SEMA News—February 2013

EVENTS
By Steve Campbell

Auctions Bring in Nearly $57,000 for SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund

Dozens of Sponsors Take Part in Ford Mustang Build and Ed Pink Engine Project

	This ’13 Ford Mustang GT was customized during the SEMA Mustang Build—Powered by Women project in less than two months through the efforts of more than 40 women who volunteered their time and expertise. Cole Lannum placed the winning bid of $46,775, with proceeds going to the SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Two projects have brought nearly $57,000 to the SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund, which is dedicated to fostering the next generation of automotive leaders and innovators. Proceeds from two auctions will help provide assistance to university, college and trade-school students seeking careers in the automotive industry. The SEMA Mustang Build—Powered by Women and a custom engine to be built by Ed Pink Racing Engines were sold on eBay through Auction Cause, with parts and labor supplied by dozens of automotive businesses.

The SEMA Mustang Build—Powered by Women was covered extensively in consumer media. The ’13 Mustang GT—now known as “High Gear”—was customized in less than two months through the efforts of more than 40 women who volunteered their time and expertise. The SEMA Businesswomen’s Network created the project to highlight the talents of women working in automobile businesses, and they were given maximum support by Ford Motor Co., which donated the stock vehicle, Source Interlink Media, which hosted much of the modification work at its headquarters in El Segundo, California, and nearly 40 specialty-equipment companies that provided components (see “SEMA Mustang Build Sponsors” sidebar).

Cole Lannum, who works in finance for a large health-care company, placed the winning bid of $46,775. He doesn’t consider himself an enthusiast, but he loves cars just the same—especially the Mustang.

“Despite all the press the buildup got, I found out about it only because I follow Auction Cause,” he said. “As soon as I saw the Mustang, before I had any idea of the story behind it, I just fell in love with the car. When I looked deeper and saw what had been done, all the effort that went into it, all the people who were involved and all the work the women did, it really blew me away. The more I looked at it, the more impressed I was and the more excited I became about the car.”

	The ’13 Mustang GT made national headlines during the summer of 2012 when more than 40 women volunteered their time and expertise to customize the vehicle in less than two months. The “High Gear” team poses here with the Mustang at the 2012 SEMA Show.

Lannum said that the reason he follows Auction Cause is its work with charities. When he found that the car’s whole purpose was to help the SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund, that was the icing on the cake.

“The car is obviously unique,” he said, “but you can’t beat the fact that the auction also helps the fund.”

The winner of the Ed Pink engine auction was equally adamant about the proceeds going to the SEMA Scholarship Fund, noting that he is himself a 1984 graduate of the Wyoming Tech automotive trade school.

Rodney Johnson and his brother run the family marine business, which handles tie-ups and hose connections for ships that onload and offload oil at the docks around Martinez and Benicia, California. Johnson has been into cars his entire life and found out about the engine auction because he follows SEMA on Facebook. He read a notice and then went to eBay to track the auction, placing a bid fairly early and then outbidding a competitor to take the prize for $10,202. Ed Pink Racing Engines of Van Nuys, California, will build the small-block Chevy to Johnson’s specifications, and the package included a trip to the 2012 PRI Show in Florida.

“I knew that the parts would be worth more than what the current bid was,” he said, “and it turned into of those deals that you just can’t pass up. After I won, I went to the PRI Show and talked with Ed Pink and Frank Honsowetz [Pink’s general manager] for about an hour. I’ve been building a ’55 Chevy for my dad for about 10 years, and that’s where the engine will go.”

	Auction winner Rod Johnson with a Pink Racing Engine similar to the one that will be custom-built for his project Chevy.
	Rod Johnson (from left), winner of the 2012 SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund engine auction, talked with Ed Pink and Ed Pink Racing Engines GM Frank Honsowetz at the 2012 PRI Trade Show about how his engine will be built. Johnson’s winning bid was $10,202.
	Aside from helping the engine to make substantially more power, the Edelbrock supercharger on the High Gear Mustang has been signed by Vic Edelbrock himself.

The truck will essentially be a street rod, Johnson said. It is already equipped with air-ride suspension, suicide doors and a smoothed body.

“My dad will drive it,” Johnson said, “so we wanted the engine to be very reliable but with as much power as they could build into it. We figured it would displace about 383–388 ci and put out about 475 hp.”

Twenty SEMA-member firms were slated to participate in the engine build. Components were to be provided by ARP, ATI, Champion, Clevite, COMP Cams, Dart Machinery, Edelbrock, FAST, Fel-Pro, Hedman Hedders, Joe Gibbs Driven, Mahle, Manley Performance, March, Milodon, Moroso, Power Master, Scat, Speed Pro and Total Seal.

The sponsors of the auctions and other fundraising efforts over the years have allowed the Memorial Scholarship Fund to distribute more than $1.5 million to students involved in automotive curricula.

SEMA Mustang Build Sponsors