RM Auctions, The Inn at St. Johns, Plymouth, Michigan, July 28, 2012
Report and photos by Rick Carey, Auction Editor
RM Auctions returned to the Concours d’Elegance of America at the Inn at St. Johns in Plymouth, Michigan on July 28 for the second year at this successor to the Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance.
The cars in the auction were by and large classics, antiques and pre-war (OK, maybe pre-Vietnam War). Only ten cars were built after 1960.
The sale featured fifteen cars from the collection of William Ruger, Jr. all without reserve. The Ruger cars contributed $1,835,900 of the auction’s $6,826,600 total (both totals include buyer’s commission). While his classics (and Ahrens-Fox fire apparatus) got the most attention the little Locomobile Model E Runabout embodied the early evolution of a sports car. The new owner has promised later this year to expose it to SCD’s readers in more depth, and in motion.
The auction offered 74 cars of which 61 were sold, an 82.4% sale rate, comfortably displayed outside (mostly protected from Friday’s torrential rain) and efficiently auctioned by RM’s Max Girardo who combined introductions with calling the sale. Top sale was Duesenberg Model SJ Rollston Convertible Victory s/n 2293 at $957,000. It then won first place in the Sunday Concours.
While sports cars were thin indeed in the auction (a Porsche 356C, three XKEs, an Alfa and a Ford GT pretty much exhausted the category at St. John’s) visitors to the Sunday Concours d’Elegance of America were greeted by two dented, used sports racers from the USRRC era that introduced a field of epic sports cars, Trans Am racers (including <2.5 liter cars with two GTAs and a GTV) and some of the most famous and successful racing Corvettes in history, fittingly for the northern suburbs of Detroit. (See 2012 Concours d’Elegance of America – Photo Gallery).
RM’s St. Johns auction and Mecum’s Des Moines auction the weekend before clear the field for what promises to be a mind-bending week in Monterey.
RM Auctions at St. John’s 2012 – Auction Report
Lot # 102 1967 Chevrolet Impala SS 427 Convertible; S/N 168677J221485; Engine # T0317IR 7221485; Black/Black vinyl; Black vinyl top; Estimate $30,000 – $50,000; Facsimile restoration, 2 condition; Hammered Sold at $34,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $37,400 — 427/385hp, 4-speed, Rally wheels, redline tires, AM-FM radio, power bucket seats, console, P/S, P/B, A/C. Properly presented as a 427 Impala but with no documentation to back it up. Very good paint, chrome and interior with flat, even body panels. No Reserve. Sold for $85,800 at Barrett-Jackson in 2007, the engine stamping is almost too good to be true and the trim plate rivets are sealed with silicone. At this price it’s safe to conclude everyone accepted it as a fake, but what a fun, thoroughly equipped and attractively presented fake. It will be a delight to drive, a cruise night standout and an intelligent acquisition at this price.
Lot # 103 1921 Cadillac Type 59 Seven-Passenger Touring Car; S/N C5962; Dark Red, Black fenders/Black leatherette; Beige cloth top; Estimate $40,000 – $50,000; Older restoration, 3- condition; Hammered Sold at $20,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $22,000 — RHD. Nickel boa constrictor horn. Quick repaint over an old restoration. Torn front seat upholstery. Usable, but nothing to be proud to be seen driving. Fresh mechanical service by Stone Barn. No Reserve. A quality old Cadillac in good running, driving condition in need of attention to the upholstery. It would help its presentation to get rid of the boa constrictor horn. The paint is sound enough to preserve the body and not bad enough to require replacement on a car of this price. It brought a fair wholesale price here and is a lot better car than a comparably priced Model T.
