seafoam Motor Treatment to the gas tank as well. Well, we got all the big stuff done on this Granada. So, we're gonna move on to something that may seem trivial but is pretty important, and that's the backup lights. If you paid attention when the car was backing in it actually had one of the lights out. The great thing about getting parts from RockAuto dot com is that you can not only get o-e style replacement parts, but you can get after market parts, and so we're gonna upgrade these reverse lights to a set of l-e-ds. These are gonna be much brighter. They have a nice white light, and since they're l-e-d they're gonna last much longer. Since we've got to change one might as well change both, and then this car will be roadworthy. This is an easy job. It only takes a couple of minutes and a screwdriver. Now our vintage ride has bright, modern lighting. You can easily tell the difference between the old incandescent and the new l-e-d light. [ engine revving ]
(Frankie)>> This is a cruiser!
(Pat)>> We look good in this! With just a few hours work the Grenada is running clean and back on the road.
(Frankie)>> Whether you were born with a wrench in your hand or just always wanted to learn about everything automotive, The University of Northwestern Ohio is for you.
(Pat)>> Today we are in one of my favorite places I could ever be, in a race shop. There's a lot of cool cars and a lot of top notch equipment, but this is run by someone a little different. This is run by students, and because I have never been here before and I need a tour I tried to find the best tour guide I could find and I guess it's him.
(Frankie)>> Yeah this is actually where I went to school and graduated from, The University of Northwestern Ohio. This is my favorite place on Earth, and there's a ton of stuff to see and do. So where do you want to start?
(Pat)>> You're the tour guide.
(Frankie)>> I've got an idea. Let's go! [ engine revving ]
(Frankie)>> UNOH has a clear goal, helping you turn your passion into a career. With 50-degree programs across five colleges there's several fields of study you'd expect from most universities, like accounting, business administration, health care, and agriculture, but unlike most universities UNOH offers degrees in subjects that any gearhead would love to study. Automotive and diesel technology, automotive high performance motorsports and motorsports marketing, along with cutting edge technology such as alternate fuels and robotics and automation. To maximize the learning process most classes are limited to 25 students or fewer.
(Jamie)>> The instructor's always there for you. The class sizes are very small. So, they're always there if you need help with anything. Being able to have those people there for you, and be able to teach you one on one, and guide you through those steps is definitely cool. It's a great experience, and you can get a lot of knowledge through it.
(Wilhelm)>> Instructors are fantastic! They take the time to teach you how things work, and always try to help you out.
(Pat)>> If you were into trucks and cars in high school you were probably part of a fairly small crew. Not so at UNOH. Here a diverse group of gearheads from all 50 states and 73 countries have gathered to devote themselves to all things automotive.
(Jeb)>> You're always working on something that you will see in the real world. Whether it be in the shop on passenger vehicles, or in the race shop working on race cars. It's the same thing you have at the track. It's the same thing you have in the shop. It's amazing!
(Pat)>> Whether you have years of experience or none at all it doesn't matter. All you need is a love for automotive technology and a desire to learn.
(Ryan)>> We start so it's at the simplest terms and work our way up there. So, at the end of the day everybody's at the same level. When you graduate here you're not gonna have any less knowledge than the guy that started that's been working on cars since he was six years old.
(Jalen)>> Automotive is the basis where it starts at, and then you move to the high performance making cars go fast.
(Pat)>> The core automotive classes lay the foundation for motorsports, alternate fuels, and other upper level courses. Here students learn the fundamentals.
(Dominic)>> We do everything you can think of, starting from oil changes to working on electrical systems, and I really like that, and automatic and manual transmissions.
(Ryan)>> I myself teach automotive engine and diagnosis and repair where we talk about the engine mechanical stuff, how pieces and parts work together, how to diagnose internal engine component problems, and how to do engine overhauls and rebuilds. I also teach automotive engine performance. We're gonna talk about the drivability. How spark ignition, fuel injection, how all the stuff effects emissions, fuel economy, and the performance of the engine.
