They're learning what makes a car go and what makes it shudder and die.

It's really not brain surgery, and there's no guarantee you'll become Mr. Goodwrench. But under the mentorship of Jose Ortiz of the Oakland parks and recreation department, they're learning skills that can mean saving and making money during their lifetimes.

The class might even be the groundwork for becoming a highly proficient auto or airplane mechanic. Or Mr. Goodwrench.

It's not just for young people, but they're well represented in the first class, which began meeting this summer. Ortiz is pleased that A&B Auto Co. towing service donated a 1948 Chevrolet Caprice to the program (after all, they have a few to spare).

The car wasn't damaged when it arrived, but while sitting outside in a parking place one night, it was vandalized by intruders who broke the windshield, Ortiz says while frowning and shaking his head. So now there's plenty of work to do.

Ortiz got the idea for the new recreation department basic automotive repair class after teaching his own son how to fix his car, a skill that led him to become an airplane mechanic with a fine salary today.

Students learn how to check and change oil, replace a flat tire, change a spark plug, tune up an engine and maintain a battery. Also how to check brake, power steering and windshield wiper fluids. Other Oakland firms that helped sponsor the class were PR Motorsports and Sign-A-Rama.

Ortiz is hoping some sideshow participants will join the class and perhaps learn there are better ways to love your car than ripping the guts out by high speed "sprints" and tire-eating street "donuts."

"If you love your car, you take care of it," says Ortiz, who became a local hero after he invented the low-riding Oakland police car that won the hearts of the Fruitvale district several years ago. His concept of a low-rider police car has been copied by many cities. He also conceived a program in which kids could earn a free bicycle for community service work, using bikes that have been confiscated by Oakland police.

Phillip Magadan is 14 and Gene Carter is 50, but the age difference is irrelevant when they're checking under the hood.

Carter joined the group because "I don't want to get ripped off when I take my car to the repair shop. I have to be able to talk their talk and know what it is needs to be done."

Magadan wants to learn how to fix the family car and later his own.

Albert Gross, also known as "Hikken," is a member of the Oakland Panthers Motorcycle Club. Edwin Catambay, 39, and Virginia Yanez, 37, are among those in this first-ever class offered by Oakland recreation department as part of a community outreach alternative program instituted by recreation and park director Audree Jones Taylor.

Students talked about the sideshows that disturb the early morning hours on Oakland streets, causing police and neighbors big trouble. Younger enrollees said the sideshows are usually harmless, but most of the mature ones thought the city should create an alternative site where the stunt drivers could compete before a paid audience.

Young people are attracted to the sideshows because they love cars and like to watch stunt driving, they said.

Carter, however, asked, "Why are they out at 3 and 4 in the morning when they should be home in bed?"

They put the blame on parents for failing to supervise activities of their teenage children.

All agreed Oakland public schools should offer vocational education classes in high schools the way they did years ago. They said it was a "big mistake" to drop such classes as auto shop and basic shop classes because the pressure is on for every child to "go to college."

The class meets at Brookdale Recreation Center between 2 and 5 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. To enroll, show up at the center at 2535 High St. Anyone 16 years or older, male or female, is welcome. Look for an old beat up car with people peering under the hood.

Oakland Tribune
401 13th Street
Oakland, California 94612
(510) 208-6330 Switchboard
(510) 293-2709 Online Content
www.oaklandtribune.com