Mecum Des Moines 2011 – Auction Report

Lot # S086 1970 Ford Torino GT 2-Dr. Hardtop; S/N 0H35M160311; White/Black vinyl; Recent restoration, 3+ condition; Hammered Sold at $23,000 plus commission of 6.00%; Final Price $24,380 -- 351/300hp, 4-speed, Hurst T-handle shifter, cassette stereo, sport wheels, trim rings, Tiger Paw tires, P/S, P/B. Good paint, chrome, interior and dashboard. Uneven door fit. Chassis repainted assembled. Clean, orderly and nearly like new underhood. A clean and highly presentable Torino. Rarely seen and underappreciated in today's fascination for big block Muscle Cars this small block Torino is something of a value even if appropriately priced in the perceptions of current collectors. It has needs, but it also has appeal and will show its stuff on cruise night. It would have been a better value at $17,000, but is a lot of car for the money.

Lot # F137 1971 Ford Torino GT 2-Dr. Hardtop; S/N 1A35C126134; Red/Black vinyl, Grey cloth; Visually maintained, largely original, 3+ condition; Not sold at Hammer bid of $24,000 -- 429/370, automatic, P/S, P/B, A/C, AM-FM. One family owned, 54,380 miles. Good recent repaint, some chrome on freshly rebuilt engine and otherwise a sharp, clean, mostly original car. People pay ten times this much for a Boss 429 Mustang. Why? The reported bid here is appropriate in current collectors' judgment, but a great value for money. The consignor of this Torino is apparently waiting for value judgments to equalize or he/she would have taken this bid in a heartbeat.

Lot # F119 1931 Graham 115 Special 4-Dr. Sedan; S/N 1203189; Red primer, Black fenders/Brown cloth; Unrestored original, 3- condition; Hammered Sold at $11,750 plus commission of 6.00%; Final Price $12,455 -- Harrison heater, sun visors, rear quarter and back window rollup shades, rollup quarter windows, dual sidemount, turn signals, opening windshield, stainless spoke wire wheels, whitewalls, luggage rack, overdrive 3-speed, freewheeling. Solid, sound mostly original car with aged but sound and usable original interior. A potentially rewarding project. No Reserve. Another of the Colorado High Desert cars brought to Des Moines, this Graham is an easy project that will respond to steady attention to bring it to its full potential. It is worth what the Des Moines bidders concluded, with little value appreciation in its future but plenty of hours of psychically rewarding cleaning, tuning and showing.

Lot # S077 1979 Lincoln Continental Town Coupe; S/N 9Y81S748659; Cream/Beige leather; Visually maintained, largely original, 3 condition; Hammered Sold at $5,250 plus commission of 5.71%; Final Price $5,550 -- Alloy wheels, narrow whitewalls, factory CB radio. Good older repaint, worn and creased original interior. Engine compartment has been cleaned up, painted and detailed but not apart. Odometer shows 53,936 believable miles. This may just show that any car is collectible.

Lot # F101 1950 Mercury 2-Dr. Sedan; S/N 50DA61487M; Metallic Red/Red, Black velour; Customized restoration, 3- condition; Hammered Sold at $21,000 plus commission of 6.00%; Final Price $22,260 -- 3-speed, sun visor, dual remote spotlights, skirts. Attractive repaint, erratic body panel fits, good major chrome but poor, peeling emblems and handles. Decent new upholstery. Dash and gauges untouched. Seriously ugly and rattle canned underhood with stock flathead. A superficial cruiser best viewed at right and definitely with the hood closed. Really despicable. The seller should be overjoyed at this price.

Lot # S141 1935 Packard 120 4-Dr. Sedan; S/N 8962881; Metallic Grey/Grey broadcloth; Older restoration, 3- condition; Hammered Sold at $26,500 plus commission of 6.00%; Final Price $28,090 -- Hubcaps, trim rings, wide whitewalls, luggage rack. Blotchy paint, tape coachlines, sound but stretched upholstery, good chrome, straight body, pitted hood side chrome trim, dirty chassis. Sound but aged and used. There is little to commend this Packard. A One-Twenty, its only claim to fame is its part in keeping Packard in business in the Depression. Its coachwork is prosaic. Its condition is appropriate to its mediocrity. It has no charm or merit. It is overpriced.

