Barrett~Jackson Three Ring Circus ?

[silverghost]

Anybody watching the Barrett~Jackson Three Ring Circus & Auction on Speed this week?

[BUIZILLA]

yup...

love that cream NAPCO :cool:

i'll take ALL the Max Wedgy cars too.. :yes:

[Last Real Texan]

Been there in person and done that.... Even got the tshirt and corvette to prove it... Truly an amazing spectacle !

Tex

[silverghost]

From what I am seeing I would not want any of my cars to go across the auction block early in the auction week.
Not many bidders there yet.
Some guys must be losing their shirt & getting burned BIG Time !
I see some cars selling for less than the parts & paint job costs.
As I always tell folks It does not pay to restore a car unless it is a rare one-of-a-kind.
Buy the best restored car you can afford!
Let the guy who restored it, & payed for the restoration costs, spend the Big Money $.
By doing this you will be way ahead of the game !

We will have to wait until prime-time Fri or Sat to really see if the collector car & muscle car market bubble has busrt .

[zelatore]

I haven't watched any of this years event yet; might catch a little bit when I get back home.

They've been re-running old auctions from last year for a couple weeks now to fill air time during the off season. I caught one episode where they were highlighting the fact that not every car is big money. There were things selling for $10-20K. Basically, just used cars.

The one that got me was a mid 70's chevy 4wd 1/2 ton truck with 454. It was in good conditions, but basically was just an old truck like you'd see on any farm. I suppose the fact it was a 454 in a half ton was rare, but still, a completely lame vehicle in all other respects. I called Michele into the room to show her - 'look, what a joke! I bet it doesn't bring 10K!'

I was wrong. I forget what it went for, but it seemed crazy. 30-40K or something.

Normally, I may not like a given vehicle but I can understand why somebody else might. Historic significance, styling, performance...but this had NONE of those.

I was completely blown away! Other than being in good condition and having the BB, I would say you could buy one of those any day of the week for $1500-2000. It's just an old truck, and not even a good looking one like the 60's Chevys. And yeah, it's a 454, but possibly the lowest power version ever produced.

Stunned. Just stunned.:bonk:

[McGary911]

Never been to Barret-Jackson, but I'll be hitting the Mecum auction in St. Cloud next week. This'll be my 4th year. It's always a good time. I don't plan on buying unless I can really steal something.

[silverghost]

WOW !
I should have consigned my 91 454 SS Pick-up at those prices !
Only 800 or so built in 91 with the 4L80E auto trans with Overdrive & lock-up converter.
4:10 rear,locking rear
Cam, intake, stage 3 chip, 2 1/2"headers & cat-back.
4 bolt mains, forged crank & rods, Large oval port heads with big valves.

This is not the standard Low HP work truck engine.
This truck is quick & you could pull tree stumps out with it if you had a mind to do so !
I will pass most anything~
But a gas station !

Its a fun sport-boat tow truck!
GM Tonowanda engine plant just shut-down the BBChevy engine line !
Long live the Big Block Chevy !

[zelatore]

WOW !
I should have consigned my 91 454 SS Pick-up at those prices !
Only 800 or so built in 91 with the 4L80E auto trans with Overdrive & lock-up converter.
4:10 rear,locking rear
Cam, intake, stage 3 chip, 2 1/2"headers & cat-back.
4 bolt mains, forged crank & rods, Large oval port heads with big valves.

This is not the standard Low HP work truck engine.
This truck is quick & you could pull tree stumps out with it if you had a mind to do so !
I will pass most anything~
But a gas station !

Its a fun sport-boat tow truck!
GM Tonowanda engine plant just shut-down the BBChevy engine line !
Long live the Big Block Chevy !

They sold one of those too....I don't think it brought as much as the old farm truck I was talking about. As a former owner of 2 Lightnings, I'm familer with the 454SS. After all, it's good to know who you just put a whoopin' on...:wink:

BTW, they also sold the original GM prototype of the later model small block SS - too bad the production version wasn't like they originally envisioned it; it was a short cab, big motor, etc - a real competitor for the Lightning and SRT10 as opposed to the half-effort they brought to market.

[rtgogo]

I can watch this stuff for days....

[BUIZILLA]

Brad, email me some pic's of your truck..

did you lower it yet? :cool!:

[FISHIN SUCKS]

I used to go to the Barrett Jackson sale in Scottsdale....even went to the Ball that they have before the sale. Lot of fun. Trust me when I say the early run cars are not paying the premium consignment fee that the later run cars are paying. About the only time I ever see my wife's father in law is when there is a Corvette goin across the block. If ya see a Pro Team Corvette shirt/jacket, 33% chance it's him.

