I went to the Mecum Auction last weekend in Indianapolis.

WOW!!!

I really didn't expect to see so many cars!!  I've been trying to figure out how to show the results here, but instead, I'll say if you're interested, you should go to the mecum site and check it out (just easier this way).  For the cars I have pictures of, there is a “code” of a letter and numbers.  That is the “lot #” and you can look up the final bid/sale price of the car that way.  I'll tell you that I gave me real e-mail and I'm now getting lots of them from them, but there doesn't seem to be any verification so I think you could give a bogus one.  Anyway...

Summary:

Total, 145 Corvettes were up for sale, 43 of those were C3's.  High Price overall was $310,000 for a 1955.  It was listed as a “Duntov Test Mule EX-87.”  Highest bid that wasn’t accepted was for a dark green 1969 L88 at $425,000 (listed as one of 116).  The highest sold price for a C3 was $43,500 for a 68 427/435 4-speed.

Some of what I thought were interesting:

·         1954 Unrestored didn’t sell for $60,000

·         1968 “Pilot Line” car (C3 Serial # 15!!) Blue Coupe didn’t sell with a high bid of only $28K

·         1960 Serial #1 (1^st Corvette of the 60’s) didn’t sell with a high bid of $290,000

·         1974 Convertible 454 4-speed sold for only $25,500!  I had seen this car before (local) and I can tell you that this combination is very rare!  Not the greatest car, but when the economy rebounds, I think this one is going to easily double in price down the road

·         A 1967 COPO Convertible, Red Interior, White Top and Blue exterior, specially ordered by a judge to be Red, White, and Blue (an unavailable combination) didn’t sell with a high bid of $107,500.

·         A 1975 Stretch Corvette (made from 3 C3’s) sold at $25,000.  Not everyone’s cup of tea (I didn’t really care for it), but different.

·         A 1964 Blue Styling Car didn’t sell at $105,000

• A 1968 Blue C3 Once owned by Astronaut Jim Lovell (Famous for Apollo 13) didn't sell with a high bid of $22,500.  Weird - I wonder why no one bid higher.  Not the greatest looking car, but wow - history!  It had wooden inserts on the luggage rack.  Anyone ever seen that before?

There were also plenty of Superbirds, Pontiacs (some very interesting Firebirds) and almost anything else you can imagine,  I saw a nice Plymouth Prowler (when’s the last time you saw one of those?) that didn’t sell with a top bid of $25,000.  There was a 1980 Camaro Z28 4-speed with T-Tops with only FORTY miles on it.  Not 40,000, 40.  It didn’t sell with a top bid of $40,000.  I feel bad for the seller.  Realistically, I can’t see the car being worth that outside of the low miles.  With the low miles, I can’t see anyone buying and being able to drive it.

Bottom line, I was impressed and the $10 admission I paid was well worth it.  Check out my pix (about 200) and next time you have a chance, check one of these auctions out.  I think next year, I’ll be taking some financing with me and look to pick up a nice ride if I haven’t replaced my truck by then.

Here is the link to my pictures:  http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=19kfk9f7.4hwffcnn&x=0&h=1&y=p9x9q9&localeid=en_US&cm_mmc=site_email-_-site_share-_-core-_-view_photos_button