Car enthusiasts come together as ‘Kendall Custom’ sale helps support families battling childhood cancers

$450,000 ‘Kendall Custom’ sale benefits Curing Kids Cancer

KISSIMMEE, Florida (January 24, 2022)—Closing out an inspiring and emotional two-year build and one-year national tour, The Kendall^® Custom, a 1967 Ford Mustang GT500 Restomod, sold for an extraordinary $450,000 at Mecum Auctions Kissimmee 2022 with 100% of the proceeds benefitting Curing Kids Cancer.

“The Kendall Custom has been a journey,” said Julie Wright, Director of Brand Management at Phillips 66^® Lubricants. “We set out to deliver the Mecum audience a car that exemplifies what Kendall Motor Oil lives by: You Get Out What You Put In^®. This project had a lot of passion behind it and, more importantly, a ton of heart.”

The heart, sweat and countless hours of more than 20 automotive industry leaders came together to build the car’s state-of-the-art custom exterior and interior with high-quality parts and modernized technology. The labor of love brought bidders from all over the country to meet a common goal—raising funds to help others.

Helping others is exactly why auto enthusiast Jim Walker made the winning six-figure bid and drove off as The Kendall Custom’s new owner. With a collection of about 80 cars, The Kendall Custom, in particular, has a special philanthropic meaning for him.

“I think the charity is the thing that is most meaningful to us,” Walker said. “It is a car we will preserve because it deserves to be preserved. Some of these families are stricken with a terrible situation, and they are financially strapped. Their focus should be on taking care of their families and not on worrying about the financial side of it.”

All proceeds from the sale of The Kendall Custom go to Curing Kids Cancer—a Georgia-based nonprofit that has raised more than $20 million to fund research and find a cure for pediatric cancers.

“The Kendall Custom represents the possibility of curing so many children,” said Curing Kids Cancer Co-founder and President Grainne Owen. “Having started this charity because of my little boy, I know the support would make him so happy. To raise this much money is a huge milestone, and I will never forget it.”

Mecum Auctions spent the past year showing The Kendall Custom to hundreds of thousands of potential bidders at its auctions across the country. With the collector’s item showcased along with a vast array of elite cars, Mecum was able to break a world record for overall sales at Kissimmee 2022.

“All of the money was in the room to support Curing Kids Cancer,” said Jef Niedfeldt, Director of Sponsorship and Marketing Partnerships for Mecum Auctions. “This was the perfect place to sell The Kendall Custom after it was on tour all year.”

Knowing the goal was to help save lives, the build process had even more passion and was more meticulous than a custom car build is, taking more than two years to complete. Led by a SEMA award-winning team, Thompson Street Customs, everyone knew every detail, design and feature had to be perfect and unique.

“When this project started, it was a chance for us to exhibit what Kendall was all about,” Wright said. “We gave the Mecum audience what they wanted to see—a really great car.”

View The Kendall Custom’s journey on Facebook and Instagram and learn more about the car’s creation at TitaniumGarage.com.

About Kendall Motor Oil
Kendall Motor Oil is a premier brand of Phillips 66 Lubricants that enjoys a rich heritage of innovation and industry firsts and operates with a pioneering spirit dating back more than 130 years that remains strong today. Born and bred at the track, Kendall has consistently anticipated and filled the needs of performance-savvy customers with high-quality oils and lubricants. Among Kendall’s industry firsts: the first 2,000-mile motor oil, the first oil designated for winter use, and the first pre-packaged, factory-sealed, one-quart oil can. Today, Kendall offers a full line of automotive, commercial trucking and industrial and small engine oils, as well as greases. Learn more at KendallMotorOil.com.

About Curing Kids Cancer
Just one year after the devastating loss of their 9-year-old son Killian to leukemia, Grainne and Clay Owen founded Curing Kids Cancer in 2005 to celebrate Killian’s life and fund research to find a cure for childhood cancer. Since then, Curing Kids Cancer has raised more than $20 million for childhood cancer and treatments. The mission is to fund innovative research and treatments to find cures for all childhood cancers in our lifetime. Learn more at CuringKidsCancer.org.