Words: John Gunnell

Harry Weimann came to the Iola Car Show (www.iolaoldcarshow.com) to tell more than 125,000 car enthusiasts about WyoTech, a school where Hot Rodding 101 is a required course.

“WyoTech is a post-secondary technical college,” he told Hot Rod Hotline. “We have campuses in Laramie, Wyo., Blairsville, Pa. and Daytona Beach, Fla. The automotive programs are in Wyoming and Pennsylvania.

“In the automotive schools, WyoTech offers what it calls “custom” programs like Street Rod, Custom Fabrication, Chassis Fabrication, Motorsports Chassis Fab, High Performance Power Trains and Trim and Upholstery.”

If you go to school at a WyoTech campus, you go for nine months. You take a six-month core program that will give you 1,000 hours and then you take a three-month elective program. You can customize the three-month program along with your six-month program. At the end of nine months, you’ll have 1,500 hours of learning and can end up with a diploma or an associate’s degree.

Weimann said most students take a couple of additional programs and attend classes for about a year or a year and a half. “We’re one of the only schools in the country that has a hot rod and custom program like that. We teach metal shaping and train students on all of the latest and greatest tools.”

In round figures, a typical student will attend the school for nine months and spend around $30,000 on their education. Housing is available at all the campuses, and after a student finishes the program, the school offers lifetime career placement services to help secure a job. Weimann said that placements in automotive occupations are at almost 100 percent right now because lots of jobs are available.

When you attend WyoTech, all of the tools are available at the school from companies like Snap-On and Lincoln Electric. Students can purchase very high quality Snap-On Tools for 50 percent of the regular retail price. The school shops are equipped with dynos and other exotic devices. Weimann said that WyoTech graduates can make six-figure incomes if they really work hard.