Lot # F117 1948 Packard Eight 4-Dr. Sedan; S/N 2262943658; Black/Beige cloth; Visually maintained, largely original, 3- condition; Hammered Sold at $6,250 plus commission of 8.00%; Final Price $6,750 -- 3-speed overdrive, heater, no radio, hubcaps, trim ring, whitewall, skirts. Blistered old repaint. Upholstery looks like it has been done. Steering wheel rim falling apart. Chrome is excellent for its age. Needs pretty much everything but is all there and solid. The postwar Packard Clippers foreshadowed the marque's coming demise, and none better than this slug. Big, heavy, lumpy and under-powered it deserves no more than it brought here.

Lot # F160 1953 Plymouth Cranbrook Convertible; S/N P24243853; Burgundy/Black vinyl, Grey cloth; Black cloth top; Cosmetic restoration, 3- condition; Hammered Sold at $23,000 plus commission of 6.00%; Final Price $24,380 -- Overdrive, chrome wire wheels, wide whitewalls, power top, pushbutton radio, fog lights, Phillips cast headers, dual exhaust. Quick cosmetic restoration with good paint and chrome but repaired original interior that left some things undone. Pitted trim chrome details both in and out. Chassis and underbody repainted assembled and over old undercoat Less than it appears to be. This is an unusual car, but its presentation is so short of any reasonable standard that this price begs comprehension. A ratty car bought for decent car money.

Lot # S112 1972 Plymouth Road Runner GTX 2-Dr. Hardtop; S/N RM23U2G179679; Metallic Olive, Gold accent/Green vinyl; Older restoration, 2- condition; Hammered Sold at $39,500 plus commission of 6.00%; Final Price $41,870 -- 440/280hp, 4-speed, pistol grip shifter, buckets and console, sport wheels with trim rings, G60-15 Polyglas GT tries, 3.54 Sure-Grip . Restored like new and showing a little age and use, but not much. It was 1972 and emission controls ruled the land. The torque-monster 440 was strangled to just 280 (net) horsepower and while its performance was still electrifying its appeal in the wake of 390hp (gross) ratings paled. That's the preamble to this '72 Road Runner GTX's perception by collectors. A lavish and correct older restoration, it brought all the money it could have, a pale reflection of just a few years before.

Lot # S106.1 1969 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Replica Convertible; S/N 223679N117692; White, Blue stripes/Blue vinyl; Facsimile restoration, 2- condition; Hammered Sold at $52,500 plus commission of 6.00%; Final Price $55,650 -- P/W, pushbutton radio, Hurst T-handle shifter, tilt steering column, Rally 2 wheels with turn ring, Tiger Paw GTS tires, wing, Endura nose, chin spoiler, Ram Air hood. Very good paint, chrome and interior. Chassis and underbody redone nearly like new. A very attractive fake. This is big money for a fake, but more than it brought at Mecum's Indy sale just two months ago, $55,650.

Lot # F136 1970 Pontiac GTO 2-Dr. Hardtop; S/N 242370P194563; Engine # 282278 YC; Metallic Blue/Black vinyl; Cosmetic restoration, 3- condition; Hammered Sold at $15,000 plus commission of 6.00%; Final Price $15,900 -- 455/370hp, 4-speed, Hurst shifter, bucket seats, no console, AM-FM, P/W, remote outside minor, hood tach, aftermarket alloy wheels, white letter tires P/S, P/B, A/C, Edelbrock intake and carburetor. Smells of coolant. Mediocre repaint with Judge vinyl trim. Generally superficially done, used hard and away wet. Brought a weak price appropriate to its condition. Also, the YC engine code indicates it was originally an automatic, or in another car with an automatic transmission. The new owner will find some reward for reworking the car, but can never undo the engine mis-match.

Lot # S136 1969 Pontiac GTO Convertible; S/N 242679B172765; Engine # YD; Burgundy/Parchment vinyl; White vinyl top; Recent restoration, 2- condition; Hammered Sold at $28,500 plus commission of 6.00%; Final Price $30,210 -- 400/290hp YD block with 4-barrel, automatic, P/S, P/B, Rally II wheels with trim rings, red line F70-15 tires, hideaway headlights, hood tach, woodrim steering wheel, pushbutton radio, underdash engine gauges, buckets and console. Restored nearly like new. Minor paint fisheyes and crack at trunk corner. This GTO needs nothing ... except its original engine. It was reported bid to $35,000 at Indy two months ago and was acquired reasonably enough here in Des Moines. 99% of the people who admire it will not recognize the replacement block and half of the ones who recognize it won't care. Satisfying that last 1/2 of 1% is expensive and this is otherwise an enjoyable, good-looking GTO convertible.

