Tag Archives: mecum

VPJ-Ford

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1969 VPJ-Ford

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 2025

Photo – Mecum

Vel’s Parnelli Jones Racing was founded in 1969 by Parnelli Jones and Velko Miletich. They would compete in USAC (Indy car) and Formula One in the 1970s. Their first car was dubbed the VPJ and debuted in 1969.

Some later cars would wear the Colt moniker in USAC. This particular chassis retains a 2.6-liter Ford V8 and a Hewland four-wheel-drive system. It has been restored and is said to have been driven in period by Al Unser and Joe Leonard, although no specific race history is mentioned. The car was not used at Indianapolis.

If you like obscure old racing cars or obscure old race car technology, this is pretty hard to beat. You can read more about it here.

Morris Maruader

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1971 Morris Marauder-Ford Indy Car

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 2025

Photo – Mecum

George Morris worked on the Shrike and Mongoose Indy car chassis before being the chief mechanic for George Walther’s team for 1971. For that season he built this, the Morris Marauder. He actually built three Marauder chassis, apparently.

This car retains its period Dayton Steel Foundry livery and a 2.6-liter Ford V8. It was driven in period by Jim McElreath, Salt Walther, George Snider, and John Martin. Those are all pretty familiar names to anyone who followed Indy car in the early 1970s.

The car also has electronic fuel injection and an onboard starter (which has been missing from Indy cars for a LONG time). You can read more about it here.

Kurtis/Epperly Indy Car

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1959 Kurtis/Epperly-Offenhauser Indy Car

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 2025

Photo – Mecum

This car was built as a Kurtis KK500 for the 1959 Indy Car season. After it ended, Quin Epperly modified it for use in 1960. What a combo of builders to have on one car. And it worked, as A.J. Foyt used it for 1960 to win the championship.

Power is provided by a 4.2-liter Offenhauser inline-four. The race history for this chassis includes:

  • 1959 Indianapolis 500 – 29th, DNF (with Jud Larson)

The car finished third at Milwaukee with Don Freeland in 1959 before Epperly got his hands on it. Foyt had podiums at Milwaukee and Trenton in 1960 in this car. It is very unclear from the catalog if it was at Indy in 1960 or not. This Bowes Seal Fast Special has a more recent restoration, and you can read more about it here.

Porsche 934

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1976 Porsche 934

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 2025

Photo – Mecum

The Porsche 934 was a racing version of the 930 Turbo built to FIA Group 4 specifications. Introduced for 1976, just 31 examples were produced over a two-year span. The cars remained competitive through the end of the decade.

Power is from a turbocharged 3.0-liter flat-six that made somewhere around 480 horsepower, depending on setup, etc. This car was initially campaigned in the 1976 German National Championship by Porsche-Kremer Racing before receiving a replacement tub. It’s later career included:

  • 1977 24 Hours of Le Mans – 7th, 1st in class (with Bob Wolleck, Jean-Pierre Wielemans, & Philippe Gurdjian)

The car was restored by Kremer in the 2000s and sold for $1.55 million on Bring a Trailer in 2023. Read more about it on Mecum’s site here.

RAM Formula One

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1983 RAM March-Cosworth 01

Offered by Mecum | Monterey, California | August 2024

Photo – Mecum

RAM Racing was founded in 1975 by Mike Ralph and John Macdonald. They first appeared on the F1 grid in 1976 with year-old Brabham chassis. Then they ran March and Williams chassis in 1977 and 1980, respectively. For 1983, they debuted the RAM March 01.

It was a derivative, or evolution, of the March 821 F1 car and was the first RAM chassis designed/built in-house. Power is from a 3.0-liter Ford-Cosworth V8 that makes 530 horsepower. The 1983 season was a disaster, with the 01 failing to qualify for all but three races it entered. It made the first two events in 1984 before being replaced by the RAM 02. In 1985, they ran the RAM 03 before folding.

The competition history for this chassis, whose number is not provided, is said to include:

  • 1983 Brazilian Grand Prix – 15th (with Eliseo Salazar)
  • 1983 South African Grand Prix – 12th (with Kenny Acheson)

Both Jacques Villeneuve, Sr. and Jean-Louis Schlesser both DNQ’d the car during that season. This former F1 car has since been used a fair bit in historic racing and now has an estimate of $400,000-$650,000. More info can be found here.

