Mecum’s July auction in Denver provided some fodder for commentary. I’ll concentrate on the at least fairly stock 1980s cars (and a few trucks) that sold (remember that Mecum auctions are not no reserve auctions—a red 1985 Porsche 911 coupe with a black interior and 39,000 miles was a no sale bid up to $80,000) and add some of my opinions. Eighties vehicles were about 7% of the 318 vehicle lots sold in this auction.
Thursday, July 20th:
- 1984 blue Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS coupe with seat covers on the original seats, a B4V 180 bhp 5.0 liter/305 cubic inch “H.O.” V8 with Rochester Quadrajet 4-barrel carburetor, and an automatic—$3,500 hammer price.
- 1986 red Alpha Romeo Graduate Edition spyder with a black top, a black interior, a 115 bhp 2.0 liter/120 cubic inch inline four with Bosch L-Jetronic fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and 50,000 miles—$6,000
- 1985 black Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z coupe with custom black/gray custom cloth seats (the ones with “CAMARO” repeated over and over), an LB9 190 bhp 5.0 liter/305 cubic inch V8 with fuel injection, an automatic, and 80,000 miles—$5,500
- 1986 red Chevrolet Corvette coupe with red leather seats, an L98 5.7 liter/350 cubic inch V8 with fuel injection, a 4+3 transmission, and 17,000 miles—$8,500
- 1983 blue Jeep Cherokee SUV with tan cloth seats, a 140 bhp 5.9 liter/360 cubic inch V8 with a Motorcraft 2-barrel carburetor, and an automatic—$8,000
- 1987 red Jaguar XJS coupe with tan leather seats, a 262 bhp 5.3 liter/326 cubic inch HE V12 with fuel injection, an automatic, and 71,000 miles—$8,750
- 1980 silver metallic Chevrolet Corvette coupe with oyster interior, an L82 230 bhp 5.7 liter/350 cubic inch V8 with Rochester Quadrajet 4-barrel carburetor, an automatic, and 62,000 miles—$11,500
- 1980 blue Chevrolet Camaro Z28 coupe with a blue interior, an LM1 190 bhp 5.7 liter/350 cubic inch V8 with Rochester 4-barrel carburetor, an automatic—at $15,500 the first vehicle in this auction to meet my criteria for serious 1980s collectability of original cars or trucks: selling for equal to or above its original base list price. I’ll mark these vehicles in bold green.
Friday, July 21st:
- 1987 bright blue Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z coupe with gray cloth seats, an LB9 215 bhp 5.0 liter/305 cubic inch V8 with fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and 2,500 miles—$18,000
- 1983 white Porsche 944 coupe with black seats, a 150 bhp 2.5 liter/151 cubic inch inline four with fuel injection, and a five-speed manual—$4,000
- 1987 dark gray metallic/titanium two-tone Ford Mustang GT hatchback with smoke cloth seats, a Windsor 225 bhp 4.9 liter/302 cubic inch V8 with fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and 33,000 miles—$14,000 for this good-looking Fox body.
1987 Ford Mustang GT hatchback, linked from Mecum’s site. - 1988 black Porsche 944 coupe with red/black seats, a 160 bhp 2.5 liter/151 cubic inch inline four with fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and 76,000 miles—$5,000. What’s with all the 944’s suddenly showing up at auction?
- 1980 yellow MG MGB convertible with a black interior, a black top, a 63 bhp 1.8 liter carburetted inline four, a four-speed manual, and 30,000 miles—$4,500
- 1982 silver beige Chevrolet Corvette Collector Edition coupe with silver beige leather seats, an L83 Cross-Fire 200 bhp 5.7 liter/350 cubic inch V8 with throttle body fuel injection, and an automatic—$26,000 is slightly over #2 money according to Hagerty’s valuation tools.
- 1981 black and gold Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Special Edition coupe with camel tan cloth seats, a 200 bhp 4.9 liter/301 cubic inch turbo V8 with 4-barrel carburetor, and an automatic—$18,500
- 1989 silver Mercedes-Benz 560SL convertible with a black convertible top, a silver hard top, a burgundy interior, a 227 bhp 5.5 liter/338 cubic inch V8 with Bosch KE-Jetronic fuel injection, an automatic, and 116,ooo miles—$22,000
- 1984 black Jeep CJ-7 Renegade SUV with black seats, a 115 bhp 4.2 liter/258 cubic inch inline six with Carter 2-barrel carburetor, an automatic, and 28,000 miles—$22,000
- 1988 camouflage AM General Hummer H1 pickup truck with a green interior, a 6.2 liter diesel V8, an automatic, and 34,000 miles—$9,250
Saturday, July 22nd:
- 1981 white Chevrolet Corvette coupe with dark blue leather seats, an L81 190 bhp 5.7 liter/350 cubic inch V8 with Rochester Quadrajet 4-barrel carburetor, an automatic, and 5,400 miles—$24,000
- 1982 gold/brown two-tone Jeep Cherokee Laredo custom SUV with tan/brown cloth seats, a 401 cubic inch V8, and an automatic—$30,000
- 1984 red/white two-tone Chevrolet pickup truck with a red bench seat, a 5.0 liter/305 cubic inch V8, and 4,800 miles—$19,750
What do you think of these results?
Eighties Cars 