
It was a laborious process for Athens Technological College scholar Thomas Dickerson to tote his “homework” — a 1967 Ford Shelby GTO 350 Mustang — to and from campus, but the tough function of absolutely rebuilding the automobile has paid out off.
Dickerson will appear on an episode of “2021 SEMA Struggle of the Builders” on the Historical past Channel at 9 a.m. Sunday.
He is a single of the a few recipients who received a Young Guns Golden ticket with all fees compensated to take part in the Specialty Tools Brands Affiliation competitors in Las Vegas in November.
Dickerson was awarded Major 10 in the Young Guns (builders less than the age of 27) and Top 40 all round for his operate. It also caught the eye of the Tv set show producers who interviewed him about his expertise as a single of the youngest to enter the competitiveness at age 21.
“I commenced with a stock 1967 Mustang Fastback and had to thoroughly craft pieces to convert it into a Shelby (Tribute),” stated Dickerson. “I made my Mustang with many contemporary parts, having it all the way to the level where by you can travel a model-new Mustang and not come to feel a variation involving it and my vehicle. In some cases, it will drive superior and perform exceptionally improved, way too.
“All of this took an immense amount of engineering and tailor made fabrication to make it complete the way I had made. I had to make several of the sections since they basically did not exist or perform with my specifications.”
The task took Dickerson about a few decades to full.
“This was the 1st vehicle I ever painted. It took in excess of 26 hrs to paint in excess of two days, and I invested two to 3 weeks moist sanding it afterward,” Dickerson said. “I created my personal heart console utilizing courses listed here that we have — mechanical engineering technology — and I developed my entire console on SolidWorks.”
The automobile is geared up with fuel injection, LED headlights, electric powered cooling, electronic analog gauges, a 7-inch touchscreen radio, drive-button commence and a critical fob. Seats from a 2017 Mustang had been employed as well as personalized upholstery made to his hand-drawn structure.
“Seventy percent of the motor vehicle is manufacturer new, and every panel on the outdoors of the motor vehicle is 100 p.c new. When I bought the motor vehicle, I was fascinated in mechanical engineering but it was not as hands-on as I had imagined, so which is when I enrolled in the automotive collision maintenance method at Athens Tech,” he claimed.
“Thomas was a fantastic student and worked incredibly really hard to grasp the techniques desired to build the desire he had envisioned,” reported Greg Thomas, method chair for automotive collision repair service at Tech. “With his skills and hard work, he was able to develop a truly wonderful car. He was also ready to go toe-to-toe versus the best builders in the place at SEMA with wonderful success! I couldn’t be prouder of him for his accomplishments.”
To study more about the Young Guns competitiveness, visit www.semayoungguns.com. For a lot more information and facts on the higher education, visit www.AthensTech.edu.