Tag Archives: classic cars

Excalibur 35X

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1965 Excalibur 35X

Offered by Oldtimer Galerie | Zurich, Switzerland | June 13-14, 2015

Photo - Oldtimer Galerie

Photo – Oldtimer Galerie

Excalibur is a name that shouldn’t be wholly unfamiliar to car guy types as it was the brand of car that sort of founded the Neoclassic movement. The original car was designed by Brooks Stevens and was a Mercedes SSK replica built for Studebaker. But Studebaker went under and Stevens set out on his own to build the Excalibur – for more than 10 years.

But this isn’t the SSK replica. It should look vaguely Bugatti-ish as it was designed by Stevens and Guy Storr to resemble the Bugatti Type 35. They built a handful (27 to be exact) of these based on Opel Commodore running gear. That means it has a 2.5-liter straight-six under the hood making somewhere from 113-148 horsepower. The cars were actually assembled by Michelotti in Turin.

The first Opel Commodore wasn’t introduced until 1967 and various sources list various dates for the limited production Excalibur 35X (ranging from the mid-1960s to the late-1970s but in all likelihood from 1965-1969). In any case, these Bugatti-esque Excaliburs are dwarfed in number by the SSK models – many more of those were built over a longer period of time. So it’s not hard to believe that there is very little info out there on these. At any rate, this is expected to bring between $65,000-$75,000 at auction. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Sorrell SR-100

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1954 Sorrell-Manning Special

Offered by Auctions America | Santa Monica, California | July 18, 2015

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

Sorrell Engineering was a company based in Inglewood, California, in the 1950s and 1960s. Run by Bob Sorrell and his father, they fabricated bodies for a variety of different automobiles – all types of racing cars and even some show cars and customs.

Bob designed a sleek fiberglass body in 1953 that he fitted to a Kurtis Kraft chassis. He called it the SR-100 and he actually ended up building seven of them for customers. But the final one, this one, never made it into a customer’s hands. The chassis was built by Chuck Manning, an aerospace engineer who built customs and racing specials on the side.

Sorrell retained this car until his passing in 2003, despite numerous offers to buy. The car was restored by the current owners and is powered by a Chrysler Hemi V-8, which the whole body lifts up – funny car-style – to reveal. This car is known as the Sorrell-Manning Special, but it is also known as a 1954 Sorrell SR-100. It is expected to sell for between $175,000-$225,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $125,000.

Delaney Delta

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1954 Delaney Delta

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | June 14, 2015

Photo - Osenat

Photo – Osenat

Delaney Gallay, still in business as Gallay Ltd, traces its roots back to Jean Gallay in Switzerland in 1911. The Delaney family joined the company (or bought it, or something) at some point and it moved to the north of London. The company has built car parts for a long time and still manufactures bits and pieces for companies like Caterpillar, McLaren, and BAE.

Eric Delaney was part of Delaney Gallay and he built the above car. He had a chassis built by John Griffiths and attached a 1.2-liter Ford straight-four. The hand-fabricated aluminium body work was built at Delaney Gallay.

Delaney raced the car for a few years before letting it sit. It was sold in 1970 and rediscovered in the 80s. A small restoration was carried out to repair what was needed and at that time, the car was green. It has since been stripped to bare aluminium and is race ready. It’s the only one like it anywhere and it could be yours. Click here for more info and here for the rest of this sale’s lineup.

Update: Not sold.

Enfield Electric

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1974 Enfield 8000

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | June 10, 2015

Photo - Brightwells

Photo – Brightwells

We’ve featured a lot of microcars on this site – but not this one. Enfield is a name that goes back a long way in British automobiledom. Royal Enfield built fantastic motorcycles prior to WWII. But this brand is not related to that one at all.

This company, Enfield Automotive, was founded in the 1960s in the U.K. It moved to Greece in 1973, but the cars were still built on the Isle of Wight. Many of this cars’ parts were from or based on readily available cars of the time, such as the Mini and Hillman Imp. The body is aluminium and it is powered by an eight horsepower electric motor.

There are two seats and this one looks to need a little work (it’s probably not a driver). It had a top speed of between 48 mph and a range of around 40  miles. Only 120 of these were built between 1973 and 1977. It’s tiny – but if you want an electric car project, here you go. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $5,400.

Bruneau Quadricycle

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1899 Bruneau Quadricycle

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | June 14, 2015

Photo - Osenat
Photo – Osenat

Bruneau is a very rare manufacturer of early motorcycles, tricycles, and but a handful of quadricycles. Based in Tours, France, very little is known about this marque other than where they were located and what they built. The company existed as early as 1899 and lasted at least up until the outbreak of WWI.

This car is powered by the ubiquitous De Dion single-cylinder engine and features a vis-à-vis seating arrangement. The family of the original owner of this vehicle sold it to the current owner in the 1960s. This is a two-owner car from 1899. It is thought only three of these were built and this is the only one left. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $45,600.

Update: Sold, Bonhams London-to-Brighton 2019, $53,617.

Phébus Quadricycle

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1901 Phébus Quadricycle

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | June 14, 2015

Photo - Osenat
Photo – Osenat

Noé Boyer was the director of a branch of Clément-Gladiator – Noé Boyer et Cie – and it would appear that his company built eerily similar quadricycles as those that Clément was putting out. It’s got a bicycle seat in the rear for the driver and the passenger sits in the compartment out front… to act as both windshield and front bumper.