[Conquistador_del_mar]

Along the line of car auctions - real bummer for a lot of people:

http://www.azfamily.com/home/related/Clean-up-at-Russo-Steele-expected-to-begin-later-this-morning-82360617.html

http://www.azfamily.com/video/featured-videos/Russo-Steel-car-owners-still-not-allowed-in-to-assess-storm-damage-82364787.html

[zelatore]

Along the line of car auctions - real bummer for a lot of people:

http://www.azfamily.com/home/related/Clean-up-at-Russo-Steele-expected-to-begin-later-this-morning-82360617.html

http://www.azfamily.com/video/featured-videos/Russo-Steel-car-owners-still-not-allowed-in-to-assess-storm-damage-82364787.html

That's brutal!

I've been in some big tents similar to those working boat shows. Even with winds nowhere close to the 50 mph they had, those things start working and moving around pretty good, and when you get one to 'pop', it's sure as heck get's your attention. I can only imagine the way those tents would have been moving around in that storm.

[silverghost]

Fishin:
Your wife's father-in-law would not be Terry Michaelis Founder/President of Pro-Team Corvette in Napolean. Ohio. ?
If so~
Here is my experience with this guy~
In the late 70s he started Terry Michaelis Corvette Supplies. He had a catalog of Corvette restoration supplies. I sent him a check for some parts & a friend sent him $1000. for a 67 vette seat recovering kit. Months went by~ A year went by~ we got nothng back from him.
He cashed our checks & took our money~
We received NOTHING !
No responce to our calls or letters
NOTHING.
A year and a half later I went to the Atlantic City NJ Collector Car Auction & Flea Market & there he was set-up in a booth selling his parts.
I confronted him, along with my dad & he just grinned.
I refused to leave his booth & made a pain of myself when new potential customers came along.
Finally he gave in & gave me cash out of his wallet to make me go away!
My friend never got his seat covers or a refund !
A month or two later we both got his new catalog!
Later that year Michaelis Corvette Supplies was liquidated in Bankruptsy!
He stuck his customers & dealers !
Jump ahead to a few years ago~
My neighbor's church bought a "Restored" 62 corvette sight unseen for $40K from Pro-Team to sell raffle tickets at $10 each for a church fundraiser.
Since I had been involved with old Corvettes since the 70s they asked me to have a "Look-See" and give them my opinion of the car.
What a mess this thing was !
Wrong engine & trans, Poor quickie paint job over the old paint. It was a real mess~
Basically a rough non-numbers matching "Driver"
Terry had charged them double it's actual market value at that time!
I told them my findings !
It would appear that he sells the good cars at Pro-Team in Ohio for BIG $$$ BUCKS !
He flips the junk he has for BIG $$ BUCKS to un-sophiscated buyers such as churches & other groups for fundraisers !
He has "Pickers" all over the country !
I would not trust Terry Michaelis as far as I could throw him !
He is a long time con artist !
He is always at the BJ auction near the front row with a grin on his face !
I stand behind these stories 100 % !

[FISHIN SUCKS]

Hey SilverG,
No worries, Terry Michalis is not my sperm donor, Tom West is though (a buyer).

I know all about the history of T. Mich's from the 70's and Pro Team as well. There is not a successful person in the car biz that get's that big and doesn't have a little slime on him somewhere. Your story is not the only one, and I probably would have done the same thing. Gettin' ripped off sucks:mad:.

I will say this, looking at your signature I see you own a '60 (along with some other cool toys:wink:). You should know better than to think you are going to get much for $40k for a '62 in 'todays' market:nilly:! For half of that, I wouldn't even expect the tires to be inflated. Now don't go getting me wrong, I am not sticking up for anyone here, but interpretations/translations are often confused:confused:. I have bought many things sight unseen, more often than not I have gotten lucky. But this sounds like one of those cases where had you not come along and given your 'expert' (or 'quasi-expert', whatever you prefer, not tryin' to start a fire here with ya) opinion, they may have not known any better and would have had a happy and successful raffle (and hopefully they did). I will say this, when I used to be more involved with Pro Team ('89-'98), their descriptions were pretty accurate. If the car was a turd or a driver, it was stated as such, literally. If she was an NCRS Top Flite, Bloomington Gold, Gold Spinner Award car, it was listed, and carried a price tag to boot!

Hope we can be friends, this was not meant to be a 'banner waver for Michalis' post. Nothing sucks more than getting screwed over and I'm a vengeful person. Would love to see pics of your '60:cool:.

tom west II

[BUIZILLA]

Brad, email me some pic's of your truck..

did you lower it yet? :cool!: sometimes echo's are necessary :kingme:

[silverghost]

Jim: I will snap a few digital photos of my 454 SS truck this weekend !
I did not lower it~
Because if I did I would never be able to make the transition from my steep driveway to my street wthout getting stuck !
By the way ~
It is not for sale !
Sorry if anyone got the wrong impression here !