(Frankie)>> Electrical and electronics courses are part of the automotive program, and if you want to pursue those studies further UNOH offers an e/v curriculum, which gets you on the ground floor of an ever growing field.
(Joe)>> So in my opinion the e/v stuff is easier to work on than the internal combustion engine. There's a lot less moving parts. Now they do have to understand the electrical side of things. The mindset that you have to have to get into that electrical troubleshooting tends to be the opposite of the mindset that our students come in with, but that's my job is to get them over that hump, and once they get it it really is easier than all this internal combustion stuff.
(Dominic)>> As soon as I heard about the e/v program I knew I had to join it because I really knew that I like the electric part of it, and I wanted to give that a try and see how that works out for me.
(Jon)>> I think eventually the e/v's gonna take over the high performance motorsports world. With the instant torque you just can't beat it.
(Joe)>> The program is going to do nothing but grow as the e/vs hit the road and as they become more readily available.
(Frankie)>> The alternate fuels program also looks to the future teaching students to work with cleaner power sources such as natural gas, propane, hybrid engines, and hydrogen. We asked students and instructors for their advice, and whether their passion is carbureted race engines or electrical drivetrains they all said the same thing. Get involved!
(Brian)>> I would get involved, ask questions. The best thing you can do in class is sit up front and ask questions.
(Brandon)>> Get involved, ask questions, do as much stuff as you can. Utilize every tool that you have here. Get involved in the clubs. Get involved in the teams. Talk to your instructors, ask for more knowledge.
(Darian)>> Have fun! Go out and do stuff. Join the motorsports and go racing. Go racing with your buddies.
(Frankie)>> Up next, at UNOH you can gain hands on experience in the shop and the racetrack.
(Pat)>> Today we're in Lima, visiting the University of Northwestern Ohio. We've made our way to the high performance department where they teach our favorite subjects, engine machining and engine building.
(Brandon)>> Engine machining class is roughly 90 percent hands on in the shop. So, it's a ton of there on the machines. They are touching them, they're operating them. They are not just watching me. I give them a demo, here's how you do it, and then they have to do the task.
(Randy)>> It's more of a non-traditional way of learning. It's not all about the books. I mean we spend a lot of time in books and there's a lot of math involved in what I teach back here, but really where the rubber meets the rode is when we put them out in the shop and get them working on the equipment themselves because that is where the real learning is.
(Jalen)>> The teacher's right there helping you, and it's showing you exactly how something works. Not just by a little camera, or by a video, or somebody telling, it's actually how it moves, how it maneuvers, and how it works.
(Jeb)>> This school has an amazing balance of both. You spend countless hours in the shop, but you're also deep enough into the books that you know what you're doing.
(Frankie)>> From crankshaft balancers, flow benches, chassis and engine dynos, to welding, chassis and body fabrication, and suspension setup for all types of racing. No matter what your passion is you'll gain real world experience.
(Jon)>> I always say that if I had a chance to go back to school this is where I would want to go, and if you want to do anything in the high performance world this is where you need to go.
(Pat)>> Modern engines make more and more power. Electric motors put out massive instantaneous torque, making strong, well designed drivelines even more crucial.
(Christopher)>> Everybody wants to make power. They want to be like, oh, look at the big numbers on the dyno, but they completely forget that power has to get to ground somehow, and torque will always find the weakest link. So, you have to build it up through there. You have to do it safely and you actually have to get power to the ground.
(Pat)>> Sometimes neglected, the choice of gear ratio matters too.
(Christopher)>> But if you can only afford to make 350 if you gear it correctly you can still have a fast car, and a fast 350 horsepower car is way better than a 1,000 horsepower car that doesn't run.
(Frankie)>> Students aren't just getting hands on experience in the classroom. All the clubs and the motorsports team are student run. They build and maintain vehicles, and even get to race them on the school's racing teams.
(Darian)>> What really hits me with racing is the adrenaline rush. Like being at the track. All these drivers around you. You're competing to win the big prize or whatever it is that night, and it's just awesome being in that atmosphere.
