$17,500/not sold
Average selling
price: $30,000
OLDSMOBILE
Year: 1949
Model: Hot Shot
Condition: Restored/#1-
Reserve: Undisclosed
CROSLEY
Top price bid:
$27,000/not sold
Average selling
price: $22,000
Year: 1939
Model: Series 50
Condition: Unrestored/#4
Reserve: Undisclosed
LA SALLE
Selling price:
$23, 250
Average selling
price: $40,000
Year: 1940
Model: Deluxe
Condition: Restored/#1
Reserve: Undisclosed
FORD
Top price bid:
$36,000/not sold
Average selling
price: $70,000
One of 8,981. That should have been
the relevant number here. That’s how
many of these drama queens were
produced in 1957, just a pittance. This
was a late entry to the Mecum lineup
and while a mixed bag, was com-
pletely intriguing simply by its presence. The most immediate eye-grab-
ber was its flawless dash. That, sadly,
led you to see that the rest of the
interior needed time with somebody
trying to build Popeye forearms with a
scrub brush. The equipment selection
included the GM Autronic eye, power
windows and aftermarket air. It wasn’t
bad other than needing a cleanup.
That, and the fact that nobody here
was paying much attention to wag-
ons, slowed the bidding.
The most historic car at Monterey?
Probably not, but this tyke was
unquestionably in the running. This
was presented as the very first Crosley
Hot Shot roadster ever produced,
bearing serial number 10001. Anytime
something like this emerges, like
Punxsutawney Phil, it justifies a party.
A truly admirable car, with excellent
trim, and only a slight leak showing
around the water pump. And show-
ing this, too: An odometer reading of
00,000.9. No lie. Presumably driven
out of shop, into the trailer and onto
the green. What price immortality?
Bargains do exist, even if the item
is one step removed from autopsy
status. With the original cloth-covered
wiring in place, it was unclear whether this convertible coupe could even
be started. A mess by every measure:
two different fog lamp lenses, filth
everywhere, the wheel weights piti-
fully painted over, rubber parched
and cracked like Elizabeth Taylor’s
powdered wattles. Shudder, shudder.
The better news was that the odometer reading of 21,012 was presump-
tively real. So for a few onlookers, this
represented a potential starting point.
Things can only get better from here.
At this auction, somebody willingly
paid $115,000 for a 1957 Chevy powered by a crate small-block fitted with
eight turbochargers. So if that kind
of freak was worth six figures, how
come this utterly spectacular Deluxe
convertible bid so tepidly? Possibly
because it didn’t represent money
conspicuously tossed away on an
embarrassingly over-the-top play-
thing that probably ate its own plugs
after two blocks. The Ford had mirror-sheen finishing, an as-new interior,
to-the-millimeter top fitment, and a
mileage reading of just more than
10,000 miles. Too classy for some of
the shoppers, we’d say.
Year: 1965
Model: Silver Cloud III
Condition: Restored/#1
Reserve: Undisclosed
Top price bid:
$340,000/not sold
Average selling
price: $130,000
ROLLS-ROYCE
Year: 1948
Model: Town & Country
Condition: Restored/#3
Reserve: Undisclosed
CHRYSLER
Selling price:
$81,000
Average selling
price: $100,000
Year: 1956
Model: Series 62
Condition: Refurbished/#3
Reserve: Undisclosed
CADILLAC
Top price bid:
$90,000/not sold
Average selling
price: $55,000
Year: 1954
Model: 500S
Condition: Unrestored/#3
Reserve: Undisclosed
KURTIS
Top price bid:
$315,000/not sold
Average selling
price: N/A
For all those whose reflexive view
of Silver Clouds from the 1960s
involves addled, bowl-cut rockers in
Nehru jackets stumbling out of the
back seat, here’s some perspective.
Not every one of these cars was a
limousine. This one was the last of
39 Mulliner Park Ward convertibles
produced in 1965, and goodness,
was it gorgeous. The burl dash, trim
and cap inlays were some of the
best in memory. Most of the interior
hides were fresh and still swathed in
their plastic wrap. How elegant can
elegance possibly become? We’re not
going to say the bidding, or reserve,
was excessive. Instead, maybe understandable.
Stop the presses: A Town & Country
convertible that was in better than
simply running condition actually
sold, in Monterey, for less than 100
grand. There’s a story big enough
to knock both health care reform
and the Kardashian nuptials off the
front page. This one had 74, 523 miles
displayed through its big, but pitted,
steering wheel. The scratches visible
on the dashboard made you think it
was original. Some paint chips had
been touched up, the wood was
good but not lacquer-glossy, and the
driver’s door didn’t fit completely. Not
at all bad, still. Anytime you find wood
bodywork at this price anymore, it’s a
big deal, and a good one.
Know why Big Bill France really made
Daytona International Speedway 2½
miles long? So all the cars that Elvis
Presley bought during his life would
fit in the infield. All right, that’s not
true. But this blah Series 62 convert-
ible, finished in pink (When? Is anyone saying?), was supposedly bought
new by the King. No, not the one
from Level Cross with the Pepsodent
smile. Supposedly, this was mostly
original, and we didn’t see anyone
trying too hard to authenticate the
Hound Dog connection. It’s pretty
clear that it connected with somebody, though, but not enough to sell
this over-reserved mediocrity.
The description here was that this
331 Cadillac-urged Kurtis sports
car was likely the “finest original” to
be found, and had been owned for
more than 40 years by the veteran
collector-car scribe, Robert Gottlieb.
We found that the odometer read
exactly zero. The paint was horrific,
webbed with cracks and with orange
peel lapping freely everywhere. No
question, this was a historic post-war
American sportster with untouchable
racing legitimacy, thanks to the touch
of Frank Kurtis, but it was laughably
turned out. We can only assume the
ownership history zoomed its high
bid past the combined sales totals
of the other two Kurtis cars in the
auction.
