November Auction Highlights

The first sale held in November was RKMCCA’s sale in Charlotte. Our featured Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR Roadster was the top sale at $1,300,000. Our featured Lotec failed to sell. You can check out more results here, but there’s nothing else I can show you. Next up was Bonhams’ Harrogate sale. Our featured Burlington Arrow failed to sell. The top sale was this barn find 1967 Aston Martin DB6 Vantage for an eye-popping $209,905.

1967 Aston Martin DB6 Vantage

There were a number of commercial vehicles at this sale (which I always find interesting). The most of interesting of which was this 1935 Albion SPL 126 Van. It was almost featured here on the site and it sold for $30,307.

1935 Albion SPL 126 Van

Our featured Star Comet sold for $12,857. And finally, from the beauty category, this 1949 Bentley Mk VI 6.75-Litre Drophead Coupe. It went for $106,150. Check out full results here.

1949 Bentley Mk VI 6.75-Litre Drophead Coupe

Hopping over the Channel to France, we have Osenat’s Lyon sale. Our featured Ford Comete sold for $74,250. The top sale was this 1934 Rolls-Royce 20/25 Cabriolet by Fernandez & Darrin. It brought $256,500. Check out full results here.

1934 Rolls-Royce 20 25 Cabriolet by Fernandez & Darrin

Next up was RM’s incredible Art of the Automobile sale held in conjunction with Sotheby’s in New York. The top sale was our featured Ferrari 250 LM for $14,300,000. Next up was the Talbot-Lago for $7,150,000. Another $7 million car was the Ferrari 250 GT Speciale for $7,040,000.

Our featured Lincoln concept car failed to sell. The newest car in the auction, the one-off Bugatti Veyron, went for $2,310,000. A cool car we didn’t feature was this low-slung 1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental Sports Coupe by Freestone & Webb. It sold for $2,420,000.

1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental Sports Coupe by Freestone & Webb

Our featured Delahaye sold for $2,420,000. The Zagato Maserati brought $4,455,000. A previously-featured Minerva sold for $660,000. The sale’s only Duesenberg went for $1,760,000. The coolest other vehicle was this 1914 Flying Merkel Model 471. These are some of the coolest motorcycles ever built and the price reflected it: $181,500.

1914 Flying Merkel Model 471

Other featured cars: the Supersonic Aston Martin sold for $2,310,000. The custom-bodied Ferrari Europa GT went for $2,420,000. And the Chevrolet CERV II sold for $1,100,000. Click here for full results.

Next up: Silverstone’s NEC Classic Motor Show Sale. The top sale was this 1965 Aston Martin DB5 for $586,845.

1965 Aston Martin DB5

Our featured IKA Torino sedan brought $45,644. You can check out full results here. And finally, Mecum’s Anaheim sale where our featured Hemi Charger failed to sell. The top sale was this 2006 Ford GT for $230,000.

2006 Ford GT

The coolest car in this sale was this 1953 Hudson Hornet Twin-H Convertible that brought $150,000. Click here for full results.

1953 Hudson Hornet Twin-H Convertible

Hemi Charger Fastback

1966 Dodge Hemi Charger

Offered by Mecum | Anaheim, California | November 23, 2013

1966 Dodge Hemi Charger

Of the six generations of Dodge Chargers, I think this one might be my favorite. It was the first gen model and it was only sold for 1966 and 1967. It was essentially a fastback version of the B-body Coronet.

The base engine was a 5.2-liter V-8. But you could definitely up your car’s power if you wanted. And the owner of this car did. This particular Charger carries a 426 cubic inch (7.0-liter) Hemi V-8 under the hood. Horsepower was listed at 425 – which is a lot for a car that I would essentially qualify as a sleeper (it looks pretty mundane. I mean, check out those wheels and luxury-barge-esque grille).

What makes this car even better is that it is almost entirely original – even the paint is as it was from the factory. The engine was rebuilt in the late-90s after sitting for over 10 years. It has some rare equipment too: it is one of 257 launch-year Hemi Chargers with a four-speed manual transmission. This is about a $100,000 car. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Mecum’s Anaheim lineup.

Update: Failed to sell (high bid of $40,000).