(Jamie)>> Being able to go to the track on the weekends and being able to spend time with people that now have become family on the team. It's pretty awesome! We're all still learning. None of us know everything. So being around everyone from different backgrounds, from different types of racing styles, you're always constantly learning.
(Paul)>> The thing I love the most is when a student comes to the university, applies to the motorsport team, gets on the motorsports team. By the time they've gone through a couple of seasons on the motorsports team they graduate. They get a career in what they're passionate about. They come back and it makes me feel really good about what we're doing with it. Motorsports team is run just like a professional race team where there are certain people in charge of the cars. There's certain people in charge of the shop time in the facility, and there's team managers. All of that is mandated and controlled by the students. I've had a lot of students graduate, get on professional teams, and come back and say Higgins, the way you run that team is just like they do in the real world. I say well, that's my goal.
(Frankie)>> The financial aid and career services department at UNOH provides support, helping students fund their education and find meaningful work in their chosen career after graduation. As part of this commitment the university develops relationships within the automotive industry. We were fortunate to present scholarship funds on behalf of Sea Foam. A company dedicated to the future of the automotive industry. You know when I went to school here scholarship funds were a huge part of that, and a lot of students feel that way. So, it's my honor to present to you this check for $20,000 dollars to be used for scholarship funds from Powernation and Sea Foam, and I know you guys are gonna put this to great use.
(Jeffrey)>> Yes, we will. I want to thank Powernation and Sea Foam for the scholarship donation. I'm sure the students will appreciate it and thank all of you very much. [ clapping ]
(Frankie)>> You've seen just a sample of the opportunities available at UNOH. Whatever career path you wish to forge they can help.
(Alejandro)>> Come to orientation. You'll love it I guarantee it. Then the school will do as much as you're willing to put in.
(Randy)>> My wife tells our friends that I never have a problem getting up and going to work cause I love to go to work. We're all having a good time together learning and teaching.
(Paul)>> Come here, get some education, go out, and achieve your goal, that passion that you have. Go get a career in it and be successful. That is our goal.
(Frankie)>> If you want to see more of this or more cool stuff go check out our website.
Show Full Transcript
(Pat)>> The owner of a '77 Granada called us asking for help. We weren't expecting much, but when we got there we were pleasantly surprised at what we saw. Look it!
(Frankie)>> Plus, from old school circle track race cars to cutting edge automotive technology. Whatever your passion you can pursue it at the University of Northwestern Ohio. [ Music ]
(Pat)>> Today we are out of the shop. It's nice to get out every once in a while and do some actual work on cars, and this is something that I think we can handle. We don't know cause we don't know a lot about it.
(Frankie)>> We're going down here to check out a 1977 Ford Granada that supposedly ran when parked. Everything runs and then you park it, and then it doesn't run anymore. So that's pretty common. The owner thinks it's something simple but we're not 100 percent sure. So, the big thing here is we got a bunch of parts pre-ordered from RockAuto. So, we're heading down here kinda blind, but we think we can figure it out and hopefully get this thing running again.
(Pat)>> He said the transmission leaks. This is a car that this person wants to get back running again so they can drive it and maybe sell it. Sounds like a cool project. I'm a fan of the old '70s Fords and this one seems pretty cool. It's allegedly a V-8 car. So, we're gonna know a whole lot more when we get there.
(Frankie)>> I think we're getting close here.
(Pat)>> No, we're close.
(Frankie)>> It should be right up here on the right.
(Pat)>> There it is!
(Frankie)>> Oh yeah!
(Pat)>> Now we're talking. This is nicer than I thought. It's sunk.
(Frankie)>> I like how he rolled the windows down so it would air out. That makes me feel there's gonna be a smell in here.
(Pat)>> There is a smell.
(Frankie)>> Look at the inside though. This thing had to have been garage kept for how nice that is. For that not to be cracked you know?
(Pat)>> I don't see any goofy stuff under that vinyl.
(Frankie)>> I think it's just been sitting here and it's dirty.
(Pat)>> It's trying to return to the Earth. Are the keys in it? Make sure the keys are somewhere.
