Congratulations to the trade school WyoTech that brought out a 1964 Ford F100 that was given a roadster treatment by a band of their students over an eight month period. Because half of the school day is spend in classes, away from the machines, that really equates to a four-month frame on build.
Student workmanship
The students chopped off the top, making it a roadster. One student made the renderings for the “pickup” and all the students worked on various parts of the car from the body work, to even the final trim and upholstery.
It was on display by WyoTech at the SEMA show being held in Las Vegas this week, from November 5-8, 2013. Nice job by the students and good to see the future of rodding is in good hands. And nice job by the faculty staff doing the training, and inspecting.
Front end view
Rear end view of Roadster
Hood down view
Driver’s side view
Interior view of upholstery job
The truck received continuous stares, admiring glances and positive comments.
This year’s SEMA Awards for the top trending vehicle models in four categories were announced on Tuesday November 5, 2013 at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. The Ford Mustang was named Hottest Car, the Scion FR-S took the Hottest Sport Compact honors, the Ford F-Series won Hottest Truck and the Jeep Wrangler received the Hottest 4×4-SUV award.
I was pulling for the Chevy Silverado and the Corvette Stingray, so I guess I struck out; there but no complaints with the Scion FR-S and Jeep Wrangler winning.
Dare to be Different
One of the fun parts of SEMA, is the over the top, just because I can, attitude of many of the cars. Enough said
At the world’s largest convention of automotive aftermarket parts and accessories, the SEMA Show –Specialty Equipment Market Association – one of the highlights is the Chevrolet display; and the chance for a sneak preview at the Media Party held on Monday night before SEMA opens.
Besides catching up with various executives and seeing some great cars, Chevrolet brings in a few celebrities to spice up the night. Fortunately these celebrities have straight connections to the cars featured at this press event.
This year NASCAR racers Ricky Carmichael (and AMA racer and X Games champ) and Jeff Gordon were there to delight the crowds. Some of the featured cars were:
Ricky Carmichael’s Chevy All-Activity Sonic concept
The All-Activity Sonic concept was introduced by Carmichael and had a cold air induction, a lowered suspension and enhanced braking.Spark EV Tech Performance concept
Ricky Carmichael’s Sonic
Chevy Spark EV Tech Performance concept
Chevy “powered up†this all-electric tire smoking mini-car, the Spark, with an instant on 400 lb-ft of torque –http://route66pubco.com/wp-admin/post-new.php more than the classic 1969 Camaro SS muscle car with a 350 V-8 – for exhilarating acceleration. It can go from 0 to 60 mph in only 7.5 seconds.
Amped up Chevy Spark
2014 Chevy COPO
It seems that Chevrolet always has a new version of the legendary COPO drag cars for SEMA, and they didn’t disappoint this year with a light blue version. Very well designed and ready for the drag strip as is. This year will feature new front and rear fascia and be limited to the fabled 69 cars.
2014 COPO Camaro
Gran Turismo C7 Corvette Stingray
A flat blue Corvette that will be featured in the latest version of Playstation’s Gran Turismo was promoted. All week at the Chevy display show goers will be able to play an advanced version of the game.
Corvette Stingray from Gran Turismo
Restored 1978 pick up
This truck was a restored beauty and featured a new crate engine package from Chevy. The E ROD 5.3 L package is a plug and play emissions compliant powertrain.
Restored Chevy Pickup with E ROD power
Jeff Gordon’s SS
His SS came with a red satin (flat) finish was an awesome car with subtle power touches. A LS3 engine and a 6 speed automatic transmission were the power plant for the SS.
Red Satin SS from Jeff Gordon
2014 Camaro Z28
The road worthy Z/28 in all black was released at this event. Featuring Brembo brakes, less weight and a LS7 engine helps make this track car a worthy competitor and lives up to its namesake.
Black Z/28
Transformers 4
Three cars from the 2014 Transformer movie were on hand to be admired; a new Bumble Bee Camaro, a Sonic and bright Green Corvette Stingray
Green Transformer StaingrayTransformer 4 Bumble Bee CamaroChevy Sonic from Transformer 4
Good times, good cars, good people. SEMA cranks up in full power mode in a few hour son Tuesday November 5th. More details at Chevy Performance.
SEMA – the Specialty Equipment Market Association – show starts officially on Tuesday November 5, 2013 in Las Vegas. Car Nirvana is spread over 2 million square feet of interior space and even more cars are positioned outside. I figured if Hot Rod Magazine can prediction what the SEMA 2013 will highlight, I can predict too.
Predictions for SEMA
I’ll be more modest and only give you five trends to be spotted at SEMA this year.
Prediction #1
Car of the Year – Has to be the Corvette Stingray. This is the after-market convention after all and there has been no more pent-up demand, than seeing the Corvette C7 hit the streets.
Corvette Stingray
Prediction #2
Flat is back. We’ve seen variations of flat paint jobs in the past, and that trend is going to explode. Both from the mainstream manufacturers but also the specialty shops. And contrary to some opinions, it takes as much prep work on a car body to spray it flat as it does for the shiny clear coats.
Prediction #3
Step up the transmissions. Used to be standard to row through four speeds, but not that Detroit is issuing out sheet metal with 7 speed transmissions to help up the EPA gas mileage, so will the aftermarket.
Sweet Trucker
Prediction #4
Truck of the year? Got to be the Chevrolet Silverado. Demand is back up for trucks, that’s where the money is and that’s where General Motors has hit a home run. It might be apolitical to have two winners from the same manufacturer, but the Silverado deserves it!
Prediction #5
Retro is back with a passion. Clothing, accessories, and cars will all be showing an old fashioned look. Woodies, rat rods, salt wagons will all be highly visible.
