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Mecum Indianapolis 2015 – Auction Report

Rick Carey·

Mecum Indianapolis 2015 – Auction Report Page Eleven

1963 Ford Galaxie 500 XL Fastback
Lot # S145 1963 Ford Galaxie 500 XL Fastback; S/N 3U68R172672; Rangoon Red/Red vinyl; Estimate $45,000 – $60,000; Older restoration, 2- condition; Hammered Sold at $62,000 plus commission of 8.00%; Final Price $66,960. With Reserve. 427/425hp, dual quads, 4-speed, AM radio, spinner wheel covers, console, bias ply whitewalls. – Car was restored 25 years ago. Part of the Danny Hill Collection. Paint looks good overall but is showing some age and blemishes. Engine bay is pretty clean with some signs of use. Interior is excellent and showing very little wear. Undercarriage is very clean with a tiny bit of road rash. Brightwork is showing some age and wear. A very sound driver and local show car represented as having 4,761 original miles from new. – The 4,761 miles from new seems unrealistically optimistic and no documentation was offered for the claim. The bidders, however, accepted it and put a serious low miles premium into the price even though the car has been restored and thus lost most of the indicia of originality. It is a magnanimous result.
1970 Pontiac GTO Judge Convertible
Lot # S151 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge Convertible; S/N 242670P201747; Atoll Blue/Blue vinyl; White vinyl top; Estimate $115,000 – $135,000; Cosmetic restoration, 3- condition; Hammered Sold at $60,000 plus commission of 8.00%; Final Price $64,800. No Reserve. 400/366hp, column shift automatic, P/S, P/B, no console, hood tach, wing, chin spoiler, Rally II wheels, radial blackwall tires, pushbutton radio. – Cosmetically restored in 1980, smells moldy. Dull Endura nose, scuffed paint and chrome, soiled upholstery. Erratic hood and nose fit. A tired Judge that needs a change of venue. – An intriguing old Judge, with the emphasis on ‘intriguing.’ It’s difficult to get excited over a car that smells like dirty laundry with deteriorated paint (particularly on the Endura nose) and soiled upholstery. The car card said it’s freshly detailed by Ralph’s Full Service Car Wash and Detail; don’t use Ralph’s. The result here is appropriate to the car’s specifications, equipment and unusually mediocre condition. A competent re-restoration is in its future.
1970 Pontiac GTO Judge Ram Air IV 2-Dr. Hardtop
Lot # S153.1 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge Ram Air IV 2-Dr. Hardtop; S/N 242370P216698; Polar White/Red vinyl; Estimate $125,000 – $150,000; Recent restoration, 2- condition; Hammered Sold at $105,000 plus commission of 8.00%; Final Price $113,400. With Reserve. 400/370hp Ram Air IV, 4-speed, Hurst T-handle shifter, no console, hood tach, Rally II wheels, G70-14 Polyglas tires, 3.90 Safe-T-Track, wing, pushbutton radio, leather wrapped Formula steering wheel, PHS documentation. – Very good paint, chrome and interior. Underbody and engine are orderly and show only limited use. A quality restoration with some age but limited use since it was done. – Offered at RM’s Toronto auction in 2007 with a reported high bid of $98,578, then here a year ago with a bid of $79,000. Waiting out the market proved to be a good strategy for the seller and this price should make both buyer and seller content. It is a very good Judge.
1955 Buick Roadmaster Convertible
Lot # S162 1955 Buick Roadmaster Convertible; S/N 7B2012460; Cascade Blue, Stafford Blue/Light Blue, Dark Blue leather Dark Blue leather; Dark Blue vinyl top; Estimate $225,000 – $275,000; Recent restoration, 2+ condition; Hammered Sold at $180,000 plus commission of 8.00%; Final Price $194,400. With Reserve. 322/236hp, chrome wire wheels, whitewalls, P/S, P/B, Dynaflow, power seat, WonderBar radio, P/W. – Freshly restored to showroom condition with better paint, chrome, top and interior. Engine compartment and underbody are like new, not overdone. A beautiful restoration in striking original colors. – An exceptional, fresh restoration in particularly attractive colors that complement the rather complex lines of Buick’s 1955 body. This is a showpiece that deserved every penny of the price it brought.
1955 Chevrolet Corvette Roadste
Lot # S168 1955 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster; S/N VE55S1372; White, White hardtop/Red vinyl; Tan top; Estimate $145,000 – $160,000; Older restoration, 3+ condition; Hammered Sold at $130,000 plus commission of 8.00%; Final Price $140,400. With Reserve. 265/195hp, Powerglide, removable hardtop, wheel covers, wide whitewall tires, AM radio, documented with the original bill of sale, full ownership chain and service records. – Represented as matching numbers engine. Good old repaint. The bumpers have been quickly polished with a few spots missed. The hardtop window is foggy. The engine compartment has been cleaned. The underbody has been painted and the interior has been completely redone. An attractive older restoration with many needs. – Sold here in 2012 for $132,500 and bought reasonably enough here. The ’55 Corvettes combine two important attributes, the last year for the original side curtain roadster body and the first year for the V-8, in many respects making them the prime example of the C1, attributes reflected in this price.
