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Vietnam Veteran Lends His Corvette to a High School Shop Class
Going to school every day is a cool ride
these days for the automotive technology
students at Trenton High School in
Michigan.
They’re in the second year of restoring
this yellow 1980 Corvette.
The students began work on the car
during the 2011-12 school year after
owner Jim Schneider, a 68-year-old
Vietnam veteran, decided the Corvette
would be better used as an instructional
tool, rather than wasting away at his home.
Schneider’s nephew, Michael Doyle, is principal at the high school and casually mentioned to his
uncle that they didn’t have money to buy a project car they wanted to use in the auto tech class.
Schneider, a Vietnam vet, quickly offered his Corvette.
It’s a win-win situation. One day, Schneider will get a nicely restored car back in his garage, and
students will have the memories of a lifetime working on the vintage ‘Vette.
“I really appreciate what they are doing,” Schneider said.
Driving the Corvette when it’s done “will be like being a kid again,” he said. “I’ll take care of it
for a while.”
First, though, the students have a lot of work left. While the car looks pretty decent in the photos,
it needs much attention – to the engine, interior, exterior, etc., etc.
“Every single part on this (project) is a struggle,” automotive technology instructor Bryan
Monaco said. “The engine was seized. It took us two weeks to take the tires off.”
Schneider says the students can work on the car as long as necessary. He is footing the bill for the
parts required, and Monaco says there will be a lot of them.
For example, the gas tank had a hole the size of a golf ball, Monaco said. “We tracked down a
tank at a Corvette shop in Illinois.”
The efforts are worth it, though.
“It’s neat for the kids because they get to work on a Corvette,” Doyle said.