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€
While cars are the major attraction at a car show – (duh), organizers always seem to find other ways to spend your time and money. One of the best side attractions at the Pebble Beach Concours  d’Elegance is the art work shown by the Automotive Fine Art Society (AFAS) artists.
AFAS
These auto artists have two major shows a year, here at Pebble Beach and at Amelia Island in March. They have been displaying their wares since 1986 at Pebble Beach.  This is their chance to show off their newest designs to discerning car nuts and art buyers in a juried show. AFAS consists of 25 members devoted to interpreting cars through art. At this show Tom Fritz won the inaugural “Art Fitzpatrick Award” from AFAS.
Tom Fritz’s Newest Pieces
This year Tom Fritz, a member of AFAS, was able to preview five new pieces. His “Like Dogs Was After ‘Em” shows a 32 Ford hi-boy alongside a 1940 Ford Deluxe coupe on a back road. “Long, Lazy Wait” depicts a sprint car on a small dirt track.  “Ain’t Bashful No How” is a terrific front engine dragster painting. The “Woodshed Session” is a scene from a race track, focused on two spirited competitors.   “Ending The Rumors”  shows a race car leaving a plume of dust and smoke behind the car.  While many may not be able to afford a Fritz original, I’m guessing we all could buy one of his reproductions. In fact I’m guessing you probably already bought or used one!
USPS Muscle Cars
You see Tom was selected to do the artwork for the third series of classic “muscle†cars for the United States Postal Service. So for the price of five stamps, you can own some Tom Fritz art!
As you check out his latest pieces, you’ll see he has a great eye for detail and has some tremendous designs. More information on Tom Fritz and his artwork can be found here. Tom will be showing in two months at the SEMA show in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Porsche 911. For perspective the Corvette is celebrating 60 years with their seventh generation of the American sports car. This is presently the fifth incarnation of the 911 and is treasured for both its sleek design and focused engineering. The first model was labeled a “901” but due to trademark issues had to change it to the now iconic 911.
911 comparisons
Porsche 911’s Humble Beginnings
It is rare for a model to stay in constant use for half a century, but even the original first generation was known for setting the industry standards for superior engineering. Imagine that in 1963, the first 911 came with such advanced features as overhead cams, dry-sump oiling, seven-main-bearing bottom end, 5-speed transaxle, 4-wheel disc brakes, rack-and-pinion steering, and advanced independent suspension. There are even cars being manufactured today that can’t hold a candle to that design.
Porsche always had a high level of engineering design but ironically, the fir
st generation Porsche 911’s were blinding fast but treacherous to drive, but over time the handling was improved. The exterior lines of the 911 seem timeless and stately.
Porsche 911 Celebrations
Across the globe various venues are hosting events to celebrate the 50th Anniversary epoch. The Silverstone Classic in July had a great event. Originally hoping for 911
Porsche’s to roar along the circuit, they couldn’t stop the demand and ended up with over 1200 cars hitting the race track. Here’s the details on the event.
You just had to know the Frankfurt Auto show in Porsche’s backyard would do the 911 proud and the factory pulled no punches with a knockout event. Porsche had a driving party at their test track at Weissach,Germany. And their museum is having a special exhibition as well
Daily Driver Capable
Thanks to its own 50-year racing history, today’s Teutonic 911 is one of the highest-performance cars, but still is tame enough to be a daily driver. Few cars can claim to be favored by three generations of drivers.
One of the joys of attending the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Manufacturer’s Association) show is seeing the vendors. Nothing beats a chance to see in-person new products and hear from the company representatives directly what is “new and improvedâ€. That’s why we prowl not only the million square feet at the Las Vegas Convention Center for the SEMA show but attend the simultaneous and just as huge AAPEX (Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo) show at the Sands Convention Center and that’s where we found this great detailing brush.
ATLASTA
This ATLASTA SoftTip detailing brush at first blush, might seem too bulky or stiff for fine detail work on a car, but nothing could be farther from the truth. This brush feels like a natural extension of your hand and the TRIALOY filament bristles are like silk.
