[Mr_GTO]

My dad and I spent a few days at the auction. My observations.

It was my first time at a major auction. Unless you're bidding it's a huge car show. Lots of nice cars, lots of junk. All cars look worse in person then on TV. Announcers can't say anything bad about the cars going through the block.

That said, I had a great time. It's a enormous facility. Many awesome Pontiac's. I saw a 1962 Grand Prix SD that I think is going through today or Saturday. Saw another car I'd have loved to bid on and that was a 70 Atoll Blue RA3 4spd AC convertible. Nice car. I also found a clone car to my brother's 71 Buick Centurion. That car is local to me here in Sarasota so I might try to find it after if it doesn't actually sell there.

I also had the pleasure of meeting the owner of the restored "Humbler" GTO commercial car. Nice guy who lives not far from where I grew up in New England.

That said, if you're a car fan, and I think about everyone here is, I'd recommend going to at least 1 big auction if you can. I had a great time. If I can get pics off my phone I'll try to add them to this thread later this weekend.

[400 4spd.]

A customer of mine is planning to bid on a couple of cars this weekend, the red convertible '56 Chevy and a Fawn '62 Corvette.

[TAKerry]

Havent been to a Mecum yet but plan to soon. Not saying about their cars but you are correct in the appearance is much different in person than in pictures. We used to buy a lot of antique motorcycles. One particular one that we really wanted came up for auction (from a diff. company). Only saw the online stuff and it look absolutely perfect, we had set a price and were ready to register. Last minute we were able to travel and get to the auction in person. Looking at the bike up close it was a complete POS. Said recent restoration and in pics looked like it, in person the restoration looked to be about 30 yrs old and it showed. We did not bid on that bike. I learned then if I am buying at auction be there in person.

[Jack Gifford]

I forgot to watch any of it. I'm wondering if the Hirohata Merc sold, and if it brought the [anticipated] 7-figure price?

[tigergto]

Originally Posted by Jack Gifford

I forgot to watch any of it. I'm wondering if the Hirohata Merc sold, and if it brought the [anticipated] 7-figure price?

I believe that car is crossing the block on Saturday.

[gtobob67]

I heard there may be a mid-year Corvette heading back this way. Any truth to that??

[burd]

Saw way too many kit cars and Fauxbras ( fake cobras). One after another.
Like Barrett Jackson event way better.

[Stuart]

The Gary Thomas collection of Fords that sold yesterday was pretty impressive. Mostly vintage Mustangs including a lot of Shelbys, the total was around $5 million. The Petersen Museum did a three part video series on his complete collection last month, he has several hundred cars with a full time on site restoration shop. This is part 1, it should link you to parts 2 and 3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4svHc1D5VZY

[PunchT37]

Went to the Mecum in Dallas. LOTS of cars. I agree with the op. Lots of junk mixed with better cars. Had a good time. Was standing on the "carpet" without being run off.

[d63howe]

THe Hirohata went for $1,950,000.

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by d63howe

THe Hirohata went for $1,950,000.

That was an impressive sale. Lots of other high dollar cars this year, too.

[Jack Gifford]

Originally Posted by d63howe

... THe Hirohata went for $1,950,000...

Thanks. There was talk of it going much higher, but two million ain't bad,

[Drag Star Le Mans]

Originally Posted by Mr_GTO

My observations. Lots of nice cars, lots of junk. All cars look worse in person then on TV. Announcers can't say anything bad about the cars going through the block.

Edited down to this comment. I noticed a 60 Impala convertible with top down and a cover over where the top would be? Clearly the was no convertible top under that cover. Lots of good cars but definitely some junk.

[KJB]

Originally Posted by Mr_GTO

My dad and I spent a few days at the auction. My observations.

That said, I had a great time. It's a enormous facility. Many awesome Pontiac's. I saw a 1962 Grand Prix SD that I think is going through today or Saturday.

That said, if you're a car fan, and I think about everyone here is, I'd recommend going to at least 1 big auction if you can. I had a great time. If I can get pics off my phone I'll try to add them to this thread later this weekend.

