Gasser’s are easily spotted from a mile away. The body’s are lifted up with a straight axle highly visible in the front. In the early 60’s that is what everybody brought to the local drag strips. Back then you didn’t care about pro-touring handling, you just wanted something to go lickity split for a quarter of a mile.
Hot Rod Magazine
The latest issue of Hot Rod magazine (December, 2013) has an article on a 58 Ford Gasser that the folks at Galpin Ford did for a sales manager, Steve Carpenter. The article is a nice write-up on a nice car.
Galpin Gasser
The 331 cubic inch Ford engine produces 500 horsepower and matches up to a Borg Warner 4 speed, using a Hurst 4 speed.   A Currie 9 inch rear end with a 4.11 posi helps hold everything together.  Lots of chrome, which probably wasn’t in use as much back at the old airstrip dragways, is evident. That’s a nice gold pearl paint job with real gold and silver leaf lettering.
Barrett-Jackson
We first saw it at the Barrett-Jackson Auction in January 2013 in Scottsdale, Arizona and thought we could share some extra views of this gasser for our readers.
Galpin Ford has a solid reputation for doing cars right, and just previewed a supercar at Pebble Beach. Here’s hoping that both cars will be at their booth in Las Vegas next month at the SEMA Show.
One of the advantages of being in Arizona for car guys is the chance to see new, unreleased “mules” on the road. Arizona is home to most of the car manufacturers for proving grounds. But these cars don’t just stay inside the fenced grounds, as these spy shots of the Nissan Rogue show. “Mules” are test cars used by the makers to test things out in real road conditions.
They wander around the Arizona geography and get a chance to try out these prototypes on twisty roads, interstate highways and with elevations changing from sea level to high mountains. Of course the area is known for the opportunity to test in high heat conditions, but the cars get a chance to experience all of what Arizona climates offer. They often are loaded up with plenty of telemetries recording all sorts of feedback from a myriad of sensors.
Of course the manufacturers aren’t keen on the public recognizing these cars. Besides sporting manufacturer plates these cars often have geometric black and white wraps to help disguise the final shape and design of the cars. But plenty of photographers go out on the hunt to track down a shot of these beauties.
2014 Nissan Rogue
Recently two Nissan Rogues, which will have a new release in 2014 were seen out and about on the Arizona highways.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
It’s rare to see these cars stationary, but the drivers have to take a break on occasion!
The Mecum Auction concluded their Chicago area auction last week, with the big seller being a 1963 Corvette originally gifted by General Motors to their famed car stylist Harley Earl.
Harley Earl
Harley J. Earl
Harley J. Earl spent thirty years with General Motors and retired as the Vice President of Design. He left a lasting mark during this iconic era, including working on the special Motorama era cars, concept cars, stylish sports coupes (hardtops) and two toned paint jobs with outrageous fins. His 1938 Buick Y Job is actually considered the first “concept” car produced from Detroit.
1938 Buick Y-Job concept car
A little known fact is that the Daytona 500 NASCAR trophy is named the Harley J. Earl Trophy; showing the impact this designer had in automotive circles.
1963 Corvette
While titled as a 1963, it has several touches from the 1965, like 4 wheel disc brakes, and many one-off designs including a set of custom gauges in the passenger pod. The exhaust pipes coming out the side cove is also a unique touch. It has a 327 power plant and the requisite four speed. It generally is suspected to be a mule (or test car) and hence even rarer and more valuable. The car was originally destined for the Chicago Car Show. but then re-deployed as well deserved thanks to an automotive icon.
Past Sales
This Corvette doesn’t seem to stay in one collection for long. Mecum sold it in 2010 for $925,000, and previously in 2009 for $985,000 and it was also sold by Barrett-Jackson in 1999 for $145,000 (all prices are listed without buyer’s premium).
Mecum Auction results for Chicago
During the three days of car selling frenzy, covered by Velocity TV, 965 cars were offered up for sale with 615 hammered sold (that is nearly a 65% selling rate) with over $18 million in sales. Like most auctions many cars are offered on “reserve” meaning if the bid doesn’t reach a certain set amount, the car is not sold.
Front End View 1963 Corvette
Side view of 1963 Harley Earl Corvette
Custom set of gauges for Passenger Side of 63 Corvette
Side View of Harley Earl’s 1963 Corvette
Unique side exhaust on Harley Earl’s Corvette
Harley Earls’s Corvette
So what do you think? Did the buyer get a deal?
Photos courtesy of Mecum Auctions and Barrett-Jackson Auction
At last count four cars from the Lambrecht Chevrolet Auction held last week, have surfaced on the Internet for resale. You had to figure some local shops would take advantage of their location and opportunity to flip a car. Of course all these cars are now prominently featuring their connection to the Lambrecht Chevrolet dealership, and sold through VanDerBrink Auctions.
