SEMA: Galpin Auto Sports’ vintage Bronco and hot rod on display
LAS VEGAS -- Galpin Auto Sports in Van Nuys brought a range of vehicles to this year’s Specialty Equipment Market Assn. trade show, but two of them stand out.
In front of the the Galpin booth sits a custom baby blue and orange 1966 Ford Bronco. Painted as homage to Ford’s victory at the 1966 Le Mans 24-hour race with the GT40, the Bronco features a modified chassis. The new suspension allows 17-inches of travel in the front and 15-inches of travel in the rear.
The Galpin Bronco is powered by a 540-hp Ford 377-stroker engine and a Hughes auto overdrive transmission. Inside, the Galpin truck is decked out with Cobra Sport seats, custom rear bench seat and Autometer gauges that help make it comfortable and capable.
Photos: Highlights from the 2012 SEMA Show
Galpin President Beau Boeckmann said the truck can hold up both on and off road.
“It’s got a roll cage and everything,” he said. “It hasn’t been taken off road yet because it’s sill nice and pretty, but we’ll get it out there.”
Galpin’s other head-turner is a 1957 Ford Custom 300 Two-Door Post hot rod. Dubbed the Gasser III, the car has a custom-blended gold pearl paint, hand-painted gold and silver leaf graphics and hand-painted decals.
The Ford belongs to Steve Carpenter, Galpin’s head of sales, who plans to use it as an everyday car.
“I don’t want a show car, I want a gasser I can drive,” Carpenter said. “It’s a passion of mine.”
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Under the hood is a 520-hp 331-cubic-inch Ford small block V-8 running through a BorgWarner four-speed transmission.
The interior is finished in hand-stitched diamond-pattern white upholstery, Moon Eyes gauges and chrome roll bar.
Carpenter had always hoped to own a car like this, since he first laid eyes on Big Daddy Roth’s Rat Fink cartoons as a kid. He wanted big wheels in back, small wheels in front and a massive engine burstiing out the hood.
“That’s what this car is,” he said, “a cartoon character on wheels.”
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