January 13, 2012
Posted By : Barrett-Jackson

Where Horsepower Meets Hope

Where Horsepower Meets Hope

January 13, 2012
Posted by Barrett-Jackson

Galpin Motors, “Galpinizing” and Galpin Auto Sports

Galpin Motors, “Galpinizing” and Galpin Auto Sports

“We at Barrett-Jackson are proud to be part of the SPX effort to fulfill St. Jude founder Danny Thomas’ dream that no child should ever die in the dawn of life. It has personally been an honor and privilege to be involved with SPX in raising funds for St. Jude to help find cures to save children’s lives and create a magic moment on the Barrett-Jackson auction block where ‘horsepower really does meet hope.’”
— Gary Bennett, vice president of consignment, Barrett-Jackson Auction Company.

SPX commissioned this “one of a kind” Ford Mustang — created in collaboration with Ford Racing and the amazing craftsmen at Galpin Auto Sports — for charity auction at Barrett-Jackson’s January 2012 Scottsdale event. All proceeds will be donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Founded in 1962 in Memphis, Tenn., by the late entertainer Danny Thomas, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital treats children with cancer and other catastrophic childhood diseases. At this internationally recognized non-profit hospital and research center, families do not have to pay for treatment not covered by insurance, and no child is denied treatment because of inability to pay.

SPX is a Charlotte-based, Fortune 500 multi-industry manufacturer with operations in more than 35 countries. SPX’s highly engineered solutions support three critical needs around the world: electricity, processed foods and beverages, and vehicle service.

SPX has a history of supporting St. Jude with the help of Barrett-Jackson. “St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is a wonderful organization that does amazing work. Over the past two years, we’ve worked with Barrett-Jackson to raise more than $450,000 toward St. Jude’s fundraising efforts, and we look forward to adding to that sum with this year’s auction,” commented Chris Kearney, chairman, president and CEO of SPX.

The 1969 Ford BOSS 429 Mustang inspired this year’s effort, said Dave Kowalski, vice president of SPX. “SPX wanted to blend modern technology and capture the stealthy essence of the 60s muscle cars.” It seems that 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords magazine and Rides Magazine both agree SPX achieved their goals; each magazine featured the SPX/St. Jude Mustang on their covers.

Earlier this year when SPX Corporation commissioned Galpin to build a special one-off wide-body Mustang benefitting the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, it was a natural fit. Galpin Auto Sports (GAS) and its parent company Galpin Motors have a long history of customizing cars and contributing to philanthropic efforts.

Located in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, Galpin Motors has established a dealer group that includes 10 separate franchises and is home to the number one volume Ford dealership in the world for the past 22 consecutive years, the number one Jaguar dealership in the United States, as well as the number one Lincoln and Mazda dealerships in the Western United States.

With more than 50 years of customizing experience, Galpin Motors and its custom division GAS certainly have their fair share of experience to draw upon to create and build a special Mustang for SPX.

In the 65 years since Galpin opened its doors, the dealer has grown from a three-car Ford showroom to become one of the best known and recognized dealer groups in the nation, representing 10 separate manufacturers at locations in Los Angeles and Santa Clarita providing retail, fleet, commercial and rental solutions to fit just about any customer’s automotive needs.

With more than half a century of customizing expertise, the dealer was responsible for several firsts within the industry and was instrumental in bringing now commonplace concepts to market. Galpin’s first customized car, a new 1952 Ford convertible, appeared on the cover of Motor Trend in June, 1953. With this vehicle Galpin ushered in a long history of vehicle customizing.

GAS’ Jaguar XJ-75 concept car was commissioned by the manufacturer and was displayed on the concept lawn at the 2010 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

Galpin brought the sunroof to America, perfected the hardtop convertible and established a cottage business with the introduction of the first conversion vans in the 1960s. The vans were so popular that the “Galpinized” creations sold more than 150 units per month in their heyday. In addition to the sunroof, the hardtop convertible and the conversion van, Galpin has built even wilder creations: a 1966 Rumble Seat Mustang, a Gucci Thunderbird with matching luggage and even a four-engined Mach IV Mustang. More recently, GAS was commissioned to build a concept version of the Jaguar XJ, dubbed the XJ-75, in celebration of the manufacturer’s 75th anniversary.

With an increased emphasis on “Galpinizing,” Galpin Auto Sports (GAS) was founded in 2006. The brainchild of Beau Boeckmann, vice president of Galpin Motors and son of Galpin’s owner and president Bert Boeckmann, GAS was established to provide an independent in-house shop that could customize, modify or hand-fabricate anything a customer might desire — for any vehicle, modern or classic — and deliver it anywhere in the world. With 10 new vehicle franchises in the Galpin Motors portfolio, clients have the ability to purchase a new car and have custom work completed in one location, making for a convenient one-stop shopping experience. GAS can also accommodate clients who purchase vehicles at dealerships outside of the Galpin family by having cars shipped to its shop for custom work and shipped directly to the client once work is completed.

Under the mantra “if you can dream it, we can build it,” GAS became instantly popular and quickly received the attention of MTV when the network was looking for a new home for its series “Pimp My Ride.” During the 33 episodes the show was filmed at Galpin, the team at GAS created a number of cars above and beyond its normal customer workload that includes clientele across America and internationally, celebrities and even OE manufacturers like Ford, Volvo and Jaguar.

Galpin Philanthropy

When SPX approached Galpin to create a custom car that would benefit charity, there was never any question as to whether GAS would participate. The Boeckmanns and Galpin Motors have remained committed to contributing to the people that have made them the success they are today, both in and outside the greater Los Angeles community.

In 2011, Bert and his wife, Jane Boeckmann, through Galpin Motors and the Boeckmann Charitable Foundation, contributed to more than 300 different charities including the Boy Scouts of America, the Tony Hawk Foundation, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and the YES I CAN Program for Autism Awareness, among others.

One charity of particular importance for Galpin is The Heart Foundation, a non-profit aimed at eradicating heart disease through public education. Each year, Galpin hosts the Galpin Motors Golf Classic, a charity golf tournament that has raised more than $1.5 million dollars to date for the foundation.

Heritage Partners