Lot # 104 1963 Alfa Romeo 2600 Spider, Body by Touring; S/N 10601191503; Dark Blue/Dark Blue leather, Grey piping; Black cloth top; Estimate $50,000 – $70,000; Visually maintained, largely original, 3 condition; Hammered Sold at $36,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $39,600 — Becker Europa II AM-FM, Michelin X blackwalls, heater. Later Weber carbs, but the post-emissions ones with throttle return detent built in which makes them nothing if not annoying to drive. Dull old repaint cracked on hood, weak chrome, sound but used upholstery. Underhood is clean but unrestored. A mediocre but sound driver. No Reserve. Reported sold by RM at Amelia earlier this year for $60,500 in a charity sale for which the price paid is disconnected from the value of the car. It is more realistically priced here and the Amelia buyer can honestly take a $25,000 deduction from 2012 taxes.
Lot # 105 1957 Ford Thunderbird Convertible; S/N E7FH395517; Dusk Rose/White vinyl; Black cloth top; Estimate $60,000 – $80,000; Older restoration, 2- condition; Hammered Sold at $55,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $60,500 — 312/270hp dual quads, automatic, Town & Country radio, skirts, wheel covers, whitewalls, White porthole hardtop, P/S, P/B, P/seat, P/W. 2007 AACA National First Prize. Poor right door fit. No longer fresh, but still a high quality T-bird in all but the door fit. This has been a busy car, sold at Barrett-Jackson in 2008 for $93,500, a no-sale at Spring Carlisle in 2011, then sold at Auctions America’s Ft. Lauderdale auction earlier this year for $75,350. Its failure to find a happy home hints that it might be a less than satisfying ownership experience. This result is modest for an E-bird, but maybe not so much for this one.
Lot # 107 1957 Oldsmobile 88 Convertible; S/N 577L02657; Light Grey/White, Red vinyl; Black vinyl top; Estimate $60,000 – $80,000; Recent restoration, 2 condition; Hammered Sold at $47,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $51,700 — 371/277hp J-2 3×2 intake added, automatic, P/S, P/B, pushbutton radio, spinner wheel covers, whitewalls. Restored like new in 2005 with very good paint, chrome, interior, top, glass and engine. Two owners from new, with documentation back to the first owner’s bill of sale and license plate. A little dusty but that’s easily remedied. This is more Oldsmobile than the money it brought.
Lot # 108 1929 LaSalle 328 Convertible, Body by Fisher; S/N 421186; Burgundy, Maroon fenders/Maroon leather: Beige cloth top and boot; Estimate $50,000 – $70,000; Older restoration, 2- condition; Hammered Sold at $42,500 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $46,750 — Dark Grey wire wheels, whitewall tires, rumble seat, beige cloth covered luggage trunk, turn signals added, radiator stoneguard, dual sidemounts with mirrors. Handsomely restored to better than new condition with limited subsequent age or use. Quality paint, chrome and interior. Known mostly Canadian history from new, matching numbers engine. No Reserve. This LaSalle illustrates an important milestone in American car design, the first automobile designed from scratch by Harley J. Earl, and it is undeniably handsome. It was almost overlooked among the Cadillacs and Packards in RM’s St. Johns auction and is a good value at this price.
Lot # 109 1936 Packard Twelve Club Sedan; S/N 903338; Dark Green/Tan vinyl; Estimate $40,000 – $60,000; Visually maintained, largely original, 3- condition; Hammered Sold at $31,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $34,100 — Dual sidemounts, whitewall tires, grey painted wire wheels, fog lights. Crazed and shrinking old repaint, upholstery redone long ago. Otherwise a sound and usable old car. No Reserve. A bargain luxury car at this price, and something the new owner can take great pleasure in owning and driving even in this condition. Replacing the vinyl with cloth would enhance the value significantly, even with a modern synthetic material that is of no interest to moths.
