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Old Car, New Tricks: Indianapolis Students Learn Fundamentals with a 1951 Chevy
Fifteen or so high school students gather around as the teacher demonstrates how to wire up a turn signal on a battered 1951 Chevrolet Deluxe sedan. The top of the wheeled tool cart is a jumble of bulbs, wire cutters, and solder. The rest of the two-bay shop isn’t any less crowded. The sedan is in good company, joined by a 1961 Pontiac Tempest, a Chevy Pickup, and assorted parts like engine blocks and differentials taking up any and all available flat surfaces.
If you went to high school during the 1960s or ’70s, this scene probably sounds familiar, even mundane. Yet instruction in the trades, now known as Career and Technical Education (CTE), has become astonishingly rare: According to a 2019 survey of 2.5 million public high school graduates conducted by the U.S. Department of Education, only 2.4 percent of students took at least 2 CTE credits for mechanical repair and operation.
That’s what makes Arsenal Technical High School, located just east of downtown Indianapolis, quite special. The 76-acre campus was a former Civil War–era arsenal from 1864 to 1903 and has served as a public high school since 1912. It has offered its automotive repair classes for three decades, but in recent years, its free vocational training has become particularly popular, attracting applicants from across the Indianapolis area.
“The program has become one of the most sought-after pathways among our students, reflecting its success and relevance in today’s job market,” said Arsenal Career Academy coordinator Charonda Woods.
The program has gotten some attention and—more important—funding beyond Indianapolis. In particular, NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson recently partnered with auto retailer Carvana to donate $4000, new lifts, and other shop equipment to the school. That may not sound like a lot, but it helped the school purchase the 1951 Chevy Deluxe and pay for some supplies, like wiring. The students also got an invite to Indianapolis Motor Speedway (about a 20-minute drive across town) to watch the Brickyard 400 and meet Johnson.
For a program that explicitly aims to position kids to work in the modern automotive world, the old cars in the shop without fuel injection, antilock brakes, and infotainment screens may seem like an anomaly. But instructor Dennis Bailey says it’s the perfect starting point. “If you’re going to teach how to work on an electrical system, a circuit is a circuit,” he explained. “That’s why we went old, because it’s simpler; it’s easy for most of them [the students] to grasp. They start thinking relays, modules, computers. They get scared and don’t want to touch anything.” Bailey’s gray ZZ Top beard hints at his experience in the field—he’s been working with cars for 31 years, with eight of those as a teacher at Arsenal.
Every day, Bailey sees three groups of students for about 80 minutes a period. The curriculum is a 50/50 mix of hands-on learning and theory in the classroom. Bailey’s approach is a patient one. Like any good teacher, he has a solid rapport with his students and is willing to spend the time to make sure they get it right, even if that might require a couple of tries—as was evident during my visit when they were told to splice and solder the Chevy’s turn signal wiring.
The obvious tangible benefit of the program is that it puts students on a fast track to a solid career. The Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts that the nation will need more than 67,000 automotive technicians each year until at least 2033, which represents a projected annual job growth of 3 percent as a national average.
But even students who don’t necessarily plan to go into the automotive sector see the benefit. “I believe that I should develop a skill set that can help me further in life,” said Miguel Sanchez, a senior at Arsenal. “You can help yourself, help your family, start a side hustle.”
Even with the help from Carvana and Johnson, Arsenal’s budget—like city schools across the country—remains tight. “Right now, I’m working on the funding to take that [spare Chevrolet engine] to the machine shop. And by working on the funding, I mean checking with my wife if she’s OK with it,” quipped Bailey.
Despite those challenges, Arsenal’s automotive program is not only surviving but growing—since Bailey joined, the program’s yearly enrollment has increased from 60 students to over 180. Call it a small but encouraging sign that old-school shop class has a clear role in 21st-century education.
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This story first appeared in the May/June 2025 issue of Hagerty Drivers Club magazine. Join the club to receive our award-winning magazine and enjoy insider access to automotive events, discounts, roadside assistance, and more.
It would be really nice if a local machine shop would step up and donate some time to help with these projects – they could also schedule a student day to allow the students to actually watch the machine work being done.