In stock form the 454 SS is fairly tame and a Lightning could possibly blow by it.
But there is a solid Big Block, trans, and strong rear-end here that gives you quite a bit to work with on a performance build-up.
Most 454 SS trucks today are no longer in stock form.
My truck eats Lightnings for lunch now !

[silverghost]

In my opinion the Barrett~Jackson Scottsdale Auction seems to attract it's share what I call the "More Money Than Brains Crowd"!
Some of the prices paid for cars are not at all realistic "In the real outside world".
For example I see BB & Hemi clones selling for more money than the real thing at this auction.
A REAL collector would not buy this clone !
So Called "Resto-Mod" cars are selling for nutty money !
A "resto-mod" solid axel Corvette with modern EFI powerplant selling for $150 K !
What's that all about?
In my opinion you cannot judge the "REAL" collector car market from Barrett~Jackson Scottsdale Aucion prices !
After this auction you will see a market baloon bump-up that will last a few months or so~ then prices come slowly back to market reality.
Market always sets the selling prices !

Fishin~ No worrys
I respect your opinions!
The church group called me in to check-out the 62 vette because they were stunned with it's condition.
It took them twice as long to get their money back out of this car!
I have been an active Corvette Collector since 1972 and have owned 16 vettes over this time period!
I have known Bill & the late Chip Miller since before they started their famous Corvette & carshow events !

I have been toying with the idea of starting a collector Antique & Classic Auction Event here in the eastern USA.
It may soon be getting close to reality !

[tmh]

There was a nice 66 or 67 big block that sold under 60K that would have been well over 100k 2 years ago. Not all the cars go for premium dollars and prices are down. It has been my impression that the nicest cars go later in the auction.

[BUIZILLA]

the yellow 67 L78 Chevelle was 70k..ish

that's a 1 of 600 car and extremely rare

well bought

[FISHIN SUCKS]

I have been toying with the idea of starting a collector Antique & Classic Auction Event here in the eastern USA.
It may soon be getting close to reality !
Good luck in your endeavors Brad. I remember the Corvettes of Carlisle event being a pretty good event, but I haven't been in years. When not playing with the Donzi (which we play with most of the time), I go play race car with our Corvette. Car shows drive me nuts:nilly:, I can't stand the public idiots!

[silverghost]

Did anyone catch the 1958 "Resto~Mod" corvette that went for $200,000. ?
It had a modern EFI engine & six-speed with 4 wheel Disc brakes! (Old original engine & gearbox inc.)
It would appear that street rods & "Resto~Mod" cars were bringing more money that rare originals .
In the case of the 1958 Corvette at least two people thought so !
I guess If I ever decide to sell my 1960 I should "Resto~Mod" it first !
My buddy Jim still has that Viper V10 & gearbox sitting around.
Wonder If It could be stuffed in the vette?

[McGary911]

Did anyone catch the 1958 "Resto~Mod" corvette that went for $200,000. ?
It had a modern EFI engine & six-speed with 4 wheel Disc brakes! (Old original engine & gearbox inc.)
It would appear that street rods & "Resto~Mod" cars were bringing more money that rare originals .
In the case of the 1958 Corvette at least two people thought so !
I guess If I ever decide to sell my 1960 I should "Resto~Mod" it first !
My buddy Jim still has that Viper V10 & gearbox sitting around.
Wonder If It could be stuffed in the vette?

For the past 3 years at Mecum (Kissimmee), they've typically had 3 of these rolling across the stage. The guy who builds them is local i believe. They do a very nice job, starting with a new modern frame. Not a bad rebirth for a rough car that wasn't original anymore. I've driven one (not real fast), and it's a nice "normal" ride......

Here's a '59 that went last year.

http://www.mecum.com/auctions/lot_detail.cfm?LOT_ID=FL0109-76793&entryRow=483

[silverghost]

Before his passing Paul Neumann & his buddys were building a new modern chassis & drive systems for the solid axel Corvettes.
I saw one at a big PA Corvette show.
Body & interior was bone stock orginal.
Never drove it but was told it drove much like a modern era vette !
They had planned to build a new repro body & interior at a future date! Basically a complete repro kit car.
I don't know if they ever did this !
The only issue I see on my solid axel 60 vette is the poor drum brakes of the era~ Single master cylinder, non power. I do have the HD cooling option with the built-in air scoops ! The brakes still fade when heated-up ! I use silicone brake fluid !
I had a friend that had his old system fail on the road & he plowed-into a pick-up truck rear taking-out his entire fiberglass front-end !

[Bamboo Loui]

anyone watching the mecum auctions-- great cars at good prices- wish I was there-- there are a bunch of totally restored driver type cars for sale- too many to list