Students at Garden Valley Collegiate are getting hands-on experience with automotive technology in an exciting new way this semester. Under the guidance of Auto Tech Instructor Zane Strydom, a group of students is building a custom two-person go-kart to enter a contest, putting their skills to the test.
Building the kart
“We started the first week of the second semester,” Strydom said. “Right now, we’ve got about six (students) in this class and about six in the other, but everyone is going to be working on it at some point.”
Princess Auto selected seven schools to participate in the contest as part of the opening of their new, larger store in Winnipeg.
“It’s a two-person go-kart. We can put whatever we want for a motor on it, so we actually thought a little creatively, and we started building a turbo on our motor,” Strydom said.
The team is also incorporating safety features like seat belts, lights, windshields, and mud protection, while the Level B students focus on the electrical system, wiring up lights and winches.
Once complete, the go-kart will remain on display at the new location, decorated with school colours and the Zodiac logo. The contest judging on June 5th will evaluate the entries across eight categories: Creativity, Innovation & Design, Safety, Functionality/Operational, Upgrades, Problem Solving, Budgeting, and a Student-led Presentation.
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Hands-on learning
For the students, the project is both challenging and rewarding. Jesse Fehr, a grade 11 student, has been tackling engine work.
“It’s been giving us a little trouble, but because we’re making our own pipes, and it’s a good learning experience that we can use in the future,” he said. “It’s my first time making pipes, first time building an engine from different parts… you just got to do a little bit more welding and then we’re good to go.”
Fehr described the progress from the start of the semester: “When I started, it [the kart] had pretty much nothing on it. Very bare. We put on lights. We put on a winch. The engine wasn’t on when I started… but once the semester started, where I came in, then we started putting on all those extra parts.”
The students are optimistic about their chances. “I’m 100% sure we’re going to take it. I think we have a lot of cool parts and we have, in my opinion, the coolest go-kart,” Fehr said.
With the June 5th presentation approaching, Strydom said the team is on track. “Right now it seems really good,” he said, adding they are excited to get to Winnipeg and “Show it off.”
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