(Frankie)>> They're on the floorboard. Usually, the only reason you leave the keys in the car is when it doesn't run. The oil is a little high, but it seems clear of any water or fuel. So, it was probably just overfilled. The battery was completely dead. So, we'll throw on the Matco jump box and see if it'll turn over.
(Pat)>> Yeah, go ahead. [ Oh bleep ] [ engine cranking ]
(Pat)>> I don't think it tried to fire. It's getting gas. What does it have for a fuel gauge right now?
(Frankie)>> It's got at least a quarter. A little over a quarter.
(Pat)>> If it moves let's see if this thing has spark.
(Frankie)>> Pull a plug or pull a wire and see if it touches. There you go. Arc that on something. [ engine cranking ]
(Frankie)>> So did you have spark?
(Pat)>> No! Here we go, here's one thing. Let's try this. This isn't plugged in.
(Frankie)>> So it came unplugged I guess, but it looks okay.
(Pat)>> I could hear spark that time.
(Frankie)>> Pull a wire and let's see if we actually have spark.
(Pat)>> Pull a wire? I can hear it cracking. Okay, that is a major piece missing. I say we just put a rotor in it. I just want to see if it runs. If it runs we're gonna do all that other stuff, but I want to see if it runs. RockAuto dot com offers complete kits for several different jobs, like this United Motor tune-up kit. It comes with a set of spark plug wires, distributor cap, and the rotor that we need. Their website makes it easy to find what you're looking for, and it even makes suggestions for other tools or parts you might need to complete the job.
(Frankie)>> Let's try that. [ engine revving ]
(Pat)>> She's a little smokey, and it's got a dead hole.
(Frankie)>> It's only on 7.
(Pat)>> It's got a little bit of valvetrain noise.
(Frankie)>> Runs pretty good though.
(Pat)>> Now that we know it runs we can install the rest of the tune-up kit and look for the cause of our dead cylinder. That sounded nice.
(Frankie)>> There's the problem. The wire is right there but somebody has ripped that out at one point, and also ripped the boot. I think that's our culprit.
(Pat)>> Do you know the firing order of this?
(Frankie)>> Good reason is I don't have to cause it's one-five-four-two six-three-seven-eight. Work smarter not harder right?
(Pat)>> Or you can just know. If you didn't know and were not familiar, you would just change them one at a time, right?
(Frankie)>> Yeah if you didn't know the firing order and didn't know where number one is, but these actually have it marked on the rotor, which is super helpful.
(Pat)>> So you could go one, and then you just do this, and then you throw them away.
(Frankie)>> You don't have to take them off if you don't want to cause we're changing that anyways.
(Pat)>> Now fresh rotor! We have to reuse that. Oh yeah, Ford blue. Here's your numbers so you know where it goes. To clean out the innards of the distributor Seafoam's Deep Creep Penetrating Lubricant makes it easy to wipe out the dirt and debris. [ Music ]
(Frankie)>> The plugs are fowled. So, we will replace them with a brand new set from RockAuto dot com. We'll gap them to the spec that RockAuto gives for our application, which is 50 thousandths. The dielectric grease came with the tune-up kit, very convenient. With any tune-up a fresh air filter is a great idea. Look at that. You always find good stuff. I mean it's broken but now we know where it went.
(Pat)>> That's perfect! [ Music ] [ engine starting ]
(Pat)>> That's automatically nicer.
(Frankie)>> That purrs like a kitten.
(Pat)>> The smoke is less, sort of. [ engine revving ]
(Frankie)>> So it's definitely charging, just had a dead battery, but that's good to know the charging system actually works. [ air compressor humming ]
(Pat)>> Alright you dirty dog. Please move under your own power.
(Frankie)>> The owner was kind enough to let us take the Granada back to the shop to work on the transmission leak.
(Pat)>> There's something!
(Frankie)>> Since it's 102 degrees out today we'll gladly accept that offer.
(Pat)>> Up next, with just a few hours work the old Ford becomes road worthy again. We look good in this.
