Eighties Vehicles at the 2018 Mecum Louisville

Mecum’s September auction in Louisville provided some fodder for commentary. I’ll concentrate on the at least reasonably stock 1980s cars (and a few trucks) that sold (remember that Mecum auctions are not no reserve auctions—a highly customized gray 1981 Jeep Scrambler pickup truck hatchback coupe with a black interior was a no sale bid up to $40,000) and add some of my opinions. Eighties vehicles were about 10% of the 332 vehicle lots sold in this auction.

Friday, September 7th:

• 1988 purple Chevrolet S10 very custom (engine, exterior, interior) pickup truck with a purple interior, a 5.7 liter/350 ci V8, and an automatic—$3,500 hammer price.
• 1988 black Ford Mustang custom (engine, exterior, interior) hatchback coupe with gray seats, a 225 bhp 4.9 liter/302 ci V8 with fuel injection, and an automatic—$4,500
• 1984 white Pontiac Fiero Pace Car Edition coupe with red/gray cloth/leather seats, an “Iron Duke” 92 bhp 2.5 liter/151 ci inline four with fuel injection, an automatic, and 40,000 miles—$3,500
• 1988 black/orange two-tone Ford Econoline Harley-Davidson Edition van with charcoal cloth seats, a 4.9 liter/302 ci V8, an automatic, and 55,000 miles—$9,000 for this rarely seen special edition.
• 1983 gold Mercedes-Benz 380SL convertible with both tops, a burgundy interior, a 155 bhp 3.8 liter/234 ci fuel injected V8, an automatic, and 40,000 miles—$6,000
• 1985 bright red Chevrolet Corvette hatchback coupe with an L98 230 bhp 5.7 liter/350 ci V8 with fuel injection, and an automatic—$4,500
• 1985 red/cream two-tone Ford F-150 Lariat pickup truck with a red cloth bench seat, an unknown V8 (could be a 4.9 liter/302 ci or a 5.8 liter/351 ci), an automatic, and 4,200 miles—$14,000
• 1980 dark blue metallic Chevrolet Corvette coupe with blue seats, a 5.7 liter/350 ci V8 with Rochester Quadrajet four-barrel carburetor, and an automatic—$12,500
• 1988 black Ford Mustang ASC/McLaren convertible with a black top, red leather seats, a 225 bhp 4.9 liter/302 ci V8 with fuel injection, an automatic, and 80,000 miles—$14,500
• 1987 white Chevrolet C10 custom (engine, suspension, body, wheels/tires) pickup truck with a gray interior, a 7.4 liter/454 ci v8, and a four-speed manual, and 93,000 miles—$14,000
• 1980 orange Toyota Land Cruiser FJ-40 custom (powertrain) SUV with black seats, a 1FZ-FE 212 bhp 4.5 liter/273 ci inline six with fuel injection from a much newer Toyota, and a five-speed manual—$28,000
• 1985 tan/brown two-tone Ford Bronco II XLT SUV with tan cloth seats, a Windsor “High Output” 210 bhp 5.8 liter/351 ci V8 with Motorcraft two-barrel carburetor, an automatic, and 91,000 miles—$9,000
• 1985 blue/black two-tone Chevrolet C10 Silverado pickup truck with a blue cloth bench seat, a 5.0 liter/305 ci V8, and an automatic—$8,500
• 1983 yellow Jeep CJ-8 Scrambler pickup truck with black seats, a 112 bhp 4.2 liter/258 ci inline six with Carter BBD two-barrel carburetor, and a four-speed manual—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.
• 1980 orange International Harvester Scout II SUV with tan seats, an SD33T 101 bhp 3.3 liter/199 ci diesel inline six, and a four-speed manual—$31,500
• 1982 white Chevrolet Corvette coupe with red leather seats, an L83 Cross-Fire 200 bhp 5.7 liter/350 ci V8 with throttle body fuel injection, and an automatic—$9,000
• 1983 white/blue two-tone Chevrolet K10 Silverado pickup truck with blue cloth bench seat, a 5.7 liter/350 ci V8, and an automatic—$10,500
• 1982 butternut Cadillac Coupe DeVille with a white vinyl half top, butternut leather seats, an HT-4100 135 bhp 4.1 liter/249 ci V8 with fuel injection, an automatic, and 46,000 miles—$7,500 for a Cadillac from the days of many color choices.

