International Charette

1901 International Charette Double Phaeton

Offered by RM Auctions | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 9, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

Here’s a strange one. Most car people, when they see the brand name “International,” think of the famous International Harvester Company, which did indeed build cars prior to WWI. But this International is actually from London. The company (the International Motor Car Company) was founded in 1898 and lasted through 1904.

They didn’t actually build their own cars – instead, farmed out the construction of them to other companies, only to sell them under their own brand name. Anyone remember when Saturn was going out of business and Roger Penske wanted to buy it and run the company in a similar fashion? That is, until GM said “Uhhh, don’t think so.”

Anyway, this car was built by Allard & Co. (no, not that Allard) in Coventry and uses a six horsepower 823cc single-cylinder engine. It was restored by the original purchasing family in the 1960s and needs a slight freshening to be road-worthy. You can get started here soon, for the cost of $70,000-$100,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this awesome sale.

Update: Sold $77,000.

Another Batch of Military Vehicles

The Littlefield Collection

Offered by Auctions America | Portola Valley, California | July 11-12, 2014


 1942 Cadillac M5 Stuart

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

Labeling this as a Cadillac might be a little misleading, but Cadillac did build it – so why shouldn’t they get the credit? The M5 was a version of the M3 Stuart – one of the most popular light tanks of the Second World War. General Motors was behind it and the M5 was basically an M3 with upgraded armor.

In all, 2,074 M5s were built – only 1,470 were built by Cadillac in Michigan. This tank has been given a new engine and fresh restoration. It runs and drives wonderfully and is usable. The engines are twin 8-cylinders from Cadillac making a combined output of 220 horsepower. It can do 36 mph and be yours for $100,00-$150,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $310,500.


ca.1975 Panhard M3

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

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M5 Half-Track

1943 International M5 Half-Track

Offered by Auctions America | Portola Valley, California | July 11-12, 2014

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

Apparently, it’s the day of “vehicles that begin with “M” and are followed by a number”. The M5 Half-Track is very similar to the M3 Half-Track (of which we’ve featured an example). The M5 was built by the International Harvester Corporation and had heavier armor than the M3 and a different engine – in this case, a 7.4-liter engine. But this particular vehicle was used by Israel after the war and they replaced the engine with the current six-cylinder GM diesel making 212 horsepower.

Only 4,625 M5s were built between 1942 and 1943. Israel used them into the mid-1980s. You can buy this driving example for $35,000-$45,000. Read more here.

Update: Sold $31,625.

More Awesome Classic Commercial Vehicles

The Michael Banfield Collection

Offered by Bonhams | Staplehurst, U.K. | June 14, 2014


 1922 AEC S-Type Open Top Double Deck Bus

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

AEC is known as the double-decker bus company. Their Routemaster double-decker is one of the most famous of the type. But their double-deckers go back to before WWI. The S-Type was built between 1920 and 1927, with 849 (double-deckers) built for the London General Omnibus Company – for which this example was built.

The engine is a 35 horsepower 5.1-liter straight-four and it is said that this was as good as public transport got in London back in the day. It can transport up to 54 people – 26 inside and 28 up top in the weather.

This is thought to be one of only two S-Type double-deckers in existence. And it had a really cool story, which you can read more of here. The price? $130,000-$150,000.

Update: Sold $477,481.


1914 Hallford WD

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

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1929 Chevrolet Bus

1929 Chevrolet LQ International 14-Seater Coach by Bush & Twiddy

Offered by Bonhams | Staplehurst, U.K. | June 14, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

This Chevrolet is a British Chevrolet and a precursor to the Bedford marque (which would be GM’s British commercial vehicle marque the year after this was built). What’s the coolest thing about this 14-passenger bus? Yes, that’s a convertible roof you see. How sweet.

The engine is a 2.9-liter straight-six. Michael Banfield bought this for £25 in the early 1960s and restored it in 1962-63. It’s been used a fair amount since. It should bring between $25,000-$34,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $68,272.

IHC Delivery Car

1912 International M-W Delivery Car

Offered by RM Auctions | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 10-11, 2013

1912 International M-W Delivery Car

I saw one of these wagon/pickup-ish delivery cars at the National Automobile Museum (Harrah Collection) in Reno, Nevada, and fell in love with them. International Harvester, the famed tractor and truck manufacturer that is still in business, built road cars in the early days of the automobile through 1980.

The early cars, like this, were high-wheelers for rural customers. This one is well-outfitted with Beverly Hillbillies-style goodies. The engine is a 20 horsepower 2.6-liter flat twin. It’s been a museum piece for some time. It runs and has been used in a lot of parades (is there a car more perfect for parades?).

