The KCAM Art Car Initiative

A car arrives. A year later, it leaves as something else.

On October 17, 2026, a trailer pulls up to Manual Career & Technical Center and a 1993 Chevrolet Corvette C4 rolls out onto the lot. It is not finished, and it is not meant to be. Over the school year that follows, students will take it from where it sits that morning to something Kansas City has not seen before.

That is the Kansas City Automotive Museum Art Car program: students, educators, designers, fabricators and automotive professionals in one shop, turning a real vehicle into work that leaves the building.

Manual Tech students carry the Corvette the entire distance. Research, creative direction, concept development, refinement, and the physical build. They sit inside the decisions that shape the car. How an idea gets researched. How it gets argued for. How it survives a budget and a calendar. How it finally becomes something you can walk around and touch.

What it becomes has not been decided yet. The students decide that, and you can watch them do it.

Manual Tech’s technical education supplies the skill.
Working professionals supply the standard.

Art Car before image; 1993 Corvette C4

Who is in the shop?

As an executive board member of the Kansas City Automotive Museum, Pendulum founder Jonathan O’Neil Cole has been appointed by the board to lead this education initiative in partnership with Kansas City Public Schools, providing creative direction, design mentorship, project identity, communications and coordination for this year’s Art Car.

Manual Tech’s faculty and students work alongside KCAM and a wider network of automotive mentors, fabricators, sponsors and community partners, who come into the shop as the build calls for their expertise.

The Year Ahead

October 17, 2026. The Corvette arrives at Manual with donated parts. It is the last time the public sees it in original condition. The build begins.

Every month after that. We publish the build. Progress from the shop, the decisions behind it, and the students making them, so anyone can follow the car from bare start to finished piece.

Through the school year. Design development, fabrication, performance upgrades, exterior and interior work, detailing, and final refinement, with the students making the calls at every stage.

April 2027. The finished Art Car is unveiled at a second car show, and the promo tour begins. From there the car travels to automotive events, exhibitions and appearances across the community.

Then it sells. The tour ends at auction, and the proceeds go to the Kansas City Automotive Museum’s Art Car programming. This year’s car pays for next year’s students.

What the students leave with:

The Corvette is only half of it. They leave having built a public project as a team, having worked beside professionals in their field, and having followed something they helped decide the whole distance from an idea to a finished object other people travel to see.

The car gets a reveal. The students get a track record.

COME SEE THE CAR

On a Saturday morning in October, a trailer opens on East Truman Road and a 1993 Chevrolet Corvette C4 rolls out onto the pavement. Thirty three years old. Honest miles. Nothing hidden.

This is the only day the public sees it this way.

At noon the morning ends, the Corvette drives into the automotive shop at Manual Career & Technical Center, and the students get to work. The next time most people see that car, it will be April 2027 and it will not look anything like it does now.

Saturday, October 17, 2026
10 AM to 12 PM
Manual Career & Technical Center

1215 E Truman Rd, Kansas City, MO 64106. Get directions or add it to your calendar.

Coming to look? Nothing to register and nothing to buy. The event is free and open to everyone, and this is the only chance to see the Corvette as it stands now, before six months of student work change it for good. The turnout is what tells these students the city is behind them, so bring people. Kid friendly, restrooms on site, refreshments provided, and we go rain or shine.

Want your car in the show? That part is by registration and the field is capped at 36. Details below.

BRING A CAR

The show field holds 36 cars and the lineup is juried. Registering puts your car forward for consideration, it does not reserve a spot. We choose the 36 from the registrations that come in and invite the owners we select, so put your name in early.

You will be asked for your year, make and model and at least one clear photo of the car. The photo is how we choose, so send a good one. Attaching it needs a Google account. Registering is not required to attend, only to show.

Registration closes Saturday, October 10.

Owners selected for the field hear back by 5 PM on Monday, October 12.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

New details as they are confirmed, most recent first.