(Frankie)>> Then I give Pat a tour of my old stomping grounds, The University of Northwestern Ohio.
(Pat)>> We've got the Granada back in the shop trying to find the source of a substantial transmission leak. This car is very, very nice underneath. A quick inspection told us two things. One, this car is super clean and rust free. Two, the transmission pan gasket is clearly the source of the leak. Now we've seen this, right?
(Frankie)>> Yeah, you notice there's some signs.
(Pat)>> Some signs this thing's been out. There's no washer here.
(Frankie)>> There's some pry marks, there's some dents.
(Pat)>> There's bolts that obviously don't go where they are. This is kinda stuck down. There it goes!
(Frankie)>> Let her go. That worked pretty good. Smells good, doesn't smell burnt.
(Pat)>> I'm not gonna say it smells good. It smells like it's supposed to.
(Frankie)>> There's the normal amount of silveriness in it, but there's no chunks.
(Pat)>> Oh yeah! [ Music ] We went to RockAuto dot com for a new gasket along with a few other helpful items. Even though the 1977 Granada is definitely not one of the most popular cars on the roads these days, they had a big selection of parts for the Ford including economy, o-e-m replacement, and performance options. After scraping off the remainder of the gasket and cleaning the pan, the new filter with the check ball is installed. [ Music ] When tightening down the pan don't get too aggressive, or you could squish or tear the gasket. [ Music ] When you're poking around under a car sometimes you find unexpected things, like a loose engine mount. This just needs to be tightened.
(Frankie)>> After lubing the new oil filter we'll spin it on. [ Music ] Both the filter and oil came from RockAuto dot com. Any engine, especially an older one like this, will benefit from Seafoam Motor Treatment. It helps clean up any built-up deposits or crud and doesn't contain any chemicals that can harm your engine. We'll pour in the recommended amount for our engine's oil capacity. Next, we'll add new transmission fluid. To help clean out the fuel system we'll add Seafoam Motor Treatment to the gas tank as well. Well, we got all the big stuff done on this Granada. So, we're gonna move on to something that may seem trivial but is pretty important, and that's the backup lights. If you paid attention when the car was backing in it actually had one of the lights out. The great thing about getting parts from RockAuto dot com is that you can not only get o-e style replacement parts, but you can get after market parts, and so we're gonna upgrade these reverse lights to a set of l-e-ds. These are gonna be much brighter. They have a nice white light, and since they're l-e-d they're gonna last much longer. Since we've got to change one might as well change both, and then this car will be roadworthy. This is an easy job. It only takes a couple of minutes and a screwdriver. Now our vintage ride has bright, modern lighting. You can easily tell the difference between the old incandescent and the new l-e-d light. [ engine revving ]
(Frankie)>> This is a cruiser!
(Pat)>> We look good in this! With just a few hours work the Grenada is running clean and back on the road.
(Frankie)>> Whether you were born with a wrench in your hand or just always wanted to learn about everything automotive, The University of Northwestern Ohio is for you.
(Pat)>> Today we are in one of my favorite places I could ever be, in a race shop. There's a lot of cool cars and a lot of top notch equipment, but this is run by someone a little different. This is run by students, and because I have never been here before and I need a tour I tried to find the best tour guide I could find and I guess it's him.
(Frankie)>> Yeah this is actually where I went to school and graduated from, The University of Northwestern Ohio. This is my favorite place on Earth, and there's a ton of stuff to see and do. So where do you want to start?
(Pat)>> You're the tour guide.
(Frankie)>> I've got an idea. Let's go! [ engine revving ]
(Frankie)>> UNOH has a clear goal, helping you turn your passion into a career. With 50-degree programs across five colleges there's several fields of study you'd expect from most universities, like accounting, business administration, health care, and agriculture, but unlike most universities UNOH offers degrees in subjects that any gearhead would love to study. Automotive and diesel technology, automotive high performance motorsports and motorsports marketing, along with cutting edge technology such as alternate fuels and robotics and automation. To maximize the learning process most classes are limited to 25 students or fewer.
