Mecum’s Dallas auction in December 2020 provided some interesting fodder for commentary. It’s important to remember that Mecum auctions are not “no reserve” auctions—a black 1983 Mercedes-Benz G300 SUV with white bucket seats was a no-sale bid up to $52,000. I’ll concentrate on the at least reasonably stock 1980s vehicles that sold and add some of my opinions. Eighties vehicles were about 11% of the 364 vehicle lots sold in this auction.
Thursday, December 3rd:
- 1984 blue BMW 318i coupe with tan bucket seats, a 101 bhp 1.8 liter/108 ci inline four with fuel injection, an automatic, and 47,000 miles—$4,000 hammer price.
- 1985 Cotillion White Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz convertible with a white top, red leather “tufted multi-button” seats, an HT-4100 135 bhp 4.1 liter/249 ci V8 with fuel injection, an automatic, and 57,000 miles—$15,000 is #2/Excellent money, according to Hagerty’s valuation tools.
- 1982 blue/white two-tone Ford F100 pickup truck with a blue bench seat, a 133 bhp 4.9 liter/302 ci V8, and an automatic—$6,500
- 1983 brown Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck with a brown interior, an unknown V8, and an automatic—$9,500
- 1982 blue Datsun 280ZX Turbo 2+2 hatchback coupe with gray bucket seats, an L28ET 145 bhp 2.8 liter/168 ci inline six with a turbocharger and fuel injection, and an automatic—$10,500
- 1982 Silver Beige Chevrolet Corvette coupe with silver beige leather bucket seats, an L83 Cross-Fire 200 bhp 5.7 liter/350 ci V8 with throttle body fuel injection, an automatic, and 36,000 miles—$14,500
- 1982 white Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce convertible with a brown top, brown bucket seats, a 111 bhp 2.0 liter/120 ci inline four with fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and 97,000 miles—$7,500
- 1985 Shelby GLHS custom (engine, interior) hatchback coupe with gray cloth bucket seats, a 2.2 liter/135 ci inline four with a turbocharger, an intercooler, and fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and 32,000 miles—at $19,500, the highest eighties vehicle sale on Thursday
- 1989 pearl white Chevrolet 1500 custom (exterior) pickup truck with an unknown V8—$7,000
- 1984 beige/black two-tone Chevrolet Suburban custom (suspension, wheels/tires) SUV—$5,000
- 1984 red Toyota Celica hatchback coupe with red cloth bucket seats, a 22R-E 105 bhp 2.4 liter inline four with fuel injection, and an automatic—$14,000
- 1982 blue Toyota FJ-40 Land Cruiser mild custom SUV with tan seats, a 2F 4.2 liter inline six, and a four-speed manual—$15,000
- 1986 white Nissan Spartan II coupe with a gray interior, a 3.0 liter V6 with fuel injection, and an automatic—$11,500 for this 300ZX-based neo-classic
- 1983 sky blue Mercedes-Benz 380SL convertible with blue bucket seats, a 155 bhp 3.8 liter/234 ci V8 with fuel injection, an automatic, and 92,000 miles—$3,000 for this SL stated to not be in running condition
- 1985 chocolate Chevrolet C10 custom (just about everything) pickup truck with tan leather bucket seats, a 6.3 liter/383 ci V8, and an automatic—$16,000
Friday, December 4th:
- 1985 black/silver two-tone Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck with 65,000 miles and little other description—$7,000
- 1982 Red Chevrolet Corvette coupe with an L83 Cross-Fire 200 bhp 5.7 liter/350 ci V8 with throttle body fuel injection, an automatic, and 67,000 miles—$7,500
- 1987 red/white two-tone Chevrolet C10 custom (suspension, wheels/tires) pickup truck with a black cloth bench seat, a 5.7 liter/350 ci V8 with fuel injection, an automatic, and 65,000 miles—$23,000
- 1982 Dark Brown Metallic Datsun 280ZX Turbo hatchback coupe with tan cloth bucket seats, an L28ET 145 bhp 2.8 liter/168 ci inline six with a turbocharger and fuel injection, and a five-speed manual—at $28,000 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.
