April 1: Saturday afternoon . . .
Read MoreWith an odometer reading of only 1,830 miles and showroom condition to match, this Cadillac has obviously spent most of its life in climate controlled storage. This is an example of a vehicle that was viewed as something very special when new and purchased as an investment, only to reappear decades later as a time capsule with an ultra-low odometer reading. Other "special" vehicles that fall into this category include the 1978 Chevrolet Corvette Pace Car, 1979 Pontiac Trans Am Tenth Anniversary, 1987 Buick GNX, and 1989 Pontiac Trans Am Turbo Pace Car.
Soon it was time for vehicles. The announcement was made earlier that a majority of the vehicles offered today would be from the Jerry and June Smith Collection. I took a seat in one of the empty chairs next to where I was standing yesterday to see how this would work for pictures.
The first vehicle to cross the block today was a 1998 Chevrolet Corvette that has been fitted with a 50th Anniversary retro body kit. It sold for $62,000.
The description card's note of this car being, "50th Anniversary Commemorative Edition number 105" leads me to believe that this is an AAT (Advanced Auto Technologies), creation. AAT offered a retro-style body kit to fit on a C5 Corvette chassis. From what I can determine, a total of 200 were produced.
This seems to be the restomod process in reverse. Instead of starting with an old vehicle and fitting it with new equipment, this is a new car that has been modified to look old, yet still retaining the modern running gear.1965 Ford Galaxie NASCAR Stock Car recreation, sold for $12,500.
This is a recreation of the Ford Galaxie used by Ned Jarrett during his championship-winning 1965 NASCAR season. The description card lists the car as being, "Professionally built" for a "Corporate function" related to Jarrett's induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2011. Motivation comes from a modified 390 CID V8 and Toploader 4-speed manual transmission.
There was no word on whether or not this car is street legal. But I sure would drive it, especially for that hammer price.1940 Studebaker "Gasser" coupe, sold for $16,750.
As the name suggests, this Studebaker has been modified with a small-block Chevrolet V8 and straight axle front suspension for drag racing. The name "Gasser" is a reference to the the type of fuel this car uses, (i.e. Gasser means conventional gasoline, and "Fuel" refers to racing fuel).I headed through the doorway back into the main hall. Here is where I got a better idea of how this process works.
Most of the vehicles scheduled to cross the block today were originally parked in the main hall, as opposed to the "Thursday" group being parked by the security office, and the "Friday" group being parked in the next room over. This means everything parked in the main hall behind the spectators is part of the "Saturday" group.
The cars seen in the photo above had just crossed the block a few minutes ago. Vehicles are pulled out of their spaces and taken to the staging area next to the main hall. Once they cross the block, they are taken back to where they were originally parked. This whole process takes place in a big circle.This means there was a continuous flurry of activity behind the spectators in the main hall all day long. The vehicles in the rows seen in the photo above are arranged according to lot number. The Mercury Cyclone seen in the photo above was being pulled to the staging area. Once it crossed the block, it would be taken back to this row.
I headed back to the corner by the Deal Doctor desk to see some of the vehicles I just saw in the staging area cross the block.
1940 Ford DeLuxe, sold for $13,000.
This is a good looking stock presentation that still has a 6-volt electrical system. The description card indicates that this car has a "59AB" Flathead that has 24 studs and was used from 1946 - 48.