Teen mechanics gear up for motor showdown

Nothing.

Beside him, Anthony Perron of Scarborough sat impatiently, suggesting possible scenarios.

A third turn of the ignition switch flashed a code on the scan tool: a malfunction in the evaporative emissions purge solenoid, which transfers gas fumes to the engine rather than the atmosphere.

That was the problem, but the recent graduates of the Westbrook Regional Vocational Center would have to do additional tests to determine the cause and the way to repair it.

The scenario was just a test that instructor Carter Waldren put together, the kind of challenge the teenagers will face next week at the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills national competition in Dearborn, Mich.

Beeler and Perron won the Maine championship last month, first winning an online competition to become one of 10 teams competing for the title. They finished first in the competition held May 14 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H., with a perfect score.

That competition -- and the one in Michigan -- involve more than diagnosing and fixing a problem under intense time pressure.

The real challenge is to be precise.

The car must be restored to factory condition. That means no plastic clips broken, no screws left out, no trim out of place.

Where Beeler is a soft-spoken whiz with a scan tool and a wiring diagram, Perron is anxious to have his hands in the guts of the machine, working out the bugs.

Perron learned simple jobs like changing oil and brakes from his father, a master mechanic, when he was just 11 or 12. Beeler grew up around snowmobiles and dirt bikes, and the repairs that go with them.

Both graduated from the vocational center last month, and both have landed jobs in their field.

Perron applied to Rowe Ford the day after he won the state competition and has been offered a position. Beeler works for Ossipee Trail Motor Sales in Gorham.

Both credit the automotive program in Westbrook for teaching them the complex skills needed to figure out and fix a wide variety of mechanical and electrical problems.

They are excited about the trip to Michigan, as much for the opportunity to visit the car and truck mecca as for the chance to compete.

Perron is looking forward to watching the Detroit Tigers play; he has never been to a major league game. Beeler is eager to tour the Henry Ford Museum. They also will get to tour the River Rouge Plant in Dearborn, where the F150 is made.

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