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.
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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…
This past weekend the Lambrecht Chevrolet auction was held in Pierce Nebraska by VanDerBrink Auctions. If you hadn’t heard about this nearly 500 car auction in advance, you missed out on a surely once in our lifetime event. It seems the mom and pop owners of Lambrecht Chevrolet had a history of keeping both new cars that just didn’t seem to move off their lot; or some cars that they took in as trade ins.
Some of these cars were kept in fields, some were stored in warehouses until literally the roof fell in and some were kept at the Lambrecht dealership showroom.   Well the cars weathered and finally the surrounding trees were chopped down and the cars were offered up for sale this past weekend (September 28-29, 2013). Even the History Channel got in the act and offered coverage from the farm fields.
Lambrecht Chevrolet
These Lambrecht Chevrolet vehicles were generally what I would call rough, survivor cars. They were stored outside, after all, and exposed to Mother Nature. Even the better vehicles were bound to need some work. You can’t ignore a vehicle for fifty plus years and expect the radiator, belts, brakes and even engine to be road worthy.
VanDerBrink Auctions
VanDerBrink auctions seemed to have a good handle on this auction. Bearing in mind that they are not a usual purveyor of high-end collector cars, they had things well in hand. This wasn’t their first rodeo! Parking was available nearby and while probably high by Pierce, Nebraska local standards, $20 seems a fair deal given the circumstances. Their website stayed up and had generally accurate descriptions and pictures of the cars. They had plans for temporary storage of the cars, since most had no functional tires!
MSO’s
Most of the low mileage “new” cars were offered with Manufacturer Statement of Origin (MSO), meaning that the cars never were sold and titled in the state. A few cars were noted as being issued a Nebraska title, which I took to mean the MSO wasn’t located. And the balance of the nearly 500 cars were used vehicles, generally with 50,000+ miles on the odometers. It indicates the organizational skills maintained by a small dealership like Lambrecht had, to locate MSO’s from sixty years ago! I know some owners with one classic car that can’t find their titles!
The value in these cars was the low mileage status of them. They are survivors and few and far between. To quote the pundits, “they are only original once.” But many buyers were quoted as indicating they had plans of fixing up the cars and driving them. But once you start putting miles on these cars, their provenance drops.
1978 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe – Anniversary Edition
1978 Corvette Pace car Edition
As an example a 1978 Corvette was sold with only 4 miles on the odometer and sold for $80,000. This was the 25th anniversary model and is a pretty eye-catching model. Being a Corvette, you would expect a few well-heeled buyers and sure enough it was sold for $80,000. VanDerBrink charged a 5% buyers premium on site and a web buyers premium of 8-10%
As a comparison, the Barrett-Jackson auction has sold three low mileage similar Corvettes. In 2011, they sold a 1978 with only 48 miles for $45,100. More recently in January 2013 Barrett-Jackson sold one with 158 miles for $44,000 and in Spring, 2013 at Palm Beach a coupe with 928 miles sold for $33,000. So the Lambrecht version had probably a $40,000 premium for those four miles.
The best news is that nearly 500 cars have found new homes and were saved from the metal shredders. And for that we all should be grateful!
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
