News from the Auction front.

[tom406]

Another very good time. Saw a lot of old friends, and some friends I'd only known online until now. I hung out with my family Saturday afternoon, and went back to the auction Saturday night. I saw the gold '69 Camaro L78 convertible go across for 90K and the white '70 Chevelle L78 convertible go for just under 100K. There was a bit of a frenzy going on, for even though the crowd had thinned, the bidding was hot and heavy. I watched in disbelief as a Plum Crazy '70 Coronet R/T Hemi/4sp w/18K orig went across the block for--$155K--and it was a hardtop, not a convertible!

My take on some of the cars:
'69 L78 Convert-Charley is dead on-a nice car that has been kind of buggered by a well intentioned but clueless owner.
'67 Z28 - Seemed like a deal, but when you look at it close, the C-pillars are both showing evidence of the 1/4 panel grafts, and there are some other paint hiccups if you look. Seemed like a good deal, but if you're picky, you're going to paint it again. No documentation displayed.
Nicer '69 Pace Car Convert- Looked like an exceptionally done car, but the COLUMN SHIFTER/NO CONSOLE deal sort of limited its appeal to me, and some bidders, I'm sure. I bet a 396/4sp car in this shape would have done HUGE money.
Orange '69 Z28- Black stripes but no vinyl top? Stripes painted under the spoiler, and I don't think it had any cowl induction guts. This was JUST A CAR, $40K was too much. $25K should have been the number.

Friday's Russo and Steele started with a whisper, but the bidding grew as the night progressed. In some ways impressive, but obviously still in need of development. The haphazard parking, and small tent were limiting. If I had a killer high-end car, I think BJ is still the ticket for maximum return.

I brought the family this year, and balanced car stuff with family outings. Scottsdale has some great zoos and awesome, huge family parks. As a result, I didn't get burned out on auction stuff, and probably had my best time since I started going almost 10 years ago.

Some things you can count on - Jim (NWYENKO) went to Arizona and came back with a new car/(truck). He's 3 for 3 now, I think.......(Good to see you and LaDonna, Jim, as always [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] )