Mecum’s October auction in Chicago 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 black and gold 1981 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am SE custom coupe with a tan interior was a no sale bid up to $42,000) and add some of my opinions. Eighties vehicles were about 9% of the 366 vehicle lots sold in this auction.
Thursday, October 5th:
- 1987 gold Porsche 944 coupe with black leather seats, a 150 bhp 2.5 liter/151 cubic inch inline four with fuel injection, an automatic, and 81,000 miles—$6,000 hammer price
- 1986 white Cadillac Coupe de Ville with blue seats, an HT-4100 130 bhp 4.1 liter/249 cubic inch V8 with fuel injection, an automatic, and 55,000 miles—an ouch! at $3,000
- 1987 green Mercedes-Benz 560SL convertible with a tan convertible top, a hard top, tan leather seats, a 227 bhp 5.5 liter/338 cubic inch V8 with Bosch KE-Jetronic fuel injection, and an automatic—$7,500
- 1984 red Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz convertible with a white top, white tufted leather seats, an HT-4100 135 bhp 4.1 liter/249 cubic inch V8 with fuel injection, and an automatic—$8,500
- 1988 white with woodgrain Jeep Grand Wagoneer SUV with a beige interior, a 144 bhp 5.9 liter/360 cubic inch V8 with Motorcraft 2-barrel carburetor, and an automatic—$14,000
- 1984 silver Mercedes-Benz 380SL convertible with gray leather seats, a hard top, a 155 bhp 3.8 liter/234 cubic inch V8 with Bosch Jetronic fuel injection, and an automatic—$7,000
- 1982 silver beige Chevrolet Corvette Collector Edition hatchback coupe with silver beige leather seats, a 200 bhp L83 Cross-Fire 5.7 liter/350 cubic inch V8 with throttle body fuel injection, an automatic, and 17,000 miles—$20,000
- 1980 red Chevrolet Corvette coupe with black leather seats, a 5.7 liter/350 cubic inch V8 with Rochester 4-barrel carburetor, and an automatic—$12,000
- 1984 light pewter metallic over thunder black Nissan/Datsun 300ZX Anniversary Edition hatchback coupe with black leather seats, a 200 bhp 3.0 liter/181 cubic inch V6 with twin turbochargers and fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and 25,000 miles—$18,000
- 1983 beige crystal Chrysler Imperial coupe with beige leather seats, an LA 130 bhp 5.2 liter/318 cubic inch V8 with stunningly unreliable fuel injection, an automatic, and 31,000 miles—$7,250
- 1988 gray Pontiac Firebird Formula hatchback coupe with a gray interior, a 5.0 liter/305 cubic inch V8 with fuel injection, and an automatic—$4,000
- 1986 light blue Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck with blue cloth bench seat, a V8, an automatic, and 27,000 miles—$8,500
Friday, October 6th:
- 1986 dark red metallic Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z hatchback coupe with gray cloth seats, an LB9 190 bhp 5.0 liter/305 cubic inch V8 with fuel injection, an automatic, and 41,000 miles—at $15,000 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.
- 1989 aqua Nissan Pao hatchback coupe with ivory seats, a MA10S 51 bhp 1.0 liter/61 cubic inch inline four, a five-speed manual, and 79,000 miles—$10,000 for this retro-styled car, perhaps the most interesting eighties vehicle at this auction
- 1988 astral silver metallic Mercedes-Benz 560SL convertible with a hard top, blue leather seats, a 227 bhp 5.5 liter/338 cubic inch V8 with Bosch KE-Jetronic fuel injection, an automatic, and 35,000 miles—$27,500
- 1980 blue Datsun 280ZX hatchback coupe with blue cloth seats, an L28 145 bhp 2.8 liter/168 cubic inch inline six with Bosch L-Jetronic fuel injection, and a five-speed—$7,500
- 1980 black GMC Sierra 2500 custom pickup truck with a gray interior, a 400 cubic inch V8, and an automatic—$17,000
- 1989 gray Jaguar XJS convertible with a black top, black leather seats, an HE 262 bhp 5.3 liter/326 cubic inch V12 with fuel injection, an automatic, and 63,000 miles—$7,500
- 1984 blue Chevrolet Cavalier convertible with a blue top, blue cloth seats, an LQ5 88 bhp 2.0 liter/121 cubic inch inline four with throttle-body fuel injection, and an automatic—$1,000. When was the last time you saw a Cavalier at a collector car auction?
- 1984 red Chevrolet Corvette hatchback coupe with gray leather seats, a Cross-Fire 205 bhp 5.7 liter/350 cubic inch V8 with throttle-body fuel injection, an automatic, and 2,600 miles—$13,500
- 1986 yellow Chevrolet Corvette convertible with black leather seats, an L98 235 bhp 5.7 liter/350 cubic inch V8 with fuel injection, and an automatic—$18,000
- 1989 red/white/blue Chevrolet Corvette Corvette Challenge race car with a black interior, a 5.7 liter/350 cubic inch V8 with fuel injection, and a six-speed manual—$35,000. Corvette Challenge cars seem to have (finally) found their market.
- 1982 green Toyota FJ-40 Land Cruiser SUV with a black and green interior, a six cylinder engine, and a five-speed manual—$29,000
- 1986 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 54,000 miles—$22,000
- 1987 brown/tan two-tone Ford Bronco II SUV Eddie Bauer edition SUV with tan cloth seats, a Cologne 140 bhp 2.9 liter/179 cubic inch V6 with fuel injection, and an automatic—$11,000
- 1989 red Ford Mustang Saleen hatchback coupe with gray cloth seats, a 4.9 liter V8 with Paxton supercharger, a five-speed manual, and 29,000 miles—$20,500
- 1988 maroon with gray cladding Ford Mustang GT convertible with red cloth seats, a white top, a Windsor 225 bhp 4.9 liter/302 cubic inch V8 with fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and 30,000 miles—$10,500
Saturday, October 7th:
- 1989 black Land Rover Defender 110 custom pickup truck with black seats, a 2.5 liter/152 cubic inch diesel inline four, and a five-speed manual—$43,000
- 1987 venetian blue metallic Porsche 911 Turbo coupe with linen leather seats, a 282 bhp 3.3 liter/201 cubic inch flat six with turbocharger and fuel injection, a four-speed manual, and 40,000 miles—$78,000
- 1983 azzurro blue Ferrari 308 GTS Quattrovalvole coupe with nuvola blue leather seats, a 230 bhp 2.9 liter/179 cubic inch V8 with Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and 38,000 miles—$33,000 is right at #4/Fair money according to Hagerty’s valuation tools.
- 1987 red Chevrolet Silverado custom pickup truck with a tan cloth bench seat, a 5.7 liter/350 cubic inch V8, and an automatic—$12,500
- 1988 white with woodgrain Jeep Grand Wagoneer custom SUV with tan seats, a 5.9 liter/360 cubic inch V8 with carburetor, and an automatic—$21,500
- 1984 blue Chevrolet Silverado custom pickup truck with a bench seat, a 5.0 liter/305 cubic inch V8, and an automatic—$13,500
- 1982 white Mercedes-Benz 380SL convertible with a blue convertible top, hard top, blue leather seats, a 155 bhp 3.8 liter/234 cubic inch V8 with Bosch Jetronic fuel injection, and an automatic—$9,500
Eighties Chevrolets were heavily represented in this auction—almost 30% of the lots from that decade, with Mercedes-Benz a distant second place. What do you think of these results?
Eighties Cars 