Mecum’s three-day December auction in Kansas City usually provides much fodder for commentary and this year was no exception. 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 beige 1980 Toyota HJ-45 Land Cruiser SUV with gray seats was a no sale bid up to $28,000) and add some of my opinions. Eighties vehicles were about 9% of the 307 vehicle lots sold in this auction.
Thursday, December 6th:
- 1987 red Chevrolet El Camino custom (engine, interior, wheels/tires) pickup truck with a red bench seat, a 5.7 liter/350 ci V8 with a four-barrel carburetor, an automatic, and 31,000 miles—$10,000 hammer price.
- 1989 red Chevrolet Corvette convertible with a black top, black leather seats, an L98 240 bhp 5.7 liter/350 ci V8 with fuel injection, and an automatic—$6,500
- 1988 pearl white Cadillac Allanté convertible with a hardtop, tan leather seats, an HT-4100 170 bhp 4.1 liter/249 ci V8 with fuel injection, an automatic, and 72,000 miles—an ouch! at $3,750
- 1980 maroon Triumph TR7 convertible with a black top, black vinyl seats, an 86 bhp 2.0 liter/122 ci inline four with a carburetor, and a four-speed manual—$3,000 is #4/Fair money, according to Hagerty’s valuation tools.
- 1983 black Jeep CJ-7 SUV with black seats, a 112 bhp 4.2 liter/258 ci inline six with a Carter two-barrel carburetor, an automatic, and 59,000 miles—$6,500
- 1989 beige Nissan Pao hatchback coupe with gray cloth seats, a MA10S 51 bhp 1.0 liter/61 ci inline four, and a five-speed manual—$3,500
- 1982 maroon/silver two-tone Chevrolet El Camino custom (engine, wheels/tires) pickup truck with a maroon cloth bench seat, a 355 ci V8, and an automatic—$10,000
- 1981 diamond mist metallic/medium blue metallic two-tone Datsun 280ZX hatchback coupe with blue/gray cloth seats, an L28 145 bhp 2.8 liter/168 ci inline six with Bosch L-Jetronic fuel injection, and a five-speed manual—$5,000 implies that the 280ZX is not yet getting the love from the market that the earlier Z cars get.
- 1982 green Jeep CJ-8 Scrambler pickup truck with black seats, a 110 bhp 4.2 liter/258 ci inline six with Carter BBD two-barrel carburetor, and a five-speed manual—$13,500
- 1987 black Jaguar XJ-S coupe with tan leather seats, an HE 262 bhp 5.3 liter/326 ci V12 with fuel injection, and an automatic—$6,500
- 1988 red/white two-tone Ford Bronco SUV with red seats, a Windsor 210 bhp 5.8 liter/351 ci V8 with fuel injection, and an automatic—$12,500
Friday, December 7th:
- 1986 midnight blue Chevrolet C10 Silverado pickup truck with a blue custom cloth bench seat, an LE9 160 bhp 5.0 liter/305 ci V8, and automatic, and 3,900 miles—at $34,000, the first vehicle in this auction to meet my criteria for serious 1980s collectability of mostly or entirely original cars or trucks: selling for equal to or above its original base list price. I’ll mark these vehicles in bold green.
- 1989 dover gray metallic with woodgrain Jeep Grand Wagoneer SUV with cordovan seats, a 144 bhp 5.9 liter/360 ci V8 with Motorcraft two-barrel carburetor, and an automatic—$20,000
- 1989 white Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais coupe with blue cloth seats, an Iron Duke 110 bhp 2.5 liter/151 ci inline four with fuel injection, an automatic, and 12,000 miles—$3,250 for perhaps the most unusual eighties vehicle at this auction. Who buys this car? What are their intentions for it? Should I do a blog entry on this car?
- 1988 red Dodge Ramcharger SUV with tan vinyl seats, an unknown V8 (could be the 5.2 liter/318 ci or the 5.9 liter/360 ci), and an automatic—$14,000
- 1989 black Chevrolet Corvette convertible with a black top, black leather seats, an L98 240 bhp 5.7 liter/350 ci V8 with fuel injection, a six-speed manual, and 74,000 miles—$11,000
- 1985 white Chevrolet Corvette hatchback coupe with red leather seats, an L98 230 bhp 5.7 liter/350 ci V8 with fuel injection, and an automatic—$5,000
- 1987 black Buick Grand National coupe with black/gray cloth seats, a 245 bhp 3.8 liter/231 ci V6 with fuel injection and turbocharger, an automatic, and 24,000 miles—$30,000
- 1989 red Chevrolet Corvette hatchback coupe with red leather seats, an L98 5.7 liter/350 ci V8 with fuel injection, a six-speed manual, and 61,000 miles—$6,000
- 1987 red Ford Bronco II SUV with brown cloth seats, a Cologne 140 bhp 2.9 liter/179 ci V6 with fuel injection, and an automatic—$4,000
- 1980 white Pontiac Firebird Turbo Trans Am Pace Car coupe with oyster seats, a 210 bhp 4.9 liter/301 ci V8 with a Rochester four-barrel carburetor and turbocharger, an automatic, and 8,600 miles—$17,500
- 1987 black Chevrolet Corvette custom (Greenwood body kit, wheels/tires) convertible with a black top, black leather seats, an L98 240 bhp 5.7 liter/350 ci V8 with fuel injection, an automatic, and 19,000 miles—$13,500
Saturday, December 8th:
- 1980 red Chevrolet K10 pickup truck with an unknown V8 and an unknown manual transmission—$13,500
- 1986 blue GMC Sierra custom (engine, interior, exterior, wheels/tires) pickup truck with a blue/white bench seat, a 5.7 liter/350 ci V8, and an automatic—$17,000
- 1983 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 2,100 miles—$25,000
- 1980 red Chevrolet Corvette coupe with red leather seats, an L48 190 bhp 5.7 liter/350 ci V8 with Rochester Quadrajet four-barrel carburetor, and an automatic—$13,000
- 1980 dark claret metallic Chevrolet Corvette coupe with claret leather seats, an L48 190 bhp 5.7 liter/350 ci V8 with Rochester Quadrajet four-barrel carburetor, an automatic, and 74,000 miles—$13,000 for this handsome late shark.
- 1980 beige Toyota FJ-43 Land Cruiser SUV with gray seats, a 2F 135 bhp 4.2 liter inline six, and a four-speed manual—$40,000 made this the highest eighties vehicle sale of the auction.
Among eighties vehicles, Chevrolets dominated this auction, with 39% of the sold lots from that decade. Jeep, Ford, and Datsun/Nissan also had notable representation. What do you think of these results?
Eighties Cars 