September 2013 Auction Roundup

Barrett-Jackson held a pretty big sale in Las Vegas the weekend of September 26-28, 2013. The top sale (not counting charity cars) was this 1931 Lincoln Model K Convertible. It’s actually pretty exciting to see the top sale at a Barrett-Jackson auction a true classic again after years of muscle cars dominating the headlines. It sold for $352,000.

1931 Lincoln Model K Convertible

Our featured Maharaja Rolls-Royce failed to meet its reserve and thus did not sell. My picks for most interesting are topped by this 1915 White Town Car which sold for $66,000.

1915 White Town Car

Then there was this 1974 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Super Duty for $110,000.

1974 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Super Duty

And finally, this 1971 Dodge Demon 340 GSS which sold for $39,600. You can check out full results here.

1971 Dodge Demon 340 GSS

We featured a few tractors over a month ago from Mecum’s August Gone Farmin’ sale. The top sale there was this 1958 John Deere 620 H for $61,000. You can see the results of our highlighted tractors here.

1958 John Deere 620 H

The next sale (based on when I found the results posted) was Bonhams awesome “Preserving the Automobile” sale held in Philly at the Simeone Foundation. The top sale was this 1934 Aston Martin 1.5-Litre Sports 2/4-Seater for $264,000.

1934 Aston Martin 1.5-Litre Sports 24-Seater

A previously-featured Peerless sold for the second time this year, this time for $231,000 (and more than last time). The two Sears motorcars were featured both sold. The Model P brought $38,500 and the Model G Runabout brought a mega-cheap $3,850! Interesting cars were topped by this all-original 1931 Hanomag 3/16 Coupe for $21,450.

1931 Hanomag 316 Coupe

Our featured Stoddard-Dayton sold for $148,500. The related Courier sold for $20,900. Another cool car was this 1904 Knox 16/18hp “Touraine” 4-Passenger Stanhope. It brought an impressive $143,000.

1904 Knox 1618hp Touraine 4-Passenger Stanhope

There was also this really early Auburn. It’s a 1912 Model 30L Speedster and it sold for $49,500. Our final feature car was the Jewel Runabout which went for $25,300. Check out full results here.

1912 Auburn Model 30L Speedster

Next up is Auctions America’s Fall Carlisle sale. The top sale was this 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Convertible for $181,500.

1957 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Convertible

The most interesting car was this 1928 Plymouth Model Q Four-Door Sedan. It brought $17,325. Check out full results here.

1928 Plymouth Model Q Four-Door Sedan

Checker Aerobus

1969 Checker Aerobus

Offered by Mecum | Dallas, Texas | September 5, 2013

1969 Checker Aerobus

So this isn’t technically a bus – but it is rather lengthy. Checker is an interesting marque because they lasted a lot longer than everyone probably thinks – and most people don’t even remember they existed at all off the top of their head anyway. That, and they built basically the same lone model for over 20 years.

The Checker Marathon was introduced in 1960. It was the passenger-car version of the Checker taxi that was the go-to taxicab before the Crown Vic took over. The car remained in production, essentially unchanged, until 1982 when Checker ceased automobile manufacture. Did you remember that there was this “other” American automobile company producing sedans in the early-1980s? I bet you didn’t.

One step beyond (or many steps beyond, depending on how you look at it) the simple four-door Marathon was this, the Checker Aerobus. It was designed as an airport shuttle and I guess it would have been successful, as it seated as many as 15 people. They were available beginning in 1962 and could be had in two different wheelbases. This is the longer wheelbase that has eight side-mounted passenger doors. Which is a little ridiculous. I’ve always considered this the road-going cousin of those stretched golf carts you see in hospital parking lots.

The engine is a 5.7-liter Chevy V-8 making 200 horsepower. Non-taxi Checkers (although most road cars have since been painted in taxi livery) are extremely few and far between. The Aerobus is infinitely rarer. Only 3,568 were built by the time production ended in 1977. This one has a custom interior, but it’s still super cool. There are two other interesting Checkers in this sale. Read more here and check out the rest of Mecum’s Dallas lineup here.

Update: Failed to sell (high bid of $24,000).