Lot # S164 1969 Pontiac LeMans Convertible; S/N 237679B146785; Engine # C372525 XS; Ice Blue/Dark Blue vinyl; White vinyl top; Visually maintained, largely original, 3 condition; Not sold at Hammer bid of $15,500 -- 350/265hp, 2-barrel, automatic, P/S, P/B, Rally II wheels, Radial T/A tires, pushbutton radio, buckets and console, wing. Quick repaint, wiper scratched windshield, good interior. Endura nose. Dusty engine. Old undercoat on chassis. A presentable driver that will quickly reward some attention. This is an unattractive car with a boring drivetrain. It could have been sold without regret well before reaching the reported high bid.

Lot # S099 1965 Pontiac LeMans GTO 2-Dr. Hardtop; S/N 237375Z128054; Engine # 403361 YS; Black/Black vinyl; Recent restoration, 2- condition; Not sold at Hammer bid of $47,000 -- 389/335hp, 4-speed. P/S, no P/B, pushbutton radio, Rally wheels with trim rings, red line Firestone Super Sport tires, buckets and console. Good cosmetics, clean and fresh. Good panel fits. Not perfect but very, very nice. This GTO brought $49,680 at Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach in 2006. The bid it brought here in Des Moines is nevertheless appropriate in 2011. The consignor and auctioneer may have been looking to squeeze out just that last little bit to come close to breaking even, but if so they lost out completely. At $47,000 the seller would have netted over $44,000 and $5,680 or so is little enough to drop on owning and enjoying such a nice GTO for five years. A missed opportunity.

Lot # F165 1963 Pontiac Tempest Convertible; S/N 163P91385; Dark Red/Red vinyl; White vinyl top; Visually maintained, largely original, 3 condition; Hammered Sold at $13,250 plus commission of 6.00%; Final Price $14,045 -- 194 four, Powerglide, P/S, power top, wheel covers, narrow whitewalls, pushbutton radio. Good original interior. Fresh, bright chrome. Cleaned up underhood and chassis but not restored. Straight, solid body. Very unusual. Fresh repaint and new 5-spoke alloy wheels. This Tempest sold for $11,925 at Mecum's big Kissimmee, Florida auction in January and has had some needed cosmetic attention since. It also lost its authentic period Realistic FM adapter, a mistake in my opinion. The seller realized a modest profit, or at least broke even. The buyer got a neat and unusual car with half a Pontiac V-8 under the hood and the famed flexible driveshaft to the independent rear suspension. It was original thinking at the time, an example of GM's vast creativity but also the General's inability to realize the potential of some of its more imaginative engineers and product planners. I like it, especially for this price.

Lot # F190 1973 Triumph Spitfire Convertible; S/N FM66728U; Yellow/Black cloth; Black leatherette top; Cosmetic restoration, 3+ condition; Hammered Sold at $4,100 plus commission of 7.32%; Final Price $4,400 -- Removable faceplate CD stereo, underdash engine gauges, steel wheels, trim rings, blackwall tires. Good paint, chrome and upholstery. Top fits very loosely. 2" gouge on right rear fender. Clean, repainted chassis. An attractive driver. Very reasonably bought and more car than the money the new owner paid for it.

Lot # F200 1973 Volkswagen Super Beetle Convertible; S/N 1532993874; Yellow/Black; Black vinyl top; Recent restoration, 3+ condition; Hammered Sold at $10,750 plus commission of 6.00%; Final Price $11,395 -- AM-FM-Cassette. Excellent paint and bodywork but much pitted, rusty trim chrome. Good glass, top and upholstery. The can of brake fluid on the floor doesn't impart a feeling of confidence, however. The consignor claimed $16,000 was spent on the restoration and the bodywork, paint, glass, top and interior looked like it. The details, however, suggested it was rushed to completion and left many things undone, never a comforting concept in an auction car. At this price the new owner can finish the job right and still have a profit.

Lot # F106 1970 Volkswagen Type 2 Station Wagon; S/N 2202245608; Burgundy, White roof/Black vinyl; Visually maintained, largely original, 4+ condition; Not sold at Hammer bid of $5,000 -- Crappy repaint with blisters and rust bubbles under windshield. Torn, sunburned original interior. Factory A/C partially installed. Walk thru front seats. Needs a lot. This is a Friday number but the reported no-sale is Saturday's result on #S199. It was reported sold at Auburn Fall in 2004 for $5,295 and deserved to be shunned in its present scrofulous condition. It shows no pride or even self-respect on the part of the consignor, is sadly neglected and should have been let go for any money at all in hopes of finding a new home where it might be appreciated. This is not a rare, or even desirable, model. In this condition it is headed for junk.