The Piston Foundation will be hosting an auction in partnership with the Bring a Trailer platform to benefit the group’s Cars for Piston Scholars campaign, the organizations announced.
The partners previously auctioned the famous “Gimlet Z” – a lime-yellow 1973 Datsun 240Z donated by Bring a Trailer.
Beginning on July 12, the second Cars for Piston Scholars charity auction will feature a 1960 Willys Wagon, donated by Adam Pitale of Adam’s Polishes. Bidding will end on July 19, at 1:45 p.m. ET.
The proceeds from the sale will go directly to tech-school scholarships for aspiring collector car technicians, the foundation said. Additionally, Bring a Trailer will donate its buyer’s fee to the scholarship program, the company said.
The initial Cars for Piston Scholars auction earned The Piston Foundation a grand total of $135,753 – enough to create scholarships for 27 aspiring technicians. The Foundation’s goal for 2023 is to award 50 scholarships. Ten scholarships were awarded in 2022.
The classic 1960 Willys Wagon is finished in DOT Yellow over a brown leather with wooden floor slats. The drivetrain includes a F134 inline four-cylinder engine, a three-speed manual transmission, and a dual-speed transfer case. It has been restored with new paint, a reupholstered interior, new gauges, and more. In 1960, only 1,175 of these four-cylinder Wagons were produced, making this survivor considerably rarer than other vintage off-roaders, the foundation said.
“I buy and sell cars on Bring a Trailer all the time,” said Pitale. “And I have a tremendous amount of respect for what The Piston Foundation is doing. I’m just thrilled to death to be involved with something that’s going to help kids get to do what their passion is for a living, and to support the program. I give a thumbs-up to both Bring a Trailer and the Piston Foundation. I think it’s just like the perfect circle.”
“We are proud of our association with Bring a Trailer and their contributions to the Cars for Piston Scholars campaign,” said Jeff Mason, president and COO of the Piston Foundation. “The support of industry leaders like BaT and Adam’s Polishes is essential for our mission of building a new and diverse generation of tradespeople in the collector car industry to solve the skilled labor shortage. We’re inviting the whole collector car industry to be a part of this effort.”
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