Chevy’s Now for Sale
One seller found out that his 1969 Kingswood Station Wagon had too much rust in the frame to be unsalvageable. I’m guessing if the car had flat tires and laid down on the dirt, rust would be inevitable. Now is the time to see if someone needs just the parts and cut your losses.
1969 Chevy Kingswood Station Wagon went for $900
A 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air is being offered with a $25,000 asking price. Good profit if it sells, since it was bought at auction for $18,000. It’s a cute car but when the seller/dealer advertises it as a 150/210 AND a Bel Air Hardtop I guess you’d have to do some more research.
1959 Chevrolet sold for $18,000
A 1957 Chevy suffers the same identity problem, advertised as a 150/210 and Bel Air. So unless Johnny Cash had a hand in it, I’m guessing it is only one of those three models – and based on the VIN I’d wager it is the 210 sedan version with four doors, which is two doors too many for my taste.
4 door 1957 Chevrolet sold for $7,000
Olds too!
And not just Chevy’s are being flipped. One seller is offering a 1964 Oldsmobile Jet Star 88 two door hardtop for sale. This seller cleared off some if the dirt and dust, but you can’t deny it is rough.
1964 Olds Jet Star 88 hammered sold for $5,300
Lots of people have looked at these cars and the prices paid and scratched their head. The mileage is relatively low for fifty + year old cars, but they are in rough shape; even the “flippers†haven’t generally tried to start or verify the running condition. In this shape, you can try to get them in running condition and then enjoy the look and notoriety. But if you were planning on a full out restoration you better open that checkbook wide and start adding some zero’s, because lots of parts are missing and torn up.
Flipping Cars
I have mixed feeling on flippers. They serve a purpose and I’m all for making a buck. For someone who didn’t want to bid on line and couldn’t make it out to Pierce, Nebraska, they can still buy a rusty Chevy. I just think that these flippers needlessly raised the prices up and now need even more of a price increase in order to make a profit.
What do you think, are flipper’s a miracle or menace?
The VanDerBrink Auction of the Lambrecht Collection of classic Chevrolet’s is a week old and reality is crashing through the buying fever. The crowds have departed Pierce, Nebraska and we can now look more analytically at the cars and prices paid.
VanDerBrink Workmanship
The auctioneers at VanDerBrink did a great job in organizing these cars and gave fairly valid descriptions of the cars. Some were mislabeled as Bel Air models but all auction houses note that descriptions are guides and not to be relied on. With this many cars, some minor issues are bound to occur and VanDerBrink did a great job keeping the crowd orderly and advancing. Plus the sellers, the Lambrecht’s, must be happy with the outcome and know their name will be now known in collector circles for years to come.
1955 Chevrolets sold at the Lambrecht Auction
Let’s look at the 1955 Chevrolet’s in detail this time. The 1955 was the beginning of the “tri-five†series from 1955-1957. There were ten Chevrolet cars sold during the two days of the auctions for this model year. The cars come in three variations, the bare bones 150, a slightly sexier 210 and the fully duded out Bel Air. The VIN’s shown by VanDerBrink helped decipher which model was which and with what engine. All these cars were high mileage survivors and presumably trade-ins to Lambrecht Chevrolet. All ten cars are in rough condition and will need some extensive body and mechanical work, or kept in
a survivor mode. Remember they can only be original once!
All prices will have a buyer’s premium of 5-10% added to the listed price, based on whether the bidder was on site or not.
Sales
For the 1955 model year, six sold cars were four doors and four were the more in demand 2 doors; both a hardtop and a sedan. While perhaps more practical if you are planning on using the rear seat often, the reality is the 2 doors are always more in demand in the collector market and generally higher priced when restored. The 2 door sedan (post) went for $5,750 and the hardtop went for $9,000. There were no high dollar sales for this year with the range being from $12,000 to $1,800. The ten cars sold for an average of under $5,200  Plus none of these cars were the low or no  mileage; sold on MSO (Manufacturer’s Statement of Origin) paperwork instead of state title; which indicates that Lambrecht Chevrolet didn’t have any trouble selling those models when new!
At least at these prices, the cars are going to loving homes and not being chopped up for their body parts. Or are they…check out a future blog article.
The VanDerBrink Auction of the Lambrecht Collection of classic Chevrolet’s is nearly a week old and the buying fever has subsided. The crowds have departed Pierce, Nebraska and we can now look more analytically at the cars and prices paid.