September 29: Pendulum Studio is bringing a 1986 Porsche 911 Targa

Pendulum Studio is bringing a 1986 Porsche 911 Targa to the sponsor area. The car runs a euro drop with front and rear wheel spacers and a custom sound system, and it still wears its original paint over its original motor. The interior is a custom build by Bobby Schumacher of Vintage Fabrication.

Pendulum Studio is an award winning Kansas City based sports architecture firm. The Targa is owned by Jonathan O’Neil Cole, who serves on the Kansas City Automotive Museum executive board and chairs the museum’s 2026/2027 Art Car Project. It will be on display in the sponsor area alongside the Art Car itself.

Come see it Saturday, October 17, 10 AM to 12 PM at the Manual Career & Technical Center, 1215 E Truman Rd.

September 29: Wrap Effects is bringing a wrapped 2022 Ferrari 812 GTS

Wrap Effects is bringing the heat to the sponsor area with a 2022 Ferrari 812 GTS finished in Inozetek Dynamic paint protection film in Satin Pearl White, wrapped all the way through the door jambs and door shells, with a Competizione stripe added to complete the look. It sits on Avant Garde L91 wheels over Novitec lowering springs, with an SSR race exhaust and an ECU tune behind it.

Wrap Effects is a sponsor of the Art Car project and a Kansas City shop known for premium vehicle wraps, paint protection film and custom upgrades. Be sure to stop by the Wrap Effects tent to see their work up close.

Come see it Saturday, October 17, 10 AM to 12 PM at the Manual Career & Technical Center, 1215 E Truman Rd.

September 28: The first Bobby's Pick is a 1932 Ford 5 Window Coupe

Jason Slover of Pete & Jake's Hot Rod Parts is bringing a 1932 Ford 5 Window Coupe, the first car confirmed for Bobby's Picks. Big block Chevy, four speed, quick change rear end, black with a full set of flames.

Pete & Jake's is a sponsor of the Art Car project and a long standing name in hot rod chassis and suspension. The coupe parks with the rest of Bobby's Picks beside show car check in.

Come see it Saturday, October 17, 10 AM to 12 PM at the Manual Career & Technical Center, 1215 E Truman Rd.

September 28: Bobby's Picks, a five car section on the show field

Bobby's Picks is a special section of the show field: five cars chosen by Bobby Schumacher, a mix of sponsor cars and personal invitations, parked together at the west end of the lot beside show car check-in. It is marked on the event map.

Bobby owns Vintage Fabrication in Independence, Missouri, and has spent more than thirty years building hot rods, customs and muscle cars. His shop built Bill Paul's 1934 Ford pickup, the California Kid Express, which Goodguys named its 2024 Classic Instruments Street Rod of the Year, one of the top national honors in street rodding. His work is featured regularly in the national hot rod press, and he is known as much for his eye as for his metalwork.

Bobby is also an executive board member of the Kansas City Automotive Museum, the board's designated co lead on the Art Car build, and a sponsor of the project. Vintage Fabrication's 40 ft show tent sits at the west end of the lot on October 17.

September 26: Blackhouse Coffee is pouring at the drop off

Blackhouse Coffee is the official cold brew provider for the drop off. They are bringing Art Car Grind, a cold brew with tasting notes of chocolate, cacao and pomegranate, served free on the lot while supplies last. Find them at @blackhouse_casanegra.

Next Steps

Follow the build. New progress from the shop every month, all the way to the reveal. If you have ever wondered how a car like this actually gets made, this is where you watch it.

Sponsor the build. Parts, materials, services or funding. Sponsors are credited on social media, at the April reveal, on the promo tour, and at the auction that closes it out.

Mentor in the shop. Design, fabrication, performance, upholstery, photography, media. A few hours in front of these students is worth more than you think.

Back the reveal. April 2027 is when this car meets the city. Lead sponsorship is open now. Reach out to join the team.

Cover the story. Press and media can download the media kit or reach Mara Howes at mara.howes@pendulumkc.com.