Budding mechanics at a local college proved they had the right formula when building a kit car from scratch.

Herts Advertiser: Students at Oaklands College in St Albans build their very own kit carStudents at Oaklands College in St Albans build their very own kit car (Image: photo supplied)

Oaklands College pupils recently had the chance to strip down a donated Mazda MX-5 and refurbish the parts to use in the Westfield kit car.

It took around six months to complete, with their efforts getting the thumbs-up from St Albans-based businesses which donated parts for free.

These included refurbished wheels from Gold Crest Motors of Camp Road, R-Tec at Lyon Way which supplied the induction kit and steering wheel, while engine parts were donated by Bennetts Motor Factors of Ashley Road.

Steven Hodges, director at Gold Crest, said the garage was happy to help, particularly as one of his apprentices was a former Oaklands student.

He added: “We are hoping to take on more apprentices in future, and we always want to work with local people as it is good to develop new staff who want to learn the trade.

“It looks like they have done a good job on the car.”

A spokesman for R-Tec added: “It was a pleasure working with the students and helping a local college.”

Simon Darley, co-ordinator of Oaklands’ motor vehicle department, said: “We wanted to do something different with the students that we haven’t done before.

“We thought it would be a good project as not all colleges have the opportunity to do this.

“The idea was to broaden their experience and teach them essential skills used in the trade, as well as being an exciting and motivating project.”