• 1987 burgundy Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS coupe with a burgundy cloth interior, a 180 bhp 5.0 liter/305 ci V8 with a four-barrel carburetor, and an automatic—$8,500
• 1988 green/tan two-tone GMC Suburban SUV with a tan interior, a 7.4 liter/454 ci with fuel injection, an automatic, and 64,000 miles—$7,000
• 1988 blue/silver two-tone GMC Sierra 1500 custom (suspension, paint, wheels/tires) pickup truck with a gray cloth bench seat, a 5.7 liter/350 ci V8, and an automatic—$10,000
• 1984 red/tan two-tone Chevrolet Silverado custom (engine, suspension, interior, wheels/tires) pickup truck with a black/red interior, a 5.0 liter/305 ci V8, and an automatic—$8,000
• 1986 red Chevrolet Corvette hatchback coupe with gray leather seats, an L98 230 bhp 5.7 liter/350 ci V8 with fuel injection, the Doug Nash 4+3 transmission, and 54,000 miles—$6,500
• 1989 red Mazda RX7 convertible with a black top, a black interior, a 13B 160 bhp 1.3 liter/80 ci two-rotor with fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and 23,000 miles—$6,500

Saturday, September 8th:

• 1985 red Ford Mustang GT hatchback coupe with gray cloth seats, a Windsor 210 bhp 4.9 liter/302 ci V8 with a four-barrel carburetor, a five-speed manual, and 71,000 miles—$6,500
• 1983 black/silver two-tone Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais Hurst/Olds 15th Anniversary coupe with red leather seats, a 180 bhp 5.0 liter/307 ci V8 with Rochester four-barrel carburetor, an automatic attached to that famous lightning rod shifter, and 13,000 miles—$19,000

• 1981 white Chevrolet Corvette coupe with tan leather seats, an L81 190 bhp 5.7 liter/350 ci V8 with a Rochester Quadrajet four-barrel carburetor, an automatic, and 27,000 miles—$13,000
• 1984 white Porsche 911 Carrera Targa coupe with tan leather seats, a 217 bhp 3.2 liter/193 ci flat six with fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and 75,000 miles—$38,000
• 1989 blue Rolls-Royce Silver Spur sedan with blue leather seats, a 6.75 liter/412 ci V8, an automatic, and 66,000 miles—$10,000
• 1989 black Bentley Mulsanne S sedan with tan leather seats, a 205 bhp 6.75 liter/412 ci V8, an automatic, and 52,000 miles—$10,000
• 1985 red Pontiac Firebird Trans Am hatchback coupe with black /gray cloth seats, a 5.0 liter/305 ci V8 with a four-barrel carburetor, and a five-speed manual—$7,000
• 1982 stainless steel DeLorean DMC-12 coupe with a gray interior, a ZMJ-159 130 bhp 2.8 liter/174 ci V6 with Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and 15,000 miles—$25,500
• 1985 gray Dodge Ram pickup truck with a gray interior and an unknown V8 (could be a 5.2 liter/318 ci or a 5.9 liter/361 ci)—$13,000
• 1980 red Chevrolet Camaro Z28 coupe with black seats, an LM1 190 bhp 5.7 liter/350 ci V8 with a Rochester four-barrel carburetor, and an automatic—$19,000 is between #3/Good and #2/Excellent money, according to Hagerty’s valuation tools.

Eighties Chevrolets and Fords were heavily represented in this auction—combining for 53% of the lots from that decade. What do you think of these results?