A local machine shop, what is that? Those places do not run on local hobbyists, most larger repair shops order a rebuilt assembly and return the core they got off the car they are working on. It isn’t even about money, it is about time and space. If a car needs a major engine component rebuilt it is a lot faster to order the rebuilt part and install it than wait two weeks to get it taken care of at a local shop.
The story says he is waiting for funding to take (not send) the spare engine to the machine shop. I got the impression there is a local shop that can do the work and was wondering why the students won’t be given some detail on what happens there.
Do you have any idea what the insurance would cost for that? On top of that, my local machine shop is dark and relatively small. You couldn’t fit more than one student at a time in there.
Last I heard there were only something like 5 auto shop programs in my state. One of which is in the district my kids went to and I got to know the long time teacher before he retired and the one that replaced him. He was great but unfortunately he got a job doing mfg tech training.
I hope this article inspires more! More schools and school districts, more automotive businesses and people to get involved in vocational education.
I learned to drive on the family’s ’50 Chevy. I managed to talk my dad into a Hurst Indy shifter to replace the three on the tree. It didn’t make the car any faster, but, psychologically, it made the car feel a bit sportier. I was not patient with the car, but it was very patient with me. I am not surprised to see a Stovebolt 6 still involved in teaching young people about cars.
More schools like this are needed. Looks like good work being done here.
Wonderful article. Great to hear. Mr. Bailey certainly has my respect, and hope those young people know how lucky they are to learn the magic of the cars we love. I’d give my right arm to join that program just to learn, but at 78, not likely…..
Kudos to Jimmie Johnson for his support.
It makes me wonder why more Federal grant money and donations can’t make their way to deserving technical schools like this throughout the country, it would benefit all of us.
My high school in the late ’60s would not let me enroll in auto shop because I was college-prep. I taught myself anyway and worked my way through college, grad school, and med school fixing cars. I now am in a group that teaches teens to build real airplanes; many of them have gone on to aviation careers. Even those who haven’t have learned responsibility, work ethic, teamwork, and hands-on skills. All it takes is willing mentors and a few financial sponsors.
Thankfully by the 80’s my high school didn’t have a policy like that. A good friend who was both female and on the college track took auto shop and learned a lot.
yay! shop class – those were the days – and whatever happened to shop class anyway? (and Home Ec for girls’, too, for that matter). somewhere somebody in charge took a big wrong turn on the freeway of educational life.
shades of henry gregor felsen
And there is a number of professional race teams in Brownsburg for the instructors and students can reach out to, as well.
It might be easier to use a 1951 car but it’s really a waste of time. How many jobs do you think that will qualify them for? A good instructor would use modern cars, tools and equipment. that is relevant to today’s market. It’s really a bad reflection on the instructor.
Good grief. You must have missed the part about tight finances. Most kids have never held a screw driver before. Remember the audience here. If you want to work in 2025 Rav4’s you are going to a college level automotive school.
William Bush aka negative Nancy
Got got to learn the basics most most modern day technicians don’t know how points and condenser work. Many technicians rely on tech support lines because they don’t know the basics we’ve hired dealership technicians that are totally lost when it comes to diagnosing basic systems on diesel locomotives which is a simple machine like a 51 Chevy we had valve grind machine in our high school auto shop did many valve jobs in high school later was employed by GM dealership where I continued to do valve jobs and rebuild Vega engines under warranty also built a 327 engine with 11 1/2 to one Pistons for my 57 Chevy, which had a six-cylinder engine in it.
My first car was a ’52 Chevy. bumpers painted black ’cause they looked like this one. She would still do 90 – not that I would know.
I taught high school
Auto Mechanics for 39
Years. Many of the local repair shops are owned by former students. Many other former students are working in the field.
That’s great! We need more teachers like you.
Thank You Richard, and I’m sure you had a very rewarding career. No doubt each of your former students are very thankful today for the knowledge they gained from your instruction. My dad spent the last 20 years of his illustrious career teaching auto mechanics at our local community college (Edgecombe Community College, Tarboro, NC). Dad passed away 16 months ago and had retired back in 2000, but to this day I have countless individuals approach me and express their appreciation for what they learned from my dear dad. Rest assured he did a great job teaching me also!