An assortment of West Coast Customs builds will be open for bidding next month through Mecum Auctions. The five customized rides are from the personal collection of WCC founder Ryan Friedlinghaus, and all proceeds will be donated to charity.
WCC and Mecum have teamed up before, previously joining forces to raise funds for Operation Mend, a healthcare system collaborative established to treat severely wounded Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. Offered during the 2011 Dallas auction was a 2011 Chevrolet Camaro convertible decked out in a blend of camouflage colors. With no reserve, the final hammer price was $333,000.
Hoping for similar success, the recipient organization this time around will be West Coast Customs Academy (WCCA). The nonprofit academy is a qualified 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that provides tuition-free curriculum and custom automotive training. The WCCA offers two 12-week courses (spring and fall), and is open to prospective applicants ages 18 through 23 who reside in the Los Angeles area.
Having already graduated three classes of up-and-coming vehicle customizers, one of the auction vehicles—a 1997 Toyota 4Runner—was built by the WCCA’s class of 2024. The vehicle features a flame-and-pinstripe paint job and is equipped with a custom air suspension and 18-inch billet wheels. It’s funny to think that it was built recently; it has a decidedly old-school look. Take a swipe through these slides to see some details:
The other vehicles are a street-legal 2022 Toyota Camry race car done up by pro driver Tyler Reddick and 23XI Racing, a 2006 Dodge Charger converted to be a two-door (pretty cool to see a couple of years before the Challenger came out), a Darth Vader-themed 2012 Volkswagen Passat (probably the least exciting), and a 2018 Polaris Slingshot doing its best impersonation of the starship Discovery from the Star Trek show by the same name (easily the wackiest of the whole fleet).
There is no reserve on the West Coast Customs Collection vehicles, all of which will cross the auction block at Dan Mecum’s 38th Original Spring Classic in May. The Indianapolis auction also features a rare Ford GT40 Roadster (chassis GT/109), which we highlighted earlier this month.