(Jamie)>> The instructor's always there for you. The class sizes are very small. So, they're always there if you need help with anything. Being able to have those people there for you, and be able to teach you one on one, and guide you through those steps is definitely cool. It's a great experience, and you can get a lot of knowledge through it.
(Wilhelm)>> Instructors are fantastic! They take the time to teach you how things work, and always try to help you out.
(Pat)>> If you were into trucks and cars in high school you were probably part of a fairly small crew. Not so at UNOH. Here a diverse group of gearheads from all 50 states and 73 countries have gathered to devote themselves to all things automotive.
(Jeb)>> You're always working on something that you will see in the real world. Whether it be in the shop on passenger vehicles, or in the race shop working on race cars. It's the same thing you have at the track. It's the same thing you have in the shop. It's amazing!
(Pat)>> Whether you have years of experience or none at all it doesn't matter. All you need is a love for automotive technology and a desire to learn.
(Ryan)>> We start so it's at the simplest terms and work our way up there. So, at the end of the day everybody's at the same level. When you graduate here you're not gonna have any less knowledge than the guy that started that's been working on cars since he was six years old.
(Jalen)>> Automotive is the basis where it starts at, and then you move to the high performance making cars go fast.
(Pat)>> The core automotive classes lay the foundation for motorsports, alternate fuels, and other upper level courses. Here students learn the fundamentals.
(Dominic)>> We do everything you can think of, starting from oil changes to working on electrical systems, and I really like that, and automatic and manual transmissions.
(Ryan)>> I myself teach automotive engine and diagnosis and repair where we talk about the engine mechanical stuff, how pieces and parts work together, how to diagnose internal engine component problems, and how to do engine overhauls and rebuilds. I also teach automotive engine performance. We're gonna talk about the drivability. How spark ignition, fuel injection, how all the stuff effects emissions, fuel economy, and the performance of the engine.
(Frankie)>> Electrical and electronics courses are part of the automotive program, and if you want to pursue those studies further UNOH offers an e/v curriculum, which gets you on the ground floor of an ever growing field.
(Joe)>> So in my opinion the e/v stuff is easier to work on than the internal combustion engine. There's a lot less moving parts. Now they do have to understand the electrical side of things. The mindset that you have to have to get into that electrical troubleshooting tends to be the opposite of the mindset that our students come in with, but that's my job is to get them over that hump, and once they get it it really is easier than all this internal combustion stuff.
(Dominic)>> As soon as I heard about the e/v program I knew I had to join it because I really knew that I like the electric part of it, and I wanted to give that a try and see how that works out for me.
(Jon)>> I think eventually the e/v's gonna take over the high performance motorsports world. With the instant torque you just can't beat it.
(Joe)>> The program is going to do nothing but grow as the e/vs hit the road and as they become more readily available.
(Frankie)>> The alternate fuels program also looks to the future teaching students to work with cleaner power sources such as natural gas, propane, hybrid engines, and hydrogen. We asked students and instructors for their advice, and whether their passion is carbureted race engines or electrical drivetrains they all said the same thing. Get involved!
(Brian)>> I would get involved, ask questions. The best thing you can do in class is sit up front and ask questions.
(Brandon)>> Get involved, ask questions, do as much stuff as you can. Utilize every tool that you have here. Get involved in the clubs. Get involved in the teams. Talk to your instructors, ask for more knowledge.
(Darian)>> Have fun! Go out and do stuff. Join the motorsports and go racing. Go racing with your buddies.
(Frankie)>> Up next, at UNOH you can gain hands on experience in the shop and the racetrack.
(Pat)>> Today we're in Lima, visiting the University of Northwestern Ohio. We've made our way to the high performance department where they teach our favorite subjects, engine machining and engine building.
(Brandon)>> Engine machining class is roughly 90 percent hands on in the shop. So, it's a ton of there on the machines. They are touching them, they're operating them. They are not just watching me. I give them a demo, here's how you do it, and then they have to do the task.
