'59 Convertible Sells at Mecum for $150K

[dgs]

Did anyone else see this '59 that sold at Mecum's Monterey auction for $150,000:



I was going to link to the page, but I keep getting a flag from my anti virus saying there's a threat on the page. You can see the full list of cars here, it's lot S68. Maybe give Mecum a day or two to clean up their site.

It's a beautiful restoration, you could eat off the undercarriage. But, and this is the kicker, it's a 351 crate motor, C4 auto, 9" rear with 4 wheel discs and aftermarket AC. The car has no leather, crank windows and no skirts. So, a fairly low feature car with a late model drivetrain sells for 3X what I thought full tilt restorations went for. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing a Squarebird get some respect, but that's silly money.

[jopizz]

According to the serial number it was a 430 car originally. There are so many crooked dealings that go on at those auctions that I don't trust anything I see; especially a price so out of the norm.

John

[dgs]

Still getting an error on the listing, but you can look at the print preview here. It says power windows, but I see cranks in the pics. It also says leather, but it's two tone tan.

[jopizz]

Don't forget the "frame off restoration".

[YellowRose]

'59 Convertible Sells at Mecum for $150K

Here is the link and it is working for me. She is pretty, I will say that... I will post some other Tbird listings from Mecum in Anything Goes...

http://www.mecum.com/auctions/lot_de...1&entryRow=497

[Restifier52]

Oh yeah. Frame off. This is I think the second time I've seen that. The other one was on youtube. I asked him how he did it. Oddly enough I never heard back.

[dgs]

Thanks for the link, Ray. Maybe it was AVG on my home PC being over protective, no issues here at work either.

I'd bet the 'frame off' comment came from Mecum, but I would also not be surprised if both the buyer and seller didn't know the difference. Seems like a car that wouldn't be desirable to hands on or technical types.

[tbird430]

And non-correct wheels too.....

-Jon in TX.

[tp tbird]

I also noticed it has air vent on dash,but no sign of in the engine bay fire wall.

[YellowRose]

'59 Convertible Sells at Mecum for $150K

According to the stats about the car it has a Vintage AC system installed in it... Somewhere....

[Anders]

Looks GREAT! I miss the fender skirts though. On a personal note, I donīt think the mix of interior and exterior color suits eachother.

[Astrowing]

Yeah, it's difficult to have an AC without an AC compressor on the engine. I'd say for 150K, the owner can afford to have someone ride with them and wave a fan to keep them cool.

[Alan H. Tast, AIA]

This car was shown at the VTCI Southwest Regional in Colorado Springs a few years ago and took "Best Modified" or something like that. It was in Des Moines in late June this year prior to the VTCI North Central Regional, where it was displayed at the car collection we visited outside of Des Moines - at that time the car had already changed hands to the person who put it up for auction, but he agreed to bring it out for us to see that evening. Drivetrain is HIGHLY modified but very well done with the 351W, VintageAir system, etc. Color IIRC was from a '55 Chevy.

I suspect the $150K number came about through a bidding war between a few "gold-chainer" types wanting to prove how much they could spend or make sure the "other guy" didn't get it. I bet the guy who sold the car to the guy who flipped it at the auction probably got pretty sick after hearing the auction results.

[Joe Johnston]

When a car like this sells so far above the "normal" market value, is this a good or a bad thing for the hobby??

[blue 58]

Just like in marketing/advertising, anything that generates discussion about a topic, good or bad, ends up yielding more public interest which I would argue is good when it comes to keeping these old cars (and the industries that supply parts for them) alive.