Anybody know what the 62 Grand Prix SD went for. I'm only a couple hours south and toyed with the idea of going to the auction but didn't.

[tallrandyb]

Originally Posted by tigergto

I believe that car is crossing the block on Saturday.

$1,950,000 on a $1M "high estimate". Wayne Carini was there helping the family with the sale, and once it passed the $1M mark and hit around $1.2M the lady was absolutely losing her mind. By the time it sold at $1.95M I thought she was going to have a heart attack. Lots of fun to watch.

What an amazing piece of car history.

[tallrandyb]

Originally Posted by TAKerry

Havent been to a Mecum yet but plan to soon. Not saying about their cars but you are correct in the appearance is much different in person than in pictures. We used to buy a lot of antique motorcycles. One particular one that we really wanted came up for auction (from a diff. company). Only saw the online stuff and it look absolutely perfect, we had set a price and were ready to register. Last minute we were able to travel and get to the auction in person. Looking at the bike up close it was a complete POS. Said recent restoration and in pics looked like it, in person the restoration looked to be about 30 yrs old and it showed. We did not bid on that bike. I learned then if I am buying at auction be there in person.

Very very true. I watched the 65 GTO one-owner-for-46-years original paint car go across the stage while standing next to it (awesome car, much like mine except a stripper hardtop with 4.60 rear gears). Then went home and played back the recording and WOW do those cameras cover up a lot of blemishes. Everything on TV looks like it was color-corrected/ceramic-coated/uber-detailed before crossing the block, but you see the real deal in person.

[5th TA]

Attending one of these is on my bucket list. The ultimate candy store for big boys.

Not sure about all the internet and phone bidding. I would never buy a car without inspecting it in person or at least having a well trusted individual look at it first. An old friend used to say a coat of paint hides a multitude of sin.

[lust4speed]

Our GTO club had the driving chores when Mecum came to Southern California. We also drew from SCCPOCI and other clubs to insure we had enough drivers. Mecum was a first class act and always treated us great. We personally covered our hotel rooms and meals just to participate and it was fun. Lots of "negotiating" to see which one of us got to drive the really interesting cars.

I remember driving a '66 442 that didn't look too bad. Camera crew came up and did a preview of the car. They hit the bright camera light on and every piece of dust, every dash crack, and every other imperfection just lit up. It looked absolutely horrible, but later on I watched the recorded show and the interior looked factory fresh. Amazing what the camera sees. The car looked great but unfortunately I didn't look any better.

About a quarter of the cars had dead batteries. Looking at the battery you could tell the seller tried to save a buck at the last minute and replaced the battery with a piece of junk.

One out of ten cars didn't have brakes. We learned really fast to not only check for pedal but to not trust the car to stop even if it did the first time.

We learned to not touch the emergency brake. Surprising how many went on easy to never release. The Mecum crew could get most cars moving again regardless of the problem.

The fire marshal at the Anaheim Convention Center really limited the time we could run the cars going over the block since everything was under one roof. When Mecum moved to the Pomona Fair Grounds we got to drive the cars about a half mile from different buildings to the block and back to the building. By that time I could have written up a complete report of the driving characteristics.

I'll echo the most important piece of advice here -- Either you or a trusted individual needs to lay eyes on a car you plan to bid on.

Pics of our crew over the years.

[Stuart]

A couple things I've always wondered about:
1. You see people with a bottle of spray detailer and a cloth doing a final cleanup on cars just before they go across the auction block. I wonder how clean those cloths are...I can imagine them doing more harm than good, they probably use the same one all day and drop it on the ground every so often for good measure.
2. There's a team of guys who push the cars on and off the auction block, and they don't seem to be too particular about what part of the car they push against. It's probably not a big deal for most American cars built with heavy steel, but how about the exotic European cars with aluminum bodies...I'll bet some of them end up with suspicious dents before it's all over.

[1965gp]

I wish I would have watched this- I love watching the market but wow are things going for a lot. Didn’t a fox body cobra go for 100k?

Getting ready for Barrett Jackson in a week. I am taking a large group of customers like we do every year.