In Galena, Kansas, the Hometown of Route 66, several students from McPherson College were participating in their “Waffle House Rally”. The event is a small event some of the students participate in from the college and on this particular day, they were on Route 66 in Galena.
At McPherson College in central Kansas, the only four-year bachelor’s degree program in Automotive Restoration Technology in the United States turns out craftspeople who know their way around everything from horseless carriages to muscle cars.
Templeton Hall’s labs cover machining, paint, upholstery, engines, sheet metal, and more. Graduates land in high-end shops, museums, private collections, and auction houses with strong placement rates. The program recently marked its 50th anniversary and is expanding its footprint with a major renovation of Templeton Hall.
What stands out just as much as the classroom work is what the students do when they leave campus. They don’t treat classic cars like museum pieces. They drive them.
One of the clearest examples is the student-organized Phillips 66 Road Rally. Launched by Automotive Restoration student Owen Phillips (an air-cooled enthusiast from North Carolina), the event began around 2025 and continued into its second running in 2026.
The concept is straightforward and pure: pre-1980 vehicles only, drivers with co-pilots, a shared student budget, tools and spare parts carried along, and no fancy support crews or trailers. Just young mechanics, old machines, and thousands of miles of American highway.
In 2026 the group left McPherson, connected with stretches of historic Route 66, pointed west toward Santa Monica and the Pacific, then turned around for the return trip—roughly 3,000–3,400 miles over about 10 days during spring break. Earlier iterations covered similar distances, including a 2,000-mile run toward Holbrook, Arizona.
Vehicles in the mix have included a 1968 Ford F-100, Toyota FJ40, Studebaker, Cadillac, 1930 Model A, 1976 FJ Land Cruiser, and others. A points system rewards daily milestones and photos at designated attractions.
By one report, eight of ten starting vehicles were still running by the time they reached Santa Monica.
The spirit matches something the students themselves have voiced: classic cars are meant to be driven, not just looked at.
Preparing for the inevitable roadside issues means weeks of packing spare parts and thinking through every possible failure point. It is practical education on the road—exactly the kind of experience that builds the next generation of automotive professionals.
The program’s C.A.R.S. Club (College Automotive Restoration Students) adds more of the same energy year-round with car shows, cruises, museum visits, and the big annual Motoring Festival on campus that draws hundreds of vehicles. The hands-on culture is consistent: students restore, they show, and they drive.
McPherson’s Auto Restoration students are already proving they can take old iron far—and the industry needs people who can do exactly that.
Here’s to the next generation of restorers, fabricators, historians, and shop owners. May they go far in the automotive industry.
The Crude Life is a sponsor and supporter of the Route 66 Americana Archive and Frequency 66.
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