This “Made in the USA†brush comes from a great pedigree of brushes, as it is part of the Paint Brush Corporation. Don’t recognize that name? Not surprising, but if you ever have held a parts cleaning brush over a vat of carbon cleaning chemicals, odds are that brush was made by the Parts Brush Division of the Paint Brush Corporation. And the owner of this company wanted a quality detailing brush. So he used his years of expertise and product knowledge to design the ATLASTA SoftTip brush.
Brush in action
Car detailing brush from ATLASTA
This brush is hands down the best detailing brush we have ever used and trust us we’ve used tons of brushes over the years. The ergonomic detailing brush measures just under ten inches and weighs a lightweight 4.3 ounces. We haven’t found a spot on any of our cars that this brush can’t reach and it removes any debris or dust without any risk of scratches or swirls. For more details on this detailing brush, click here.
Their motto sums it up - “only one grade… the very best.â€
If you are an avid drag race fan or into the historical vintage racing stuff, you’ll enjoy watching the upcoming movie, Snake and Mongoo$e. It will be coming to theaters in limited release after the NHRA’s US Nationals being held this Labor Day Weekend. In a clever marketing ploy, it is first being released in markets where the NHRA hosts drag racing. It even had some special preview showings during Hot August Nights and the Woodward Cruise, according to screenwriter and co-producer Alan Paradise. We had first covered this movie this month.
Snake and Mongoo$e Movie Poster
Drag Racing with Mattel’s Hot Wheel Sponsorship
Some of you may recall when Don “the Snake” Prudhome and Tom “the Mongoose” McEwen barnstormed the country with their drag racing grudge matches. Their profiles blossomed when Mattel’s Hot Wheels sponsored the racers, crafting a set of drag racing themed models. This is generally regarded as the first non-automotive related sponsorship of an automobile racing event. Guess you can trace the naming of stadiums, sponsorship of pro team press conferences and ads at courtside of basketball games, all to Mattel and this duo.
The movie offers a trip back to 1970 when these two raced their cars; Prudhome drove a yellow Plymouth ‘Cuda while McEwen piloted the red Dodge Duster. They used color matching car haulers that kept the cars exposed and visible as they crisscrossed the highways. Now these restored race cars are again barnstorming the country to promote the movie before they are scheduled to be sold in January, 2014 at the Barrett-Jackson Car Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Alan Paradise – Screen writer of Snake and Mongoo$e
We had the chance for an interview with the screenwriter Alan Paradise recently, who offered some behind the scenes insights to this movie. Turns out that Paradise is a prolific writer and has authored a variety of car themed books and worked on numerous car magazines over the years. You’ve probably read his words while working for Buckaroo Publications, Truckin’ and Sport Compact Car. As a filmmaker, he developed over 100 video profiles of NASCAR racers and tracks.
The inspiration for the movie
Paradise was first approached by Mattel in 2005 seeking his help in producing a documentary on the then 35th anniversary of the drag racing partnership. The documentary “Once Upon A Wheel” was the result and was used initially for Mattel functions and eventually Tom McEwen acquired the rights to the film and even still sells it today.
While collaborating on the documentary, McEwen suggested that Paradise could make the story of Snake and Mongoose into a book. That started Paradise off on a trek involving hundreds of hours of research and interviews with some of drag racing’s legends including John Force, Tommy Ivo and Roland DeLong.
The more Paradise worked on the project, the more he was convinced that the story needed to be told on the big screen as a movie; and encouraged by his wife, that was the route he pursued. He linked up with Stephen Nemeth of Rhino Films and he started working on a script. It took Paradise seven months to write his first draft and then another 3 months for a re-write, plus another 2 months on final tweaks and changes.
Paradise submitted his script to the Hollywood powers late on a Friday, thinking that he could relax over the weekend before hearing back from the producers at the earliest on Monday. Instead on Sunday, he was in deep discussions with the movie folks who had loved the script and read it right away.
As they sought out financial backing for the film, some distributors were concerned that the story would not have much attraction in the foreign markets. This seems ironic since drag racing is truly an international sport with strong interest across the globe. So the movie folks opted to go the independent route.