This thing is almost entirely original too, which is incredible. Cars rarely come cooler than this, seriously, and to be original is icing on the cake. I very much want it but don’t have the extra $30,000-$40,000 lying around that it would require to purchase it. You can read more and check out some more photos here. And see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $44,000.

Late August 2013 Auction Highlights

I may end up splitting this up into two posts because it’s bound to be insane. We’ll start with Barrett-Jackson’s inaugural Reno, Nevada, sale. Our featured Studebaker Champ pickup sold for $30,800. Top sale (not counting charity cars, which I don’t count) was this 1963 Chevrolet Corvette 327/360 Convertible for $192,500.

1963 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible 327-360

Of all the other cars, the coolest was this truck. It’s a 1955 Dodge C-3B and it sold for a really strong $90,750. Check out complete results here.

1955 Dodge C-3B

Moving forward to Monterey weekend. First up, Bonhams’ sale in Carmel. The top sale here was this 1931 Bentley 4.25-Liter Supercharged Le Mans. It’s a factory blower Bentley and it sold for $4,647,500.

1931 Bentley 4.25-Liter Supercharged Le Mans

Next up was our featured one-off Ferrari 250 Europa which went for $2,805,000. The most interesting car I didn’t get to feature was this 1902 Knox Model C Runabout. It was the first lot and it sold for $56,100.

1902 Knox Model C Runabout

Now on to the million dollar sales (in no particular order)! How about a pair of Mercedes-Benz 300SLs? First a 1955 300SL coupe ($1,100,000) and then a 1963 300SL Roadster ($1,430,000).

1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL 1963 Mecedes-Benz 300SL Roadster

What would you think about an un-restored, barn-find condition 1963 Shelby Cobra 260 that was used as Car and Driver‘s test car back in the day? The 260 cubic inch engine makes it a very early Cobra. It was sold as-is for $2,068,000.

1963 Shelby Cobra 260

And now a pair of Ferraris. First, a 1960 250 GT Cabriolet Series II by Pinin Farina. It sold for $1,375,000.

1960 Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Series II by Pinin Farina

Then there was the Brussels Motor Show 1965 275 GTS for $1,045,000.

1965 Ferrari 275 GTS

My favorite of our feature cars, the unbelievable American Underslung Tourer sold for $748,000. Speaking of early cars, how about another million-dollar Mercedes? This one is from the pre-Benz era. It is a 1910 Mercedes 45hp 4-Seat Tourabout. It sold for $1,100,000.

1910 Mercedes 45hp 4-Seat Tourabout

Like the Cobra above, this 1958 Lister-Chevrolet “Knobbly” is in completely original condition. It sold for $1,430,000.

1958 Lister-Chevrolet 'Knobbly'

Another one of our feature cars was this 1906 Autocar. It sold for $42,600. The final million dollar sale was this also-unrestored and all-original 1952 Frazer-Nash Le Mans Replica Mk II Competition – and just barely: it sold for $1,001,000. It has Sebring race history and was used at the 1952 Earls Court Motor Show.

1952 Frazer-Nash Le Mans Replica Mk II Competition

Our final feature car was the 1910 Peerless Victoria. It brought $176,000. One final cool car is this 1961 Mercedes-Benz Type O321H Bus that was used by the Swiss national hockey team. It sold for $126,500. Check out full results here.

1961 Mercedes-Benz Type O321H Bus

Next up, Mecum’s Monterey sale. The top sale there was a 1955 Porsche 550/1500 RS Spyder for $3,750,000.

1955 Porsche 550-1500 RS Spyder

Our featured Delage would’ve been next, but it failed to sell. The only other million dollar car that actually sold was this 1990 Ferrari F40 for a very strong $1,325,000.

1990 Ferrari F40

To run down some more feature cars… these feature cars failed to sell: a previously featured Duesenberg, a Ferrari 750 Monza, the JPS Lotus F1 car, and the Jaguar XJR-5. Our feature Isotta-Fraschini did sell: for $145,000. Among cool cars, I like this 1954 International R140 that went for $140,000.

1954 International R140

And finally this super-cool 1948 Allard L-Type Roadster. It sold for $44,000. Click here for full results.

1948 Allard L-Type Roadster

Mecum Monterey 2012 Highlights

Mecum’s multi-day sale at this year’s Pebble Beach weekend featured a number of high-dollar Porsches, including this year’s top sale, our featured 1972 Porsche 917/10 that brought an impressive $5,500,000. The second-highest selling car was our featured 1908 Simplex that was also impressive at $1,900,000. Our featured Duesenberg from this sale was bid to $350,000 but didn’t meet the reserve and thus failed to sell. The only other million dollar car was this $1,050,000 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spider.

