Students bringing a Pontiac back to life in East Valley Institute

By Mark Neumann

We like to see the younger generation show an interest in classic cars. Without them, our Pontiacs, Oldsmobiles, Buicks and other hot rods will end up in museums or collections behind closed doors.

Our Valley of the Sun Pontiacs club has been working closely with the East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT) in promoting their automotive classes (their Mesa campus is also host to our annual Buick, Olds, Pontiac, Cadillac, and GMC Truck show each year). A new school system in the East Valley, called the American Leadership Academy, is now offering a new Customs and Restoration class at its Mesa campus as part of the Automotive Academy at Applied Technologies High School.

The first-year program has attracted 134 students for the 2024-25 school year. Donny Lofstrom, a former teacher at EVIT who manages the new class with two other instructors, says his students are interested in restorations and custom work on hot rods, trucks, and pony cars from the 1950s, 60s and later.

The students “seem to like both,” Lofstrom said, when asked if they enjoyed working on vintage iron vs. newer cars. “When I brought my ’29 Ford in, or my dad brings in his ’70 Challenger, they say, ‘Oh, that’s cool.’ So, it’s not just about liking lowered Civics.” And his students are now putting some focus on a 1977 Firebird Trans Am (top photo) as part of a restoration project. The original Pontiac 400 block will go back in as part of the project. It needs a complete interior and paint. “With the Trans Am, we are going to start working on patch panels and body next week,” he said in an interview. Lofstrom also has his first car in the shop – a ’54 Chevy (top, left) that is being built as a custom.

The Customs and Restoration class, which goes for 2 hours each day, is an elective as part of the 4-year Automotive Academy program at Applied Technologies. Students must take Automotive 1 in their first year as a prerequisite to get into the Customs and Restoration program, Lofstrom said. Students learn in Automotive 1 the major components of car repair – “bumper to bumper”– such as electrical, brakes, engine repair, etc. before they can enroll in the Customs and Restoration in their sophomore year.

The students also learn how to fabricate body panels. CAD work on building new parts is also on the schedule, Lofstrom said.