This is powered by a single-cylinder De Dion engine. Phébus built quadricycles up to 1903, when they stopped producing vehicles altogether. But at the same time these primitive cars were on sale, the company was also selling the more traditional Phébus-Aster. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $59,280.

Clément Tricycle

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1902 Clément Tricycle

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | June 14, 2015

Photo - Osenat

Photo – Osenat

Clément is a fairly well-known brand among early automobiles. We’ve documented the tangled history of some of Adolphe Clément-Bayard’s companies before and this is kind of a different branch. He founded Clément cycles in 1878 to build bicycles. Motorized bicycles and tricycles came in 1902 after he merged with Gladiator.

This tricycle is powered by a single-cylinder De Dion engine and it is a runner. Use it in the next London-to-Brighton run, if you wish. Clément Cycles morphed into part of Clément-Bayard in 1903 and vehicles like this pretty much disappeared from the automotive landscape shortly thereafter. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $39,900.

Three Turn-of-the-Century Cars

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Three Veteran Automobiles

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | June 14, 2015

1899 Bruneau Quadricycle

Photo - Osenat

Photo – Osenat

Bruneau is a very rare manufacturer of early motorcycles, tricycles, and but a handful of quadricycles. Based in Tours, France, very little is known about this marque other than where they were located and what they built. The company existed as early as 1899 and lasted at least up until the outbreak of WWI.

This car is powered by the ubiquitous De Dion single-cylinder engine and features a vis-à-vis seating arrangement. The family of the original owner of this vehicle sold it to the current owner in the 1960s. This is a two-owner car from 1899. It is thought only three of these were built and this is the only one left. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $45,600.

1901 Phébus Quadricycle

Photo - Osenat

Photo – Osenat

Noé Boyer was the director of a branch of Clément-Gladiator – Noé Boyer et Cie – and it would appear that his company built eerily similar quadricycles as those that Clément was putting out. It’s got a bicycle seat in the rear for the driver and the passenger sits in the compartment out front… to act as both windshield and front bumper.

This is powered by a single-cylinder De Dion engine. Phébus built quadricycles up to 1903, when they stopped producing vehicles altogether. But at the same time these primitive cars were on sale, the company was also selling the more traditional Phébus-Aster. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $59,280.

1902 Clément Tricycle

Photo - Osenat

Photo – Osenat

Clément is a fairly well-known brand among early automobiles. We’ve documented the tangled history of some of Adolphe Clément-Bayard’s companies before and this is kind of a different branch. He founded Clément cycles in 1878 to build bicycles. Motorized bicycles and tricycles came in 1902 after he merged with Gladiator.

This tricycle is powered by a single-cylinder De Dion engine and it is a runner. Use it in the next London-to-Brighton run, if you wish. Clément Cycles morphed into part of Clément-Bayard in 1903 and vehicles like this pretty much disappeared from the automotive landscape shortly thereafter. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $39,900.

1972 AAR Eagle

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1972 AAR Eagle 7200

Offered by Motostalgia | Indianapolis, Indiana | June 12, 2015

Photo - Motostalgia

Photo – Motostalgia

Dan Gurney’s All American Racers (AAR) built some amazing Indy cars an F1 racers back in the day. This STP-liveried Indy Car looks amazing – and it’s not just the paint job. It represents classic Indy style. To borrow the old cliché, It looks like it’s going 200 mph just sitting there.

The engine is a turbocharged 2.6-liter Drake-Offenhauser straight-four making 750 horsepower. That is more than today’s Indy Cars. This particular car notched three wins with Wally Dallenbach in 1973 and it’s Indy history includes:

  • 1973 Indy 500 – 16th (with Graham McRae)
  • 1974 Indy 500 – 13th, DNF (with Bill Simpson)
  • 1975 Indy 500 – DNQ (with George Follmer)
  • 1976 Indy 500 – 23rd (with Billy Scott)
  • 1977 Indy 500 – DNQ (with John Martin)
  • 1978 Indy 500 – DNQ (with John Martin)
  • 1979 Indy 500 – DNQ (with Billy Scott)

Interestingly, this was also the very car that Roger Mears made his Indy Car debut in, finishing 6th at California in 1978. In total, 29 of these 7200s were built. This one has been completely restored and has been on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum and the Riverside International Automotive Museum. It sold at an RM sale last August for $341,000 and is offered now with an estimate between $375,000-$435,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Datsun 1600 Roadster

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1970 Datsun 1600 Roadster

Offered by Mecum | Seattle, Washington | June 5-6, 2015

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

Some old Japanese cars are becoming very collectible. But then there are those that even Joe Car Guy car afford – and that’s what this is. Generally, there aren’t Japanese cars from before about 1960, so the hottest ones right now are from the late ’60s and early ’70s.

The Datsun 1600 was marketed as the Datsun Fairlady 1600 in its home market of Japan. Fairlady was (and still is) not a term that Nissan has really ever used on export models. The 1600 was built between 1965 and the beginning of 1970, making this a very late example. It is powered by a 1.6-liter straight-four making 95 horsepower. And it’s pretty light.

This car is actually very nice and is claimed to have 59,610 original miles, which seems hard to prove. It has great Minilite-style wheels, chrome bumpers, and driving lights. Think of this as a less-common MGB. It’s light and fairly quick. It would be a lot of fun. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Mecum’s auction lineup.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $12,000.