1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spyder

I mentioned all the cool Porsches and one that really struck me as awesome is this 1974 911 RSR that was driven in the IROC series by Emerson Fittipaldi. There were only 15 of these built by Penske for the 1974 season. Fittipaldi drove this in the season’s first race and it was a reserve car the rest of the year. It sold for $875,000.

1974 Porsche 911 RSR IROC - Emerson Fittipaldi

Another race car, or sort of race car – a car that was designed with racing in mind but could probably be easily driven on the street, was this 1955 Devin Monza. It sold for $105,000.

1955 Devin Monza

Some other cool cars from the 1950s included this one-off 1952 Astra Coupe. This car was for sale last year in at Fantasy Junction in California for $125,000. It sold here for $43,000.

1952 Astra Coupe

Perhaps one of the most beautiful cars of the sale was this 1953 Muntz Jet. Designed and originally built by Kurtis, production was taken over by Earl “Madman” Muntz for a little while. They’re rare and they’re pretty. This one cost $75,000

1953 Muntz Jet

From large-ish American convertibles to tiny European microcars – this 1958 Goggomobil TS400 brought a small-ish $26,000.

1958 Goggomobil TS400

Another teeny-tiny European car was this 1970 Autobianchi Bianchina Panoramica. I’ve seen a number of Bianchina Transformables (the convertible) but I’ve never seen the wagon variant. It sold for $17,500.

1970 Autobianchi Bianchina Panoramica

This 1977 International Scout SSII (yes, I’m out of transitions) is a very rare find – especially in this condition. It sold for $23,000.

1977 International Scout SSII

Continuing with the theme of utility, I thought this 1956 Hudson Rambler Station Wagon was pretty cool. I’ve actually seen one of these up close and they are kind of bizarre looking – in a very good way. It sold for $19,500.

1956 Hudson Rambler Wagon

And finally, we always seem to be able to find some oddball Corvette at Mecum auctions (and Auctions America’s sales too, I guess). This sale was no different. Witness: the 2009 Corvette SV 9 Competizione. Only four of these were built (aftermarket). They have an all-carbon fiber body, so don’t ding it – or chip it. It sold for $44,000.

2009 Chevrolet Corvette SV 9 Competizione

For complete results, click here.

Salmon Brothers Collection Highlights

Mecum Auctions recently sold off the Salmon Brothers Collection in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The top sale was the second of three 1934 Cadillac Fleetwood V12 All-Weather Phaetons built. A big, stately, American convertible, it sold for an even $200,000.

Interesting sales included this rare (less than 1,500 built) 1954 Willys Aero Deluxe Coupe for $11,500.

Our feature cars, the 1951 Henry J and the 1993 Ford SVT Lightning, came in at the lower-end of things, selling for $16,000 and $8,500 respectively. This 1956 Chevrolet Del Ray Sedan was the only Del Ray in a sale that included many Bel Airs. The Del Ray was an upscale trim line on the 210. It sold for $36,500.

And finally, this rare 1948 International KB Woody Wagon is an interesting alternative to the plethora of Ford & Chrysler woodies that you see so often. It could’ve been yours for $57,500.

For complete results, click here.

International Travelall

1969 International Travelall 1000D

Offered by Auctions America | Carlisle, Pennsylvania | April, 26-27, 2012

Produced for 22 years, the International Travelall introduced a few things to America that became really popular about 20-30 years later. It was the first six-passenger four-door truck (the Suburban didn’t get four doors until 1973). The Chevrolet Suburban was the prime competition for the Travelall, which was first introduced in 1953.

The model you see here was the freshened body style available from 1969 until the model’s demise in 1975. It features a 145 horsepower 302cid International V-8 engine and 58,000 original miles. It’s an original California car that looks fantastic.

International Harvester has been around since 1902. Passenger-car (or light truck) production ended in 1980 and the company exists today as Navistar International, a leading maker of heavy trucks that still carry the International name.

While I don’t have the production figures for the Travelall sitting in front of me, I can assure you that they are far less than that of the Suburban – and survival rates are even lower. The estimate on this truck/wagon is $22,000-$28,000. It would definitely be a different way to travel, and must have been in 1969 as well. For those that loathed the faux-wood paneled station wagons of the day, this must have been a breath of fresh air, faux-wood paneling or no.

For the complete catalog description, click here. And to see the rest of Auctions America’s Carlisle lineup, click here.

Update: Did not sell.