Students participating in ASE Certified Master Automotive Technician programs at community colleges across the country learn just about everything they need to be successful once they get to the professional workplace.

At Linn State Technical College in Linn, MO, the program provides a little something extra.

"Students in the program help me with my racecar," said Jimmy Brandon, Department Chairperson of the Automotive Technology program at Linn State and the driver of 'Rebel Rouser,' a 1964 Dodge dragster. "Most of the students don't have the money or resources to buy or build a racecar, so they really like working on this one. Anytime I have a project on the racecar, I don't have any problem getting participation from the students."

Brandon, a drag racer since 1974, brought his love of racing to the Linn State Automotive Technology program when he began teaching at the school 15 years ago. It didn't take long to get both the students and the school's administration to get involved in the project.

"When the students found out that I owned a racecar, they swamped me with questions about it," said Brandon, who races the car in Nostalgia Super/Stock division. "There was so much interest, so I decided to involve them in it. That fit right in with what the school was looking for because when they hired me, the president of the college was looking to gain more exposure for the automotive program. When I told him about this project, he was all for it."

A part of the Team ASE Grassroots Racing Program, Brandon has used the car to enhance the scope of the school's Automotive Technology program.

"We teach an ASE Certified Master Program here at Linn State Technical College and I am also an evaluation team leader for certifying other ASE programs here in Missouri," Brandon stated. "Since we are an ASE Certified Program, we use the NATEF end of program

Students in the Automotive Technology Department at Linn State Technical College work with Department Chair Jimmy Brandon (center) on his Rebel Rouser drag car. The students built the car from the ground up 15 years ago and nearly 150 of them have maintained the potent 1964 Dodge Polara nostalgia racer since. (Linn State Technical College Photo)

test as the final for our classes. We encourage all of the students to earn their certifications. We have an Advisory Council that includes manufacturer's reps and shop owners that want to the students to have ASE and NATEF certifications as well, so it's a good fit for both us and the students.

"The racecar is just another tool for the students to apply what they have learned in the classroom," Brandon continued. "They learn other things too. For instance, we don't teach them how to restore and buff chrome, so last year, we took all the chrome off the car and we did that. Other things, like the four-link suspension system under the car is something that we designed on a computer program. The alignment machine we have is capable of measuring the track and wheelbase of the car, so we're able to show the students how to set up the racecar on it. Welding on a race car is also a little bit different than what they learn in their welding class. Bottom line is we get to learn how to use our equipment for other things than just working on street cars."

And the Rebel Rouser is clearly no ordinary street car.

Brandon traded his previous racecar - an altered wheelbase Plymouth Hemi Cuda named 'Pandemonium'- to a collector in North Carolina who had the 1964 Dodge. A long-time race car, the Rebel Rouser had been campaigned as the 'Bob Blair Blitzkreig' throughout the 1960s. Brandon, who had attended the first meeting that founded the original Midwest Nostalgia Super Stock Association (now known as Nostalgia Super Stocks Inc.), then got the car off the ground by forming the Linn State Tech Team in 1995 giving the students a chance to participate in the project.

"I had some friends who were into restoring cars and when the nostalgia racing thing got started in the 1980's we went to one of the events at Mid-American Raceway in Wentzville, MO ," said Brandon. "We decided to build a 'clone car,' a 1963 Dodge Max Wedge car and paint it up like the old Ramchargers car. We ran some races that were called Muscle From the Past where we'd race old-style cars against the new cars. We started getting paid to show up at these events and from that, Nostalgia Super Stock Racing started."

Brandon's project quickly caught on with the students who completely rebuilt the vehicle in the school shop. According to the instructor, "nothing was done out of house" including everything from construction of the roll cage to the final coat of paint.

The end result was a potent retro racer that consistently burns up the quarter mile at a NSS/B 10.50-second pass index and 125 miles per hour top end.

 "We run in a class where you have to keep the car around the index," said Brandon. "If the weather is right, it can run a 10.30-second pass and as fast as 130 miles per hour for the quarter mile."

The car has a myriad of performance features including a 1972 Chrysler 440 wedge iron engine block that if bored 30-over with a 4150 stroker crank pumping it up to a whopping 496 cubic inches. It has a set of reproduction Mopar Performance Max Wedge cylinder heads and uses an original 1964 factory cross-ram intake manifold. The powerplant also utilizes Chet Herbert roller cam, Ross 13:1 pistons and Bill Miller aluminum rods.  Power is transferred to the wheels through a Chrysler 727 Torqueflite automatic transmission with a Model J converter into a 9 ¾ Dana rear member with a 4.11 gear ratio. The rear wheel assembly has been pushed five inches forward to give the car its classic 1960s drag car look.

"We have about 10-15 students who work on the car every year," said Brandon, who estimates more than 150 students have wrenched the car since its inception. "The students don't crew car because we race it during the summer when they are not in school, but  at most races, I run into two or three students that used to work on the car. I just went to a car show where there were six former students there. Every one of them wanted to talk about the car."

Brandon usually races the car in five or six Nostalgia Super Stocks Inc. events a year. Over the years, the car has been extremely successful winning the MAR Nostalgia Drags Hot Rod Class B championship three consecutive years from1995-1997. The car also won the MAR Manufacturers Cup 1996 championship and was the NSCA Class B champion in 1999 at the Monster Mopar NSS Nationals.

Because of its success, Rebel Rouser has been featured in several national publications including appearing on the cover of National Dragster in March 1996. It has also been featured in Chrysler Power (November 1997), High Performance Mopar (July 1999), Tomorrow's Technician (February 2002), St. Louis Motor Racing News (July 1997) and Street Thunder Magazine (December 2006). The past two years, the car has been part of the NSS-Monster.com Super Stock Calendar.

"It's been a great learning tool for our students," said Brandon. "The car has also brought recognition to the college. All the students recognize it, not just the automotive students. Last year, we displayed the car with "Hot Rod" Fuller's Top Fuel dragster in our new student Activity Center and the response was great. It's been a winner for everyone involved."

For more information about Nostalgia Super Stock, Inc, please visit http://www.nostalgiasuperstock.com/.

Information about Linn State Technical College can be viewed at http://www.linnstate.edu/.

About The Team ASE Grassroots Racing Program

All ASE-certified professional automotive technicians who compete on local race teams as drivers, team owners and pit crew members are eligible to participate in Team ASE Grassroots Racing Program.

The program is designed to draw attention to the thousands of ASE-certified professionals who are actively participating in all forms of motorsports. Each Team ASE Grassroots Racing Program participant receives Team ASE decals for their helmets and race vehicles, Team ASE Racing hats and embroidered uniform insignias as well as camera-ready artwork for local and area promotional efforts.

To participate in the Team ASE Grassroots Racing Program, please fill out the racing profile form located on the Team ASE Grassroots Racing web page at http://www.asecert.org/.

SOURCE: John Close/Team ASE