Eighties Vehicles at the 2017 Mecum Dallas

Mecum’s September auction in Dallas 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 grand prix white 1982 Porsche 930 Turbo coupe with can-can red leather seats and 17,000 miles was a no sale bid up to $77,500) and add some of my opinions. Eighties vehicles were about 7% of the 450 vehicle lots sold in this auction.

Wednesday, September 6th:

• 1984 blue Mercedes-Benz 380SL convertible with tan seats, a 155 bhp 3.8 liter/234 cubic inch V8 with Bosch Jetronic fuel injection, and an automatic—$7,000 hammer price.
• 1988 alpine white Mercedes-Benz 560SEC custom coupe with tan leather seats, an M117 238 bhp 5.5 liter/338 cubic inch V8 with Bosch KE-Jetronic fuel injection, an automatic, and 69,000 miles—$15,500
• 1985 light bronze metallic Chevrolet Corvette coupe with dark bronze leather seats, an L98 230 bhp 5.7 liter/350 cubic inch V8 with fuel injection, an automatic, and 2,200 miles—$16,500
• 1985 blue Mercedes-Benz 380SL convertible with a black convertible top, tan seats, a 155 bhp 3.8 liter/234 cubic inch V8 with Bosch Jetronic fuel injection, and an automatic—an ouch! at $3,750.
• 1980 black and gold Pontiac Firebird Trans Am custom coupe with a black interior, a 5.7 liter/350 cubic inch V8 (that’s why it’s custom), and an automatic—$15,000
• 1980 dark blue Chevrolet Corvette custom coupe with dark blue leather seats, a 5.7 liter/350 cubic inch V8 with a Rochester Quadrajet four-barrel carburetor, an automatic, and 63,000 miles—$9,500
• 1985 black Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS custom coupe with maroon cloth seats, a 383 cubic inch V8 with a carburetor, and an automatic—$8,500 for this car dressed to look like a NASCAR race car.

Thursday, September 7th:

• 1980 white Chevrolet Camaro Z28 coupe with a blue interior, an LM1 190 bhp 5.7 liter/350 cubic inch V8 with a Rochester four-barrel carburetor, and an automatic. At $12,500, 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.
• 1998 red Chevrolet 3500 custom pickup truck with a red interior, a 7.4 liter/454 cubic inch V8, and an automatic—$17,500
• 1981 white Chevrolet Corvette coupe with medium red leather seats, an L81 190 bhp 5.7 liter/350 cubic inch V8 with a Rochester Quadrajet four-barrel carburetor, an automatic, and 60,000 miles—$17,000
• 1981 autumn red/dark claret two-tone Chevrolet Corvette coupe with medium red leather seats, an L81 190 bhp 5.7 liter/350 cubic inch V8 with a Rochester Quadrajet four-barrel carburetor, and an automatic. $9,500 for this attractive and rare (probably less than 3% of production) two-tone.

• 1981 red Chevrolet Corvette coupe with medium red leather seats, an L81 190 bhp 5.7 liter/350 cubic inch V8 with a Rochester Quadrajet four-barrel carburetor, and a four-speed manual—$12,500. If you like 1981 Corvettes, this seems to have been your auction.
• 1989 blue GMC 1500 custom pickup truck with blue/ gray cloth seats, a 5.7 liter/350 cubic inch V8, and an automatic—$4,000
• 1982 silver beige Chevrolet Corvette Collector Edition hatchback 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—$9,000
• 1987 black GMC custom pickup truck with a gray cloth bench seat, a 5.7 liter/350 cubic inch V8, and a four-speed manual—$21,000
• 1989 tan/brown two-tone Chevrolet Blazer Silverado SUV with tan cloth seats, a 5.7 liter/350 cubic inch V8, an automatic, and 22,000 miles—$14,000
• 1987 blue/white two-tone Ford F-150 XLT Lariat pickup truck with a blue cloth bench seat, a Windsor 5.8 liter/351 cubic inch V8, an automatic, and 85,000 miles—$8,500
• 1985 silver GMC custom pickup with a red leather bench seat, a 400 cubic inch V8, and an automatic—$24,500

Friday, September 8th:

• 1988 black BMW M6 coupe with silver gray leather seats, an M88/3 256 bhp 3.5 liter/211 cubic inch inline six with Bosch Motronic fuel injection, and a five-speed—$41,000 for this very complete (full toolkit included) coupe.
• 1983 red GMC 1500 custom pickup truck with gray leather seats, a V8, and an automatic—$10,500
• 1984 red Chevrolet C10 custom pickup truck with tan seats, a 502 cubic inch V8, and an automatic—$21,000
• 1989 light blue/dark blue two-tone Chevrolet K1500 Silverado pickup truck with a blue bench seat, a 5.7 liter/350 cubic inch V8, an automatic, and 16,000 miles—$21,000
• 1987 black Buick Regal GNX coupe with black/gray cloth seats, an LC2 276 bhp 3.8 liter/231 cubic inch V6 with turbocharging and fuel injection, and an automatic—$49,000 for this GNX with a recently rebuilt engine.
• 1987 black Buick Grand National coupe with a black/gray cloth seats, a 245 bhp 3.8 liter/231 cubic inch turbocharged V6 with fuel injection, an automatic, and 6,400 miles—$39,000
• 1986 brown Ford Bronco Eddie Bauer Edition SUV with tan cloth seats, a Windsor H.O. 210 bhp 5.8 liter/351 cubic inch V8 with a Motorcraft two-barrel carburetor, an automatic, and 14,000 miles—$20,000 is no longer crazy money for a low-mileage Bronco with the top-of-the-line power option.

• 1984 red Chevrolet Corvette hatchback coupe with red leather seats, an L83 Cross-Fire 205 bhp 5.7 liter/350 cubic inch V8 with throttle-body fuel injection, an automatic, and 5,700 miles—$15,000. Hagerty’s valuation tools see this as between #1/Concours and #2/Excellent condition for this configuration.
• 1987 black Chevrolet K10 Silverado pickup truck with a red interior, a 210 bhp 5.7 liter/350 cubic inch V8 with fuel injection, and an automatic—$17,500
• 1988 blue GMC Suburban SUV with blue cloth seats, a 5.7 liter/350 cubic inch V8, and an automatic—$7,500

Saturday, September 9th:

• 1989 white Chevrolet custom pickup truck with a blue cloth bench seat, a 355 cubic inch engine with a supercharger and two Eldebrock four-barrel carburetors, and an automatic—$15,000
• 1987 apple red/frost white GMC Sierra Classic pickup truck with a burgundy cloth bench seat, a 210 bhp 5.7 liter/350 cubic inch V8 with fuel injection, an automatic, and 5,800 miles—$25,000
• 1980 black Chevrolet Camaro Sport Coupe coupe (natch!) with black vinyl seats, a V8 with a carburetor (could be either a 4.4 liter or a 5.0 liter), and an automatic—$11,000 for this rarely seen version.

Many Chevrolets and a lot of trucks. What do you think of these results?

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