Students in the Limestone County Career Technical Center’s automotive services class will be able to learn about and familiarize themselves with the latest Toyota engines before the professionals, thanks to a donation from the company.

Two new 4-cylinder Toyota engines were delivered to the tech center Thursday. Clay Goode, who teaches the class, said it’s a way for his students to get advanced training “above what’s out there.”

“Some people haven’t even gotten to work on these yet, and these students are getting firsthand experience with what’s in these engines, what each part is,” he said.

Toyota previously donated a pair of 6-cylinder engines. Goode said students were able to take them apart, diagnose issues and learn how the engines operate — much like they’ll do with the new 4-cylinder ones.

“These engines show them pretty much the same as far as the parts,” he said. “It’s just new technology. We don’t get new cars pulling in every day to work on.”

The class covers four main service genres — preventive maintenance, suspensions and steering, electrical and brakes. Goode said he tries to create a classroom environment that is similar to what they’ll see in the real world.

“They are technicians when they come in this class,” Goode said. “We do simulated workforce, safety glasses, uniforms, time clocks — stuff like a real job site. Just trying to let them see what it’s like in real life, get them comfortable.”