Chevelle Z16

1965 Chevrolet Chevelle Z16

Offered by Mecum | Dallas, Texas | September 7, 2013

1965 Chevrolet Chevelle Z16

The Chevrolet Chevelle was introduced in 1964 to go head-to-head with Ford’s Fairlane. But the muscle car era inadvertently got in the way and the Chevelle became on of the most sought-after muscle cars of the era and the Fairlane disappeared into history.

While Pontiac and Oldsmobile had muscle car offerings in 1964, Chevrolet was sort of left behind. But they changed that in 1965 when they took the Chevelle and added $1,501 worth of goodies to it and called it the “Z16” (it was an optional performance package). What did that package include? How about the Corvette’s 396/425 V-8 (that’s 6.5 liters for those of you playing at home). But because the Corvette was the revered “top dog” – they had to under rate the Chevelle’s horsepower to 375.

They also gave it bigger brakes, an upgraded suspension, and better steering. It was basically an SS 396 on steroids. Chevy only built 201 of them and this is one of three factory black/black cars. The value of these cars has definitely been on the rise – you’re looking at about $150,000 for this car. Check out more info here and more from Mecum here.

Update: Sold $200,000.

John Deere D

1924 John Deere D

Offered by Mecum | Walworth, Wisconsin | August 8-10, 2013

1924 John Deere D

Photo – Mecum

John Deere is the most famous of all tractor manufacturers with their iconic green and yellow paint scheme. The company, which is still technically Deere & Company, can trace its roots directly back to its founding by John Deere in 1837. Here’s some info on the D model:

Engine: 7.6-liter two-cylinder. About 27 horsepower.

Production: about 160,000.

Produced: 1923-1953.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $42,000.

1948 McCormick-Deering W-4

1948 McCormick-Deering W-4

Offered by Mecum | Walworth, Wisconsin | August 8-10, 2013

1948 McCormick-Deering W-4

Tractor collectors are serious and the market for them is strong. They are finally getting the respect in the collector vehicle world that they deserve. That said, I’m not an expert on tractors – I know very little about them. I thought I’d pull some tractors out of their catalog to feature just as something cool and different. I picked ones that I thought were rare and/or interesting. I’ll give you some specs, but won’t go into too much detail.

First up is this 1948 McCormick-Deering W-4. McCormick-Deering was a brand produced by International Harvester. The brand was around from 1923 through 1948. The W-4 was also sold as the Farmall H.

Engine: 2.5-liter straight-four. 23 horsepower.

Production: 24,377.

Produced: 1939-1948.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $2,000.

1937 Oliver 70

1937 Oliver 70

All tractors offered by Mecum | Walworth, Wisconsin | August 8-10, 2013

1937 Oliver 70

Photo – Mecum

Like many tractor manufacturers, Oliver was formed by the result of a merger. In their case, it was four companies that came together in 1929 to make Oliver a reality. In 1960, they were bought by the White Motor Company who discontinued the brand in 1974.

Engine: 3.3-liter straight-six. 27 horsepower.

Production: unknown.

Produced: 1935-1948.

Update: Sold $3,200.

Rumely Oilpull M 20/35

1927 Rumely Oilpull M 20/35

Offered by Mecum | Walworth, Wisconsin | August 8-10, 2013

1927 Rumely Oilpull M 20-35

Photo – Mecum

Rumely Oilpulls were a type of tractor built by Advance-Rumely, a company that was organized in 1915 and acquired by Allis-Chalmers in 1931.

Engine: 9.9-liter two-cylinder. About 35 horsepower.

Production: 3,671.

Produced: 1924-1927.

Update: Sold $35,000.

Waterloo Tractor

1919 Waterloo Boy N

All tractors offered by Mecum | Walworth, Wisconsin | August 8-10, 2013

1919 Waterloo Boy N

Photo – Mecum

Founded in 1892, Waterloo Boy was the first company to build and sell gasoline-powered tractors. In 1918, they were bought out by John Deere and the brand name disappeared after 1924. This N model is unrestored and all-original. Some specs:

Engine: 7.6-liter two-cylinder. 25 horsepower.

Production: 21,392.

Produced: 1917-1924.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $68,000.