T-Bird Ted Auction

[Coral]

If there is anyone interested in buying a 1959 or 1960 Ford Thunderbird or other classic cars/car part "lots" at an Auction this September 17 and 18th. Grand Rapids, Michigan
http://www.tbirdted.com click on the "inventory" tab.
Can view cars before sale on the 15th and 16th
Most cars are selling at no reserve.

the massive amounts of parts is being planned to be sold in "LOTS" since they are still gathering there is not a preview list completed as yet...

(sorry if this has already been posted and I missed it)

[Anders]

WoW! I would love to have that ´50 Merc.

[partsetal]

Cathie,
The latest on the TBird Ted auction is that the parts will be sold as ONE LOT. At one time the minimum bid for that lot was $50,000. and it is quite a big lot from what I've heard. There have been many changes since this auction was announced some time ago, and there may be more.
More details on the second day when the parts will be sold are at:

http://www.auctionzip.com/cgi-bin/auctionview.cgi?lid=947205

Carl

[Coral]

Thanks Carl - yeah there have been a lot of changes...
I'm thinking he/they didn't realize just how much loose parts he has!
Someone is going to have a field day

[partsetal]

I attended the TBird Ted Auction, having driven 14 hrs to do so. It was a disappointment and deceptive, at best. For those of us who have dealt with Ted in the past, it should have been no surprise.
On Thursday, the viewing day I found all the parts to be sold in the big parts lot located in a large building, laid out on tables. Much used stuff, very very little NOS, and some interesting things. There was a sign on the building announcing "Items are for sale make offer". I picked up a 430 snorkel tube and inquired about it. Ted said it needed some dent repair and that a body man had made a 25. deposit and would pick it up tomorrow. I picked up another item and Ted said that it was not for sale. I then inquired about assembling a pile of things and Ted agreed. I made an offer for the pile and Ted started to pick up each piece (some were for the auction cars and some were not for sale) and quote prices for each item, some higher than the retail prices quoted by vendors at the large swap meets. Ted made no counter offer. Disgusted I walked away.
The first auction day consisted of some 36 cars, mostly squarebirds, some driving and some not. (To his credit, Ted did have a mechanic service the drivers and add new batteries) The non drivers ranged from project cars to parts cars.
While the auction vehicles were listed as being sold with "no reserve", Ted interceded as the auctioneer was about to strike down a vehicle and would say "That's not enough" and either say what he wanted or indicate that it took a little more. 17 of the 36 cars sold that day. In my own case, I bid on a 1960 430 Sunroof car that definitely was a project car, needing rust repair and many hard to find items along with the readily available easy ones. I was high bidder at 900.00 but Ted interceded and said it was not enough. I asked him later and he said he'd take 14,000 for the car!
On auction day 2, they started with a lot of promo models, signs (auto and beer) and other knick knacks. This day was better attended with about 150 in the 400 available seats. The highest auction number I saw would indicate that over the two days they had about 170 bidders.
The cars had a higher sell rate ( I did no stats on this day) but still Ted would decline the highest bid and sometimes ask his wife, who was in the audience if he should sell.
Interesting were some of Ted's commentary. One car, a Diamond Blue 60 HT was offered as being owned by the top executive at Bendix Corp. Ted went on to say that this car was one of 11 Prototypes produced, ano one of 4 remaining, no source or attributes of the the information. I did look at this car, and it presented well, but it had been restored with quarters and rocker work obvious. The car had A/C, but the evaporator box was clad in sheet foam and was a little bit larger than the ones used on our Squarebirds. The lines to the compressor and condenser were different and the compressor mounting bracket was different. It did have the Bendix Booster in the engine compartment.
The big parts lot (now there were exceptions!) started at 50,000, but was finally sold for 11,000. to a man and his son from 20 miles away who had a restoration shop.
There was another car in the parts category that I was interested in the previous day and Ted told me that the no-sales from the previous day would be run through again. Well, the auction ended about 3:30 and they were not done again. I made Ted an offer on a barely rolling hulk of another 430 SR of 200., and he said he would take 2,000. for the piece, stating that the VIN plate was worth 1,000. That car and several others are still there. What will happen to them is any ones guess.
I left without spending a dime at the auction and was able to pick up a 59 430 Convertible from a Craigslist ad on the way home, so the trip was not a total bust.
Carl

[YellowRose]

T-Bird Ted Auction

Hi Carl,

Thanks for the rundown on the T-Bird Ted auction. It is to bad you went that far for something that turned out not to be much worth it. On the other hand, it sounds like you came up with a good find on the way home!

[fomoco59]

Yep, met Ted once at Carlisle in the flea market. A real piece o' work.
'Nuff said.

[Toms 2_TBirds]

Tbird Ted's Auction in Grang Rapids

I too attended Ted's auction. He is always very difficult to deal with. I did buy a box of NOS parts there for $200 a day before the auction. I avoided Ted when I made the offer because he always jacks his prices up. I dealt with his son instead. I got a good deal.
As for the auction itself, disappointed there was a reserve price on the cars as that conflicted with the way it was advertised.
I video taped the entire auction - although Ted's other son (kind of a weasely guy) told me I couldn't unless I cleared it with Ted and the auctioneer. I didn't argue with him but it was silly that I would have to ask permission - control freak. Anyway, if you want to see the auction in its entirety, go to youtube and do a search for Tbird Ted's Auction. There is 23 parts to the video. If you like tbirds, you will really
like the video.