Eighties Vehicles at the 2017 Mecum Las Vegas

Mecum’s November auction in Las Vegas provided some fodder for commentary. I’ll concentrate on the reasonably stock 1980s cars (and a few trucks) that sold (remember that Mecum auctions are not “no reserve” auctions—a black 1989 Ferrari Testarossa coupe with a tan interior and 4,000 miles was a no sale bid up to $147,500) and add some of my opinions. Eighties vehicles were about 8% of the 450 vehicle lots sold in this auction.

Thursday, November 16th:

• 1985 red, black, and gold Chevrolet Corvette custom hatchback coupe with gray cloth seats, a 440 bhp 6.3 liter/383 ci V8 with fuel injection, and a five-speed manual—$8,500 hammer price
• 1985 black Mercedes-Benz 380SL convertible with black leather seats, a 155 bhp 3.8 liter/234 ci V8 with Bosch Jetronic fuel injection, and an automatic—$6,000
• 1984 red Chevrolet Corvette hatchback coupe with black leather seats, a Cross-Fire 205 bhp 5.7 liter/350 ci V8 with throttle-body fuel injection, an automatic, and 64,000 miles—$7,500
• 1989 red Cadillac Allanté convertible with beige leather seats, an HT-4500 200 bhp 4.5 liter/273 ci V8 with fuel injection, an automatic, and 47,000 miles—$5,500
• 1983 silver Chevrolet mild custom pickup truck with a blue cloth bench seat, a 7.4 liter/454 ci V8, and an automatic—$18,000
• 1983 tan Chevrolet El Camino custom pickup truck with a tan interior, a 5.7 liter/350 ci V8, and an automatic—$7,500
• 1982 blue Rolls-Royce Silver Spur sedan with tan leather seats, a 6.75 liter/412 ci V8 with Bosch Jetronic fuel injection, an automatic, and 16,000 miles—$17,000
• 1984 gold Mercedes-Benz 380SL convertible with a hard top, tan leather seats, a 155 bhp 3.8 liter/234 ci V8 with Bosch Jetronic fuel injection, and an automatic—$4,000
• 1988 midnight blue/aspen blue two-tone GMC Suburban Classic SUV with blue vinyl seats, an L19 230 bhp 7.4 liter/454 ci V8 with fuel injection, an automatic, and 42,000 miles—$8,500
• 1981 white Chevrolet Corvette coupe with black leather seats, an L81 190 bhp 5.7 liter/350 ci V8 with Rochester Quadrajet four-barrel carburetor, and an automatic—$6,500 for one of the last of the St. Louis-built cars
• 1988 maroon Chevrolet custom van with tan seats, a 5.7 liter/350 ci V8 with fuel injection, and an automatic—$20,000
• 1984 orange Dodge custom van with orange and black seats, a 3.7 liter six, and an automatic—$8,500
• 1986 blue Ford Econoline custom van with blue cloth seats, a 4.9 liter/302 ci V8 with fuel injection, and an automatic—$11,000
• 1989 red Cadillac Allanté convertible with beige leather seats, an HT-4500 200 bhp 4.5 liter/273 ci V8 with fuel injection, and an automatic—$4,000
• 1985 white Oldsmobile Toronado Brougham coupe with burgundy cloth seats, a 140 bhp 5.0 liter/307 ci V8 with Rochester four-barrel carburetor, and an automatic—$4,000
• 1987 silver Cadillac Allanté convertible with a black convertible top, red leather seats, an HT-4100 170 bhp 4.1 liter/249 ci V8 with fuel injection, and an automatic—$4,000
• 1988 red Chevrolet S-10 Blazer very custom SUV with red velour seats, a V6 with fuel injection, and an automatic—$3,250
• 1980 black Dodge custom van with tan seats, a 5.8 liter/360 ci V8, and an automatic—$30,000
• 1985 burgundy Chevrolet custom pickup truck with a tan cloth bench seat, a 5.7 liter/350 ci V8, and a four-speed manual—$8,600
• 1989 red Jaguar XJS coupe with tan leather seats, an HE 262 bhp 5.3 liter/326 ci V12 with fuel injection, an automatic, and 92,000 miles—an ouch! at $3,000
• 1980 yellow MG MGB convertible with a black interior, a black top, a 62.5 bhp 1.8 liter/110 ci inline four with Zenith 175CD5T carburetor, a four-speed manual, and 30,000 miles—$4,500
• 1989 pearl white Toyota Soarer Aerocabin hardtop convertible with gray leather seats, a 7M-GTE 240 bhp 3.0 liter inline six with a turbocharger, and an automatic—$13,500 for perhaps the most interesting eighties vehicle in this auction

• 1980 burgundy Cadillac Coupe de Ville with a tan interior, a 150 bhp 6.0 liter/368 ci V8 with Rochester 4-barrel carburetor, and an automatic—at $500, this big coupe has lost at least 96% of its original value

Friday, November 17th:

• 1988 cassis red Porsche 911 Carrera convertible with a black interior, a 217 bhp 3.2 liter/193 ci flat six with fuel injection, and a five-speed manual—$30,000
• 1981 dark bronze Chevrolet Corvette coupe with camel leather seats, an L81 190 bhp 5.7 liter/350 ci V8 with Rochester Quadrajet 4-barrel carburetor, and an automatic—at $16,500 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.

• 1986 rosso corsa Ferrari 328 GTS coupe with tan leather seats, an F105B 260 bhp 3.2 liter/195 ci V8 with Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and 27,000 miles—$72,000
• 1984 beige Toyota FJ45 Land Cruiser pickup truck with gray seats and a manual transmission—$40,000
• 1984 beige Cadillac Eldorado coupe with beige leather seats, an HT-4100 135 bhp 4.1 liter/249 ci V8 with fuel injection, and an automatic—$14,000
• 1985 white Cadillac Seville sedan with white tufted leather seats, an HT-4100 135 bhp 4.1 liter/249 ci V8 with fuel injection, an automatic, and 20,000 miles—$13,000

Saturday, November 18th:

• 1981 black and gold Pontiac Firebird Trans Am SE custom coupe with tan cloth seats, a 7.5 liter/455 ci V8 (that’s why it’s custom) with a four-barrel carburetor a four-speed manual, and 53,000 miles—$27,000
• 1984 brown Land Rover Defender 110 custom SUV with a black interior, an 85 bhp 2.5-liter diesel inline four with a turbocharger, and a five-speed manual—$67,000
• 1987 red Land Rover Defender 110 custom SUV with a black interior, a 3.9 liter V8, and a five-speed manual—$71,000
• 1987 black Buick Regal GNX coupe with black/gray cloth seats, an LC2 276 bhp 3.8 liter/231 ci V6 with turbocharging and fuel injection, an automatic, and 820 miles—$90,000 is between #2/Excellent and #3/Good money according to Hagerty’s valuation tools.
• 1985 prugna Ferrari 308 GTS Quattrovalvole coupe with beige leather seats, a 230 bhp 2.9 liter/179 ci V8 with Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and 45,000 miles—$43,000 is not much of a deficit for this very unusual color

Eighties Chevrolets were heavily represented in this auction—almost 30% of the lots from that decade, with Cadillacs a distant but unusual second place. What do you think of these results?