Velie Touring

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1910 Velie Model D-40 Touring

Offered by Mecum | Dallas, Texas | September 2024

Photo – Mecum

Passenger cars and tractors have an intertwined history, especially during the dawn of the automotive industry. Velie was founded as a wagon maker in 1902 – kind of late to the game on that one. Just six years later they were ready for cars. So what’s the tie in with tractors? Well, company founder Will Velie was a grandson of John Deere himself.

Early cars were sold through John Deere dealerships, including this 1910 model. Velie offered three models in 1910, with the Model D being the touring car. It’s powered by a 40-horsepower Lycoming inline-four.

All 1910 models cost $1,800 new – which was not inexpensive. The company produced quite a few cars through 1929, but somehow this is the first we’ve managed to feature. Despite closing up shop in 1929, Velie was not a victim of the Depression but rather a victim of its two main company leaders dying within a few months of each other.

You can read more about this one here.

Pan Touring

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1919 Pan Model 250 Touring

Offered by Mecum | Dallas, Texas | September 2024

Photo – Mecum

The Pan Motor Company of St. Cloud, Minnesota, was founded in early 1917 by Samuel Conner Pandolfo. He started selling stock in the company to local businessmen and had a sweet deal for himself about the amount of cash he would take from the sale of stock.

Well, after 10 prototypes had been built in Indianapolis with Continental engines, the Pan factory in St. Cloud started construction. But before series production could begin, Pandolfo was indicted after some FTC complaints sprouted up against him. He ended up getting 10 years in prison after siphoning $7.5 million off from the $9.5 million in stock he sold to 70,000 people.

After he went to prison, they actually did start to build some cars. About 737 were completed before the company went bankrupt in 1921, and this one is powered by an inline-four that was built in-house. It has been in the same collection for over 75 years, and you can see more about it here.

Bentley Bacalar

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2022 Bentley Bacalar Roadster

Offered by Mecum | Indianapolis, Indiana | May 2024

Photo – Mecum

The first generation of the Bentley Continental GT entered production in 2003. The original engine was Bentley’s kind of insane W12 powerplant. A V8 joined the lineup for the second generation, and both engines carried over to the third gen, which debuted in 2017. Bentley also announced that the W12 would cease production after 2024.

Bentley had some special editions of the Continental GT ready to celebrate, but perhaps the biggest celebration would be this car: the limited-production Bacalar, which is a coachbuilt special built by Mulliner. It retains the 650-horsepower, twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter W12 of the Continental GT it is based upon.

Just 12 of these were built, and this is the final one. The car does not have a roof, and it’s not legal in the U.S. This one is here on a “show or display” exemption and will cost its next owner between $2,200,000-$2,700,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $1,500,000.

Norsjo Shopper

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1972 Norsjo Shopper

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 2024

Photo – Mecum

The Shopper is barely a microcar, it’s almost more of a mobility scooter – the kind you find at the grocery store. It has a single seat and is usually equipped with a small basket behind the seat to place your goods. This one has been retrofitted with a metal basket and Coke graphics everywhere.

Norsjo M.V.A.B. of Forshaga, Sweden, built the prototype Shopper in 1962, and they remained on sale for a few decades afterward. The front canopy here tilts to the side, and power is provided by a 47cc two-stroke single that could push this three-wheeler to about 35 mph.

These aren’t very common, especially in the U.S. This one doesn’t have a title but does seem to have a reserve, which is kind of odd. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $19,800.

1917 Case Touring

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1917 Case Model T Touring

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 2024

Photo – Mecum

Jerome Increase Case founded the J.I. Case Threshing Machine Company in 1842. By the end of the 1800s, they were one of the largest producers of steam traction engines. Gasoline-engined tractors appeared in 1895, and about 15 years later, they would parlay that knowledge into road cars.

Case-branded road cars were available from 1911 through 1927. The Model T of 1916 and 1917 was powered by a 40-horsepower, inline-four. Two body styles were offered in 1917, a roadster and a touring car, both retailing for $1,190.

The catalog only has four photos of this car, so there’s not much info to glean. It does look nice, especially on unpainted wood-spoke wheels. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $27,500.