Motor Vehicle fundraiser

Well done to the Doon Academy/Kilmarnock College Motor Vehicle group who raised £85 by washing cars which has enabled them to buy an air drill, air grinder and a compressor to use in their studies.

Car Wash

Pupils in the Doon Academy/Kilmarnock College Motor Vehicle Department have been washing cars to raise money to buy tools and equipment to help them with their studies. Well done to all the pupils who took part in this enterprising initiative.

New Tyre removal machine

S4 pupils undertaking the Doon Academy/Kilmarnock College motor vehicle course will be out on work placements at various garages in the Ayrshire area. Members of the department would like to thank the staff at Arnold Clarke’s Honda Garage in Ayr who have donated a tyre removal machine. This machine is a really useful piece of equipment to assist the pupils with their vehicular studies.

Dalmellington Church

3 rd Year Doon Academy students in the Motor Vehicle and Fabrication Department have been working in the community at Dalmellington parish Church. The students are reinstating the gates and railings after modifications to allow disabled access to the church. Well Done boys for your community involvement.

Dalmellington Chr

3 rd Year Doon Academy students in the Motor Vehicle and Fabrication Department have been working in the community at Dalmellington parish Church. The students are reinstating the gates and railings after modifications to allow disabled access to the church. Well Done boys for your community involvement.

Dog sledging

The Motor Vehicle and Fabrication Department has a world famous new member of staff. Keith Johnstone is 3 times world champion at dog sledge racing. Keith is helping pupils in their current project, which is to fabricate a single dog sledge; this will allow pupils to have the opportunity to try dog musshing. We will keep you posted on their progess!

Mini-motos

The latest challenge undertaken by 3rd year Doon Academy students in the Motor Vehicle and Fabrication Department is a complete overhaul of two mini-motor bikes. The purpose of this task is for the students to understand the basic operating principles of automotive technology. The students will remove engine, brakes, steering and wheels of the bikes until there is only the frame. They will then carry out basic fabrication repairs, paint the frame and then rebuild the bike. It is hoped upon completion the bikes will be tested by our very own Stig (Tom Bone).

New Ramp

Doon Academy and Kilmarnock College Motor Vehicle and Fabrication Department took delivery of their latest addition, a two-poster ramp. The aim of this latest acquisition is to provide the students with an enjoyable, challenging and active learning experience. Over the past few years, funding for these unique programmes have been sourced by the school, which has involved exploring many different opportunities. Other equipment we have includes MIG, TIG and spot welding equipment, machining lathes and a surface grinder. It is hoped that the department can open its doors wider and interest the local community by offering various short evening courses.

New ramp

To start the New Year off on an exciting footing the Doon Academy and Kilmarnock College Motor Vehicle and Fabrication Department have taken delivery of a new two-poster ramp. This will further improve the teaching and practical work of the programme. The students will be able to carry out practical aspects of braking, suspension, and drivelines on donated vehicles from Kilmarnock College. This equipment further enables the students to step closer to a fully recognised engineering certificate through the Institute of the Motor Industry, which we are hoping to have implemented by June 2009.

Motor Vehicle News

As the festive season approaches the students of the Doon Academy and Kilmarnock College Motor Vehicle and Fabrication Department have completed their 6 months projects. They now have a sectioned single point injection, which has been completely overhauled by the students and is now a priceless teaching aid. Finally, the quad bikes rewired and almost back to their original build. The team go-cart engine has now been remounted, tested and will hopefully be in full working order early in the New Year. These projects would not be possible without the assistance of college lecturers Billy Tomlinson and Tom Bone who have a huge input, out with school time, preparing for these tasks.

New Car

Doon Academy has taken delivery of a Vauxhall Vectra 1.8 16 valve petrol estate from Kilmarnock College. The school is delighted to announce that a two-poster lift will be installed before Christmas allowing the students to be involved with basic servicing tasks simulated upon the donated vehicle. It is anticipated by June 2009 that the school and college partnership will be able to offer a formal qualification in engineering disciplines.

Cycle Competition

3 rd Year Doon Academy students in the Motor Vehicle and Fabrication Department have been competing against each other to build a cycle, which must have more than 2 wheels. Designs for this project were downloaded and built by the students with assistance from lecturers Billy Tomlinson and Tom Bone.

Motor Vehicle Project

Doon Academy and Kilmarnock College’s 3rd year Motor Vehicle and Fabrication students have started their next joint project to be completed for Jan 2009. This task involves a complete strip down of an engine and gearbox from a Ford Fiesta. They will then cut away various parts of the engine to gain an insight of how the internal parts of the engine and gearbox operate. The Fabrication Students will build a stand to mount the engine. This task gives the students and opportunity to have a practical task where upon completion they will have an invaluable teaching aid for all groups.

Tough Challenge

The Doon Academy/Kilmarnock College Motor Vehicle Department’s 4th year group have just finished their toughest challenge to date. The task was to align a damaged frame on a Honda 450 Quad Bike. This task included the Fabrication Group under the guidance of college lecturer Billy Tomlinson and Motor Vehicle Groups under college staff Tom Bone and Jim McCubbin. The Motor Vehicle Group completely removed all components from the quad carefully labelled and stored them. When left with the bare frame the fabrication Group straightened and reinforced it to its proper shape. This was then passed onto the Motor Vehicle Group who assembled the Bike to its original condition. This project span over a 6-month period and was a tremendous success of cooperation, problem and team working between both groups and college lecture staff. The Bar Stool Racer and Go-cart are almost completed

Motor Vehicle Dept.

Doon Academy/ Kilmarnock College’s Motor Vehicle Department has taken delivery of two quad bikes and a Vauxhall Vectra for pupils to work on to develop their motor mechanic skills. Vehicle ramps and tyre-changing facilities will be fitted to the base in the near future. For their courses S3 pupils have been given the task of designing a cycle with more than two wheels. They will compete against each other around various designated circuits. S4 pupils have almost completed their 6month project to design a barstool racer. Plans were downloaded from the Internet and, upon completion, the group have to file a report and send photographs to the designer in the U.S.A.