Archival Footage
During the movie making process, the producers had access to some archival footage from NHRA and were even offered scenes from private collectors. Several vintage racers can also be seen in the movie including the Greer Black Prudhome dragster. The movie was able to use numerous scenes after colorizing and cleaning up these films. So when you see races, you know they are the real deal.
Drag racing scenes
And for the real deal during the race scenes, obviously the movie actors couldn’t be behind the wheel. Taking the place of Richard Blake who portrayed Tom McEwen was Trevor Larkin, the son of famed drag racer Tommy Larkin. And guess who drove for Don Prudhome’s character? Yep, Don Prudhome piloted the drag car himself instead of actor Jesse Williams.
The actual filming of this epic took seven weeks and then came months of post-production work. A short snippet was shown at the 2012 SEMA show in Las Vegas and it looked terrific. Can’t wait to finally see the full length feature. Once you see it, leave us a note.
On Friday August 16, 2013 Stanley Torgerson the head of International Classic Auctions (ICA) was sentenced in Maricopa County (AZ) Superior Court to 3.25 years in prison. Torgerson previously pled guilty to three counts of fraudulent schemes and artifices and theft. He also will serve seven years of probation and will be required to pay restitution of up to $1.5 million in restitution to his victims.
Torgerson was originally indicted on 101 counts of fraud, theft and illegal control of an enterprise. ICA started in 1989 with Torgerson and was known in Arizona for hosting two classic car auctions in Gilbert, Arizona at his headquarters. The firm held auctions on Thanksgiving and St. Patrick’s weekends.
Where did the ICA money go?
So what happened? His car sellers complained that the proceeds from their cars weren’t delivered to them. Typically auction houses have the owners sign the titles and then transfer the title to the final buyer after the money is paid. Generally the auction houses take their cut of commissions and fees and then pass on the proceeds to the seller. Most contracts (written by the auction houses) give the firms up to 21 days to make the final transfer of funds.
When ICA started to have problems they stopped having their Arizona auctions. Silver Auctions stepped in and had a Spring Auction in Fort McDowell, AZ this year.
So the auction house, without any escrows in place, has large sums of monies in their hands and some lag time before they need to dispose of it. And when the economy started to tank, some buyers were slow in making good on their winning bids. In fact some slippery souls have been known to flip the car to a third buyer before they were required to even pay the first original seller.
Buyer beware
So for those thinking of using an auction house to sell your classic car, remember what happened to ICA. Read your contract, understand your terms and make sure your auctioneer is reputable. Ironically ICA’s website is still up and running today!
Decisions abound on this weekend. In Michigan you can choose from two unique car events – Woodward Dream Cruise and the Back to the Bricks car show; while in California you have an abundance of car shows and auctions concluding with the famed Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
Woodward Dream Cruise
Woodward Dream Cruise resurrects a moving car cruise along 16 miles of Woodward Avenue. a million folks line the highway as FOURTY thousand of American muscle cars go out for the a cruise through eight communities. Surrounding towns have held impromptu shows in the days leading up to this Saturday. Detroit manufacturers bring out concept cars, historical cars and lots of steel eye candy. And if you are not up for exhaust fumes and a few tires chirping and burning you can truck over to Flint, Michigan.
Back to the Bricks
Back to the Bricks takes over the streets of Downtown Flint and allows for a car show of classic American iron. And inside the Bricks show is a sub set of cars, the Corvette Reunion. With upwards of 700 Corvettes there alone, there is plenty for all to see. Plus in the days leading up to Saturday there were a variety of car related shows and cruises.
Pebble Beach and Monterrey, California
On the left coast along Monterrey, California classic cars of all calibers are out in force, cruising and selling. Five separate auction houses hold unique auctions this week. The familiar names of Mecum and Russo Steele are joined by Bonhams , RM and Gooding to offer twelve days of classic car auctions. This are too offers a variety of downtown car shows and cruises plus the Rolex Monterrey Motorsports Reunion of historical race cars and the famous Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. The price for admission to the Pebble beach show? A hefty $250 in advance, yes that is per person! I think I’ll watch in on the web instead.
This is clearly a weekend I wish I could be in two (or more) places at once.
From classics to muscle cars – everything automotive