Stayed tuned and we’ll see how many of these predictions you might agree with after Friday and the show wraps up.
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…
Well this should be an interesting weekend for car auction followers and auto enthusiasts. On one weekend you have three competitive car auctions.
Barrett Jackson
US flag at Barrett Jackson
The Barrett-Jackson monolith rolls into Las Vegas for three days of car bidding; starting today through Saturday (September 26-28,2013). They are at Mandalay Bay and their coverage is a hodge podge of cable channels including National Geographic and Fox Sports 1&2. It’ll be interesting to see how their TV coverage and ratings hold up; now that they are not continuously on the demised SPEED Channel
Russo Steele
Drew Alcazar must have sensed there was enough money in Las Vegas and opted to hold a similar car auction down the street at the Tropicana. He is not charging for general admission tickets in the early part of each day and has some nice cars on the auction block.
VanDerBrink Auction
Chevrolet Logo
This firm is auctioning off a large collection of barely used (but somewhat abused) Chevrolet’s from the Lambrecht Chevrolet dealership. This auction, including on-line bidding, is in Pierce, Nebraska and will be held on September 28-29, 2013. Some of these cars were never sold by the dealership and thus never titled or registered. Some unfortunately were not cared for and Mother Nature and sagging roofs have taken a sad toll. Some cars were trade in’s that never again left the car lot. But not many Chevy’s are around today with less than 10 miles on the odometer. It’ll be interesting to see what some of the more mundane cars/models are bid to. It would seem to me that the demand for some models is limited and short of rolling them in and out of trailers, I can’t see the attraction and value.
Good luck to all three auctions. Here’s hoping all have great cars and heavy bidding!
Finally got the chance to see “Snake and Mongoo$e†movie this weekend. If you love drag racing and appreciate the history and our past this will be a great movie to see. Unfortunately it is only at limited locations for now, so you’ll have to check the website for any local theaters in your area showing this film. The producers actually have keyed in on sites that host NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) races, figuring they would have a built-in audience at those locations.
SEMA Preview
I saw a clip of this film while at the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association) show last year in Las Vegas, Nevada and it already looked interesting then. If you follow NHRA coverage, they have pushed it heavily since this year’s National’s. John Force Racing even had his cars decaled with the movie for the National’s to help promote it. Here are links to our previous coverage, and an interview with the writer and co-executive producer Alan Paradise.
Snake and Mongoo$e
I absolutely, thoroughly enjoyed the film. It tells the beginning of Don “the Snake†Prudhomme and Tom “the Mongoose†McEwen when drag racing was something done on the weekends and you had a day job Monday-Friday. Prudhomme was a car painter/body man at his dad’s shop and McEwen worked for Douglas Aircraft.
Hot Wheels
The story tells how McEwen and Prudhomme ended up being sponsored by Hot Wheels. This was the first non-automotive sponsorship in motor racing and led the way for corporate America sponsoring motor racing. Hot Wheels sponsored them for $100,000. That wouldn’t buy much in today’s competitive races! Hot Wheels and Mattel always has had close relationships with Detroit and the car manufacturers. In fact at the GM display at SEMA last year, a substantial part of the floor space was a mockup of the orange tracks used by the Hot Wheels. And Chevy even offered a limited production Hot Wheels Camaro available to the public.
Blue Camaros at SEMA 2012
GM Display at SEMA Show
The film does a good job blending archival film in with the new stuff. Had to laugh seeing a much younger Keith Jackson doing a spot for Wide World of Sports. Remember when you had to wait weeks to see a short taped episode of your favorite sporting event (interspersed with cliff diving from Acapulco)? A lot of the current action looks like it was shot at Famoso Raceway.
Authentic
Plenty of actual drag cars are in the background. Plus even the houses in the scenes have that period authentic look that only Hollywood can achieve. The race sequences are real archival footage to help add that authentic, realistic touch.
As with any historical film, you already know the ending. But people still went to see “Lincoln†right? The film starts with a spot from the 1978 Nationals and then sweeps back to the beginning of the Snake and Mongoo$e story. I sense this was a labor of love for the filmmakers and hope it is a money maker for them. The only drawback I can see is that if you aren’t into drag racing, the storyline might not be as compelling. Hearing Prudhomme talk about crewing for Tommy Ivo and driving for Roland DeLong, might not be as relevant if you don’t know the backgrounds of these characters. Don’t want to spoil the ending for those of you who might not know the story, but there are a few emotional spots towards the end and a few good life lessons to ponder.
When I see the Nike swoosh on NFL practice uniforms, listen to football broadcast from ATT Dallas Stadium and see ads on the NBA basketball court, it is amazing to realize this all might have stemmed from Hot Wheels first successfully sponsoring the Snake and Mongoo$e.
Cars and Haulers selling at Barrett-Jackson Auction in Scottsdale, AZ January, 2014
The actual restored drag cars and the matching iconic haulers will be sold by Don Prudhomme by Barrett-Jackson at the Scottsdale, Arizona auction in January 2014. They are scheduled to be present for the Las Vegas auction this weekend so you are apt to see a glimpse of them on the television coverage this weekend.
Some pictures/artwork courtesy of “Snake and Mongoo$e – the Movieâ€
Movie Logo – Snake and Mongoo$e
Snake and Mongoo$e – Drag Cars
Yellow Car Hauler
Prudhomme’s Plymouth Arrow Funny Car
Haulers on movie set for Snake and Mongoo$e
Greer Black Prudhomme Dragster
Red Car Hauler from Snake and Mongoo$e movie
From classics to muscle cars – everything automotive
