Toronto, Ont. — Students in the Automotive Technician program at Camosun College got to experience a slice of history last week as they had the opportunity to work on John Lennon’s iconic Rolls Royce Phantom V.
The bright yellow psychedelic vehicle is owned by the Royal B.C. Museum and gets diagnostic tests every year to ensure it’s staying in top shape.
While it’s typically left to professionals to tackle the restoration of this vintage classic, this month, young repairers studying at Camosun got the chance to test out their skills in partnership with Coachwerks Restoration and work on restoration themselves.
“Students in attendance will be able to hear the roar of the engine and watch its rear wheels spin on a rolling road dynamometer,” Camosun College announced last week.
Students who had the chance to work on the car focused on getting the fluid running through the engine. The rolling road dynameter did just that while collecting data on the vehicle as it ran.
[The dynameter] will have a large screen feeding speed and other data in real-time,” Camosun reported.
In addition to testing out the dynameter on the 55-year-old vehicle, the young repairers also had an opportunity to learn a bit about the Rolls Royce as they worked.
Royal BC Museum collections manager Paul Ferguson was in attendance to teach the students about the history of the vehicle as they worked on it.
“To be up close and personal with a vehicle of this stature is wonderful for our students,” teaching instructor Patrick Jones told Global News.
Jones saw the car for the first time when he was 21 years old at a car expo in Vancouver. The excitement he felt when he first saw the vehicle all came back when he noticed how thrilled his students were to be working on it.
“It’s great to have the opportunity to make sure the car is maintained as it should be,” stated Jones.
For more information on Camosun College or their involvement with the restoration process, visit camosun.ca