1966 Pontiac GTO Convertible
Lot # S186.1 1966 Pontiac GTO Convertible; S/N 242676p186606; Red/Black vinyl; Black top; Older restoration, 2- condition; Hammered Sold at $50,000 plus commission of 8.00%; Final Price $54,000. With Reserve. 389/360hp, Tri-Power, 4-speed, Rally I wheels, red line tires, power steering, power brakes, woodrim steering wheel, bucket seats, center console, Rally gauges, radio, PHS documentation. – Paint looks great and has almost no flaws. Panel gaps are perfect. Brightwork is excellent. Engine bay is clean with some signs of use. Underneath is very clean. Convertible top fits great. Interior is very good with slight wear to the front seats. An excellent body-off restoration that’s not hot off the press but needs nothing. – A real bargain. The value gap between excellent GTOs and those that are simply good GTOs is quite wide. This price strays closer to the latter categorization while the car’s spec skews well toward the former. This is purchase to be proud of. It brought just as much at Dave Rupp’s Ft. Lauderdale auction in 2009 ($54,540), looks as good now as it did then and its odometer shows only 13 more miles since then. It’s not exactly a great ‘investment’ particularly as no one apparently got to enjoy it, but as a place to park money in a proud possession it’s not a bad choice.
1989 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Turbo Coupe
Lot # S192 1989 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Turbo Coupe; S/N 1G5FW217XKL237961; White/Tan vinyl; Unrestored original, 2- condition; Hammered Sold at $42,000 plus commission of 8.00%; Final Price $45,360. With Reserve. Buick 3.8-liter turbocharged231/250hp V-6, automatic, snowflake wheels, Goodyear Eagle ZR50 tires, steering wheel radio controls. Single owner, includes documents and Turbo Trans Am Jacket. – Indy Pace Car edition. Showing 743 original miles. Good original paint. Hood struts have collapsed. Engine compartment and undercarriage are dusty from sitting. Driver’s seat is lightly worn. A very good original car that would do very well with a light general cosmetic freshening. – A fairly obscure car to people who aren’t Firebird enthusiasts, the Turbo Trans Am put the turbo V-6 out of the Buick Grand National into a more sophisticated car than the old Regal to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Trans Am. This was also the first car to pace the Indy 500 without performance modifications, and 162 Indy 500 editions of the Turbo Trans Am were produced. The performance, rarity and almost complete lack of use combined to a very strong price, even for a Turbo Trans Am, that translates to well over twice what a normal V-8 Trans Am of this vintage would bring, but the originality and low miles deserve the premium paid.
1969 Pontiac GTO Judge 2-Dr. Hardtop
Lot # S194 1969 Pontiac GTO Judge 2-Dr. Hardtop; S/N 242379Z114447; Engine # 021944 YZ; Carousel Red/Black; Recent restoration, 2 condition; Hammered Sold at $75,000 plus commission of 8.00%; Final Price $81,000. With Reserve. 400/366hp Ram Air III, automatic, P/S, P/B, factory A/C, painted Magnum wheels, Radial T/A blackwall tires, hood tach, pushbutton radio, wing. – Represented as matching numbers, California black plate, rust free, documented with Protect-o-Plate, build sheet and original purchase paperwork. Body on frame restored with excellent cosmetics. Like new underhood. A superior Goat. – Sold at Kissimmee in 2012 for $54,060, at Indy four months later for a breathtaking $100,700 and offered at Dallas last September with a reported high bid of $70,000, a roller coaster auction history that was resolved here with a realistic price for a superior GTO with a reassuring history. It’s not a bargain, but it is a very good car and stands as an example of ‘buy the best you can afford.’
1940 Buick Roadmaster Convertible Phaeton
Lot # S204.1 1940 Buick Roadmaster Convertible Phaeton; S/N 13792490; Black/Tan leather; Tan cloth top; Concours restoration, 1 condition; Hammered Sold at $117,500 plus commission of 8.00%; Final Price $126,900. With Reserve. Turn signals, pushbutton radio, dual outside mirrors, skirts, red wheels with hubcaps and trim rings, wide whitewalls, fog lights. – Fresh concours restoration to better than new condition. Sharp, crisp engine compartment. Done like new and not overdone. Flat body panels, even gaps, flush fits. Excellent paint, chrome, interior and top. – One of the last convertible sedans offered by Detroit, an incredibly rare automobile, one of just 235 built (but there were another 230 Limited Convertible Phaetons on the longer 133 inch wheelbase.) The Limiteds are CCCA Full Classics ™ but the Roadmasters aren’t, limiting their utility to today’s collectors. This is a superb car and it brought superb Roadmaster money.

