"What is a Shop Chicken" you ask?

A Shop Chicken is the general helper that most buggies shops hire to do the basic jobs, like keeping the shop clean, picking up parts at the store, etc., but also helping the other shop guys if they need help.

If anyone has a kid that is thinking of getting into the buggy industry, have them look for a shop chicken job. It's a great way to learn a lot about how buggies are built. Especially if they are considering a fab school, like the Wizard School, this would give them a good base knowledge.

It will also allow them to figure out if the industry is for them or not. There's no doubt it's hard work building buggy after buggy. But it's fun if you have an interest in buggies. Our current Shop Chicken is great. Very hard worker, learns quick, and does it with enthusiasm. He already knows what all the parts on the car are called and can install or remove all of them with no help. I could see this guy working full-time in the industry if he chooses to after he is done with school. In contrast, our last Shop Chicken quit after a few months. It just wasn't for him. He had no interest in buggies it seemed. Never even wanted to learn. Spent most of his time sweeping floors and airing up tires.

Anyway... after our Shop Chicken stayed past 11pm last night so that we could finish a buggy on time for the customer, it made me think about this topic. Some Shop Chickens are definitely better than others.

I thought it was called a Shop Bitch?

I wanna be shop manager

I think it would be fun to take a vacation and work as a "chicken" for a week just to learn the little tricks that the experienced fabricators know.

I want to be a buggie tester. I have my own tools (helmet and gloves)!

No, that's what they call KG......

That's Mr. Shop Bitch to you.

Back in the late 80s when I was managing a transmission shop in Covina Ca., we had a really good shop chicken named Mark who stayed until he graduated from high school, then he quit and became a shop chicken at Chino Airport's Planes of Fame Warbird Museum where he eventually got his pilot's licence and met and went to work for Steve Hinton, the owner of Warbird Restoration and famous Reno pylon racer. Well now Mark has logged Thousands of hours in Mustangs, Corsairs, AT-6s, Vietnam era jets and other million dollar WW-II planes; He now owns a buisness that takes people on short flights in these cool old planes. I have been on a flight with him in a 1940s SNJ Navy trainer. Some of those "shop chickens" go pretty far!

alot of shop chickens these days are wandering around with their heads cut off

KG, that's very thoughtful of you.


Not too many people stop to appreciate all of the hard work that Mr LV puts in.

snap.....!

around Gecko we have a trailer Biatch and his name is Surf n Sand

You haven't met the little chick KG keeps in the back room.
LATER DON~~~

you mean this one?

Interesting topic. I have been around the valley and buggies in general for over 20 years. I've seen builders come and go. The most intriguing item is the "moving on" of the shop help. Jim Cunningham has trained more guys that have gone on to businesses of their own or bigger things than anyone else I know.

Doug MacDermid is owner of MacDermid Design in Scottsdale. He does structuraland art design as well as one off chopper metal work for Surgical Steel and other chopper shops. He also does one off stuff for UMI Racing, or at least he did 5 years ago.
John Hersberger went to Hollywood and was very instrumental in special effects and vehicles. Then he went back to ASU and got his engineering degree and now he's doing the same special effects thang. This is after he spent a good stint as Robbie Gordons Right seat guy for 2 or 3 years.

The other shop guys was Troy Sutton who is in Yuma and owner of the Chop Shop Custom Painting.

There are several more, but the list is long and very talented.

Carl

[/QUOTE](Carl P)
but the list is long and very talented
[QUOTE]

Just like my johnson

What happened?


Your johnson quit and started a new business on its own?

No, read the last line in Carl post. I guess I shoud have quoted him. Where is that edit button

Looks like I'm going to be a full time QC Inspector and part time "Shop Chicken". As long as I get to know how to build Buggies, that's all that matters to me.

I'll get out of work here at 4 and walk across the parking lot and build Buggies until 11 or 12 if needed.

If you're having fun, you aren't working.