Lot # 111 1911 Overland Model 38 Roadster; S/N 46819; Burgundy, Black fenders/Red leather; Black leatherette top; Estimate $20,000 – $30,000; Older restoration, 3 condition; Hammered Sold at $32,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $35,200 — RHD. Acetylene headlights, Prest-o-Lite tank, kerosene sidelights, bulb horn, Stewart speedometer, round bolster tank, small metal trunk. A used but maintained old restoration in good touring condition. John M. O’Quinn Estate. Sold by RM in Arizona in 2005, presumably to Mr. O’Quinn who was just beginning his splurge in the collector car market, for $41,800, this ‘sprightly example’, as the catalog appropriately describes it, is going to be a fun driver and event car. Its condition, while not fresh or pristine, is more than good enough to be driven and shown at the end of the day.
Lot # 112 1922 Chevrolet 490 Canopy Express Truck; S/N SH4877PA; Green, Black fenders and hood, Black composite roof/Black vinyl; Estimate $20,000 – $30,000; Truck restoration, 2- condition; Hammered Sold at $18,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $19,800 — Varnished oak bed floor and sideboards, natural canvas rollup sides. 1986 AACA Senior winner. Excellent paint and varnish. Chassis is covered in road grime but the engine is painted and nearly like new. John M. O’Quinn Estate. A fun and charismatic little truck in very presentable condition. The 3-speed gearbox makes it much more familiar to modern collectors than the Model T’s epicyclic transmission and it is a good value at this price.
Lot # 113 1934 Oldsmobile Eight Convertible Coupe; S/N L33171; Tan, Orange accent/Olive leather; Beige cloth top; Estimate $60,000 – $80,000; Older restoration, 2- condition; Hammered Sold at $52,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $57,200 — Dual enclosed sidemounts, steel spoke wheels with hubcaps and trim rings, wide whitewall tires, rumble neat upholstered in brown, fog lights. 2002 and 2007 AACA Senior award. Rusty grille. Good paint, chrome and interior. Was restored like new, now shows some age but little use. A strange two-tone color combination with olive in the passengers’ compartment and brown in the rumble seat. The interior upholstery appears to be newer than the rumble seat, but still, why a different color, particularly olive which doesn’t harmonize with the tan exterior. At this price it should have gone together better.
Lot # 117 1935 Packard Twelve Close-Coupled Limousine, Body by Brewster; S/N 1207215; Engine # 903773; Grey, Black padded roof/Maroon leather; Estimate $90,000 – $130,000; Visually maintained, largely original, 3 condition; Hammered Sold at $51,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $56,100 — Rollup division, luggage trunk, dual enclosed sidemounts, red wire wheels, wide whitewalls, fog lights, pulldown rear window shade, vent panels behind rear doors. Varnished wood interior panels. Sound old paint, probably original with later clear coat. Leather redone a while ago. Very original and complete. Owned by E.F. Hutton and his wife Marjorie Merriwether Post, Brewster Kenilworth body transferred from Phantom I chassis S105RP, until 1947, then by Lewis L. Smith until 1990. Engine rebuilt, high speed axle fitted. Featured in The Classic Car, Spring 2012. No Reserve. Despite Humer-Binder’s best efforts to modify this body to the Packard chassis it looks awkward and unbalanced. The preservation is exceptional, and the history is intriguing, but the car is, uh, peculiar looking, which no doubt affected its price here. In some senses it’s an exceptional value, but aesthetically it’s not such a wonderful find. Call the price reasonable under the circumstances.
Lot # 118 1963 Jaguar XKE SI Roadster; S/N 878978; Engine # RA1011-9; White/Red leather; Beige cloth top, Black cloth boot; Estimate $125,000 – $150,000; Older restoration, 2- condition; Not sold at Hammer bid of $97,500 — Chrome wire wheels, Pirelli blackwall tires, Motorola AM radio. RA4013 on block, RA1011-9 on head and repro data plate. Polished up underhood. Decent paint, good chrome and interior. Good dash and instruments. Was restored like new and now is a little aged and used but still a handsome early E-type driver. This is a realistic bid for this XKE. The seller could have made it bring more by spending some time (or money) on a thorough detailing, but didn’t and as a result the car didn’t impress.
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