[pics & vid] Today! SEMA High School Jeep Builds and Auction

BRINGING STUDENTS INTO THE AUTOMOTIVE SPOTLIGHT

The Specialty Equipment Marketing Association SEMA has stepped up to engage high school students in the automotive industry.

Bidding starts today, July 15th ! The auction will start live today with the Santa Fe build, adding one vehicle per day for five days. Each Jeep will be live for bidding for seven days following its launch date.

As part of SEMA’s High School Vehicle Build Program, each vehicle was customized by high school students working with industry volunteers and manufacturers. Sales from the vehicles will be used to fund future student projects, thereby creating a sustainable and growing program that provides students with real-world, hands-on educational experiences.

According to our friends at SEMA:

Five high school auto shop programs across the country participated in the SEMA High School Vehicle Build Program by customizing five Jeep Wrangler TJ’s during the 2019 spring semester. The program aims to introduce high school students to the automotive customization hobby and lifestyle through real-world, hands on educational experiences.

The program notably generates support from aftermarket industry companies who support the builds through product donations and scheduled visits to the schools to perform product demos or talk about the industry with the students. The 2019 Jeep Wrangler TJ’s were sponsored by 32 companies who donated 220 products to the program.

The five builds were funded in part from money raised from a pilot program the previous year. The program which debuted in the 2017-‘18 school year included one vehicle that sold for more than $56,000. The proceeds were used to successfully expand the program to include five high schools in 2018-2019.

“We didn’t know what to expect during our first year,” said Zane Clark, SEMA senior director of education. “But we’re encouraged and excited that we were able to expand and grow the program. We’re anxious and hoping that the community will see the positive results that came from the pilot program, and that they will come out and support the program again this year.”

Bids will be accepted for the vehicles beginning July 15 through BringaTrailer.com. SEMA is calling it the SEMA Week of Customs.

The auction schedule is as follows:

• July 15—2005 Jeep Wrangler customized by the Santa Fe Early College Opportunities (ECO) in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Vehicle features a vented hood, trail doors, a 3/5-inch suspension kit with a 5-inch stretch from Rock Krawler Suspension and a full body repaint.

• July 16—2004 Jeep Wrangler customized by the Comstock High School auto shop in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The only Jeep in the program with a hard top, this vehicle includes a roof rack form Just Jeep ‘N Stuff, LED headlights, full carpet replacement, bumpers, tire carrier and rock sliders from JcrOffroad, 4-inch Skyjacker suspension kit and a fresh coat of paint.

• July 17—2002 Jeep Wrangler customized by C.D. Hylton High School in Woodbridge, Virginia. Features include a frame-off restoration with a painted chassis, extensive under-hood improvements, full body repaint, new windshield from Safelite, front door weatherstrip from Steele Rubber Products, new hood from LQK/Keystone and a Rancho Suspension 3.5-inch short arm suspension kit.

• July 18—1997 Jeep Wrangler customized by Santa Ynez Valley Union High School in Santa Ynez, California. Vehicle includes 37-inch Atturo Off-Road Tires with Black Rock Wheels, Rugged Ridges products, T-REX grille, Superlift Suspension 4-inch lift kit and LLumar window tint.

• July 19—2004 Jeep Wrangler customized by R.L. Turner High School in Carrollton, Texas. Vehicle features winch and front bumper donated by Collins Bro’s Jeep, as well as custom seat belts from Seatbelt Planet, wheels from Rolling Big Power, and a trail rocker from Painless Performance.

For more details about the program and the vehicles, visit www.sema.org/student-builds or contact SEMA Youth Engagement Programs Manager Katie Hurst at [email protected].

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