Aerial view of Lambrecht Auction site
1956 Chevrolet
Let’s look at the 1956 Chevrolet’s in detail this time. The 1956 was in the middle of the three years of the oft referred “tri-five†series from 1955-1957. There were seven Chevrolet cars sold during the two days of the auctions for this model year. The cars come in three variations, the bare bones 150, a slightly sexier 210 and the fully duded out Bel Air. The VIN’s shown by VanDerBrink helped decipher which model was which and with what engine. One unit was a 210 station wagon. All these cars were high mileage and presumably trade-ins to Lambrecht Chevrolet. All seven cars are in rough condition and will need some extensive body and mechanical work, or kept in a survivor mode. Remember they can only be original once!
Lambrecht Chevrolet 1956 2 door sedan
All prices will have a buyer’s premium of 5-10% added to the listed price based on whether the bidder was on site or not.
Lambrecht Sales
For the 1956 model year, five were four doors, with the above mentioned station wagon and a 2 door sedan also selling. While perhaps more practical if you are planning on using the rear seat often, the reality is the 2 doors are presently more in demand in the collector market and generally higher priced when restored. The 2 door sedan (post) went for $14,500. On Saturday, when more of the high value cars sold from the Lambrecht Collection a 4 door hardtop went for $30,000.
$30,000 selling price for 4 door 1956 hard top
The fact that the auction didn’t have any of the more popular versions of the 1956 model year, suggests that if Lambrecht had accepted those models as trade in they were sold long ago. Plus none of these were the low or no  mileage; sold on MSO (Manufacturer’s Statement of Origin) instead of state title; which indicates that Lambrecht Chevrolet didn’t have any trouble selling those models when new! The average price for the seven cars was just over $7,900 and only three cars went for over $5,000.
Lambrecht’s 1956 station wagon interior
At least at these prices, the cars are going to loving homes and not being chopped up for their body parts. Or are they…check out a future blog article.
The VanDerBrink Auction of the Lambrecht Collection of classic Chevrolet’s is now over and the buying fever has subsided. The crowds have departed Pierce, Nebraska and we can now look more analytically at the cars and prices paid.
1957 Chevy’s
57 Sports Coupe Chevy
Let’s look at the 1957 Chevrolet’s sold at this auction. The 1957 was the last of the three years of the oft referred “tri-five†series from 1955-1957. There were five autos sold during the first day of the auction in this model year. The cars come in three variations, the bare bones 150, a slightly sexier 210 and the fully blinged Bel Air. The VIN’s shown by VanDerBrink helped decipher which model was which. All five cars from Saturday are in rough condition and will need some extensive body and mechanical work, or kept in a survivor look. The photos in this blog are obviously NOT the cars sold at auction but representative of restored 1957 models.
1957 Chevy Sports Coupe 2 door
1957 Seller’s
The high dollar seller for the 1957’s was a four door sedan 210 that sold for $37,500 and had 47,000 miles.
Next up was a four door sedan with the more popular Bel Air trim selling for $23,000 with an unknown odometer reading.
4 door 1957 Chevy Sedan
More realistically priced was another 4 door sedan Bel Air with 43,000 miles selling for $12,000.
A 150 2 door sedan with 57,000 miles went for $9,750 and bringing up the rear was a 4 door sedan 210 model with 60,000 miles selling for $7,000.
1957 2 door sedan
Day Two
On Sunday six more 4 door sedans sold with an average price of $6200. None of these rougher vehicles cracked above $9,500. It was interesting that one unit with no VIN tag went for $7,500. Perhaps this suggests the buyer was more interested in the pieces than the whole car? Also a 4 door hard top (sports coupe) went for $9,000.
All prices will have a buyer’s premium of 5-8% added to the listed price based on whether the bidder was on site or not.
Prices in Review
Good deals? Probably not, although obviously at least two bidders wanted each of these cars. You’ll first note that these five cars had some miles showing. These were NOT the pristine cars offering MSO’s (Manufacturer’s Statement of Origin) and never registered with barely any miles registering on the odometer. These likely were trade in’s that wouldn’t or couldn’t leave the used car lot. Perhaps that’s how they ended up in the inventory in the first place?
1957 Chevy 4 door sports coupe
Four Door 1957’s
Eleven of the twelve were four doors. While perhaps more practical if you are planning on using the rear seat often, the reality is the 2 doors are more in demand and generally higher priced when restored. In fact our friends at Real Deal Steel only offer the 2 door versions in new trick American manufactured tri-five cars, because the four doors are just not as much in demand. Plus most collectors like the look and relative rarity of the Bel Air models, and bid up for that look. Finally sedans with the center post is just not as stylish as the sports coupe’s. Remember demand drives prices.
1957 Chevy 4 door sports coupe
At least at these prices, the cars are going to loving homes and not being chopped up for their body parts. Or are they? Check out a follow up blog…
From classics to muscle cars – everything automotive