[Source: Rick Carey]

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Rick Carey
One of the first people to report on the collector car market, Rick Carey’s market knowledge is unparalleled and he has one of the largest databases of auction transactions. Carey has a strong background in racing, particularly road racing in International GT endurance competition and an interest and focus upon the collector car market including historical trends and economic analysis. For more from Rick, visit RickCarey.com.
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  1. These numbers are filled with inaccuracies. I logged every sale of this auction according to mecums own website results. Total sales = $35,984,501 plus commission. Total pass thru entries = 1324. Total vehicles sold = 779. Percentage sold = 58.65%. Average sale price = $46,193.20. Mecums numbers, not mine.

    Reply

  3. Michael,
    Wow! That’s a massive effort.
    The stats published in SCD are derived from a spreadsheet of final results received directly from Mecum the week after the sale.
    They are then cleaned of dupes and reruns (based on the VIN reported by Mecum) so the same car is counted only once even if it crosses the block twice. A rerun that is sold one time but passed another is included as sold; the no-sale is not included in the sale total but is noted in the individual transaction record’s Comments field. Lots reported sold twice (it does happen) are included only once, generally at the higher or the later of the two transaction amounts.
    Grouped transactions (boat and trailer, for instance, sold together but wiht two lot numbers) are counted only once.
    Mecum sometimes reports a lot with a “$0” transaction. In reviewing the sale and cleaning up the results these lots are not included.
    The SCD reports generally don’t include motorcycles or golf carts, although I may not find all of them. In the case of the Spring Classic most of the motorcycles ran May 14 under distinct lot numbers and those [approximately] $1,542,510 in total sales were not included. In general I have found these transactions to be no-shows, although in some cases they are no-sales where the auctioneer and clerk don’t record the high bid amount. They are in aggregate not significant.
    Reported results and totals include Mecum’s buyer’s premium of the greater of $500 or 8% of the hammer bids; Mecum reports only the hammer bids on the website (as you noted above) and in their spreadsheet, for both sold and no-sale lots.
    We give Mecum’s “Bid Goes On” staff credit for their work closing deals after the cars cross the block and up to five working days after the auction so lots that are passed on the block but closed later are included. We do the same for all other auctions, as do all of our colleagues in the collector car auction reporting world.
    I went back and checked my results and find that one more lot has appeared in the “Sold” column, bringing the total sold to 823 lots and elevating the sale total to just over $41 million ($41,016,823.)
    That’s how it works, and I’ll stand by the numbers in SCD, but commend you for taking the time and going to the trouble of compiling a massive list for your own information.

    Reply

  4. I made a mistake in the earlier comment. It should read as follows:
    Michael,
    Wow! That’s a massive effort.
    The stats published in SCD are derived from a spreadsheet of final results received directly from Mecum the week after the sale.
    They are then cleaned of dupes and reruns (based on the VIN reported by Mecum) so the same car is counted only once even if it crosses the block twice. A rerun that is sold one time but passed another is included as sold; the no-sale is not included in the sale total but is noted in the individual transaction record’s Comments field. Lots reported sold twice (it does happen) are included only once, generally at the higher or the later of the two transaction amounts.
    Grouped transactions (boat and trailer, for instance, sold together but wiht two lot numbers) are counted only once.
    Mecum sometimes reports a lot with a “$0? transaction. In reviewing the sale and cleaning up the results these lots are not included. In general I have found these transactions to be no-shows, although in some cases they are no-sales where the auctioneer and clerk don’t record the high bid amount. They are in aggregate not significant.
    The SCD reports generally don’t include motorcycles or golf carts, although I may not find all of them. In the case of the Spring Classic most of the motorcycles ran May 14 under distinct lot numbers and those [approximately] $1,542,510 in total sales were not included.
    Reported results and totals include Mecum’s buyer’s premium of the greater of $500 or 8% of the hammer bids; Mecum reports only the hammer bids on the website (as you noted above) and in their spreadsheet, for both sold and no-sale lots.
    We give Mecum’s “Bid Goes On” staff credit for their work closing deals after the cars cross the block and up to five working days after the auction so lots that are passed on the block but closed later are included. We do the same for all other auctions, as do all of our colleagues in the collector car auction reporting world.
    I went back and checked my results and find that one more lot has appeared in the “Sold” column, bringing the total sold to 823 lots and elevating the sale total to just over $41 million ($41,016,823.)
    That’s how it works, and I’ll stand by the numbers in SCD, but commend you for taking the time and going to the trouble of compiling a massive list for your own information.

    Reply