(Randy)>> It's more of a non-traditional way of learning. It's not all about the books. I mean we spend a lot of time in books and there's a lot of math involved in what I teach back here, but really where the rubber meets the rode is when we put them out in the shop and get them working on the equipment themselves because that is where the real learning is.
(Jalen)>> The teacher's right there helping you, and it's showing you exactly how something works. Not just by a little camera, or by a video, or somebody telling, it's actually how it moves, how it maneuvers, and how it works.
(Jeb)>> This school has an amazing balance of both. You spend countless hours in the shop, but you're also deep enough into the books that you know what you're doing.
(Frankie)>> From crankshaft balancers, flow benches, chassis and engine dynos, to welding, chassis and body fabrication, and suspension setup for all types of racing. No matter what your passion is you'll gain real world experience.
(Jon)>> I always say that if I had a chance to go back to school this is where I would want to go, and if you want to do anything in the high performance world this is where you need to go.
(Pat)>> Modern engines make more and more power. Electric motors put out massive instantaneous torque, making strong, well designed drivelines even more crucial.
(Christopher)>> Everybody wants to make power. They want to be like, oh, look at the big numbers on the dyno, but they completely forget that power has to get to ground somehow, and torque will always find the weakest link. So, you have to build it up through there. You have to do it safely and you actually have to get power to the ground.
(Pat)>> Sometimes neglected, the choice of gear ratio matters too.
(Christopher)>> But if you can only afford to make 350 if you gear it correctly you can still have a fast car, and a fast 350 horsepower car is way better than a 1,000 horsepower car that doesn't run.
(Frankie)>> Students aren't just getting hands on experience in the classroom. All the clubs and the motorsports team are student run. They build and maintain vehicles, and even get to race them on the school's racing teams.
(Darian)>> What really hits me with racing is the adrenaline rush. Like being at the track. All these drivers around you. You're competing to win the big prize or whatever it is that night, and it's just awesome being in that atmosphere.
(Jamie)>> Being able to go to the track on the weekends and being able to spend time with people that now have become family on the team. It's pretty awesome! We're all still learning. None of us know everything. So being around everyone from different backgrounds, from different types of racing styles, you're always constantly learning.
(Paul)>> The thing I love the most is when a student comes to the university, applies to the motorsport team, gets on the motorsports team. By the time they've gone through a couple of seasons on the motorsports team they graduate. They get a career in what they're passionate about. They come back and it makes me feel really good about what we're doing with it. Motorsports team is run just like a professional race team where there are certain people in charge of the cars. There's certain people in charge of the shop time in the facility, and there's team managers. All of that is mandated and controlled by the students. I've had a lot of students graduate, get on professional teams, and come back and say Higgins, the way you run that team is just like they do in the real world. I say well, that's my goal.
(Frankie)>> The financial aid and career services department at UNOH provides support, helping students fund their education and find meaningful work in their chosen career after graduation. As part of this commitment the university develops relationships within the automotive industry. We were fortunate to present scholarship funds on behalf of Sea Foam. A company dedicated to the future of the automotive industry. You know when I went to school here scholarship funds were a huge part of that, and a lot of students feel that way. So, it's my honor to present to you this check for $20,000 dollars to be used for scholarship funds from Powernation and Sea Foam, and I know you guys are gonna put this to great use.
(Jeffrey)>> Yes, we will. I want to thank Powernation and Sea Foam for the scholarship donation. I'm sure the students will appreciate it and thank all of you very much. [ clapping ]
(Frankie)>> You've seen just a sample of the opportunities available at UNOH. Whatever career path you wish to forge they can help.
(Alejandro)>> Come to orientation. You'll love it I guarantee it. Then the school will do as much as you're willing to put in.
(Randy)>> My wife tells our friends that I never have a problem getting up and going to work cause I love to go to work. We're all having a good time together learning and teaching.
(Paul)>> Come here, get some education, go out, and achieve your goal, that passion that you have. Go get a career in it and be successful. That is our goal.
(Frankie)>> If you want to see more of this or more cool stuff go check out our website.