- 1984 white Zimmer Golden Spirit coupe with red leather bucket seats, a Windsor 4.9 liter/302 ci V8 with fuel injection, and an automatic—$21,000
- 1989 maroon/white two-tone Dodge Ramcharger SUV with red cloth seats, an unknown V8 (could be a 5.2 liter or a 5.9 liter), an automatic, and 57,000 miles—$9,500
- 1987 blue metallic Chevrolet K10 custom (exterior, engine, wheels/tires) pickup truck with a blue cloth bench seat, a 5.7 liter/350 ci V8 with a carburetor, and an automatic—$18,000
- 1984 Apple Red Chevrolet C10 pickup truck with a charcoal vinyl bench seat, an LE9 150 bhp 5.0 liter/305 ci V8, and an automatic—$15,000
- 1983 Rally Red Jeep CJ-7 custom (just about everything) SUV with red bucket seats and a 5.7 liter/350 ci V8 with a supercharger—at $37,000, the highest eighties vehicle sale on Friday
- 1980 beige Mercedes-Benz 450SL convertible with a black soft top, brown bucket seats, a 160 bhp 4.5 liter/276 ci V8 with fuel injection, and an automatic—$19,000
- 1984 black GMC 1500 custom (engine, suspension, wheels/tires) pickup truck with a bench seat, a 5.7 liter/350 ci V8, and an automatic—$19,500
- 1981 Chevrolet C10 custom (just about everything) pickup truck with blue cloth bucket seats, a 6.0 liter V8 with fuel injection, and an automatic—$22,000
- 1988 Salmon Silver Metallic BMW 325i convertible with a black top, black leather bucket seats, an M20B25 168 bhp 2.5 liter/152 ci inline four with fuel injection, and an automatic—$7,000.
- 1983 beige Jeep CJ-7 SUV with tan bucket seats, a manual, and 132,000 miles—$13,000
- 1985 Apple Red/Frost White two-tone Chevrolet K5 Blazer Silverado SUV with red cloth bucket seats and an automatic—$25,500
- 1987 Medium Gray Metallic Chevrolet El Camino pickup truck with a gray cloth seat, an LG4 150 bhp 5.0 liter/305 ci V8 with a four-barrel carburetor, an automatic, and 29,000 miles—$9,000
- 1983 tan Jeep Scrambler custom (just about everything) pickup truck with gray bucket seats, a 5.9 liter V8, and an automatic—$15,500
- 1986 white Volkswagen custom (exterior, wheels/tires) cabriolet with gray/white bucket seats, a 90 bhp 1.8 liter inline four, a five-speed manual, and 122,000 miles—$4,000
Saturday, December 5th:
- 1982 Silver Beige Chevrolet Corvette coupe with silver beige leather bucket seats, an L83 Cross-Fire 200 bhp 5.7 liter/350 ci V8 with throttle body fuel injection, an automatic, and 11,000 miles—$24,000 is solid money for a 1982 CE.
- 1984 Chevrolet C10 custom (engine, suspension, wheels/tires) pickup truck with a 7.4 liter/454 ci V8 and an automatic—$22,000
- 1986 blue/tan two-tone Chevrolet C10 custom (powertrain, interior, wheels/tires) pickup truck with a gray bench seat, a 6.0 liter V8, and an automatic—$31,000
- 1987 black Porsche 930 Turbo coupe with brown bucket seats, a 282 bhp 3.3 liter/201 ci flat six with a turbocharger and fuel injection, a four-speed manual, and 28,000 miles—$120,000 for this factory slant nose made it the highest eighties vehicle of this auction
- 1983 Chevrolet C10 custom (engine, suspension, wheels/tires) pickup truck with a cloth bench seat, a 6.3 liter/383 ci V8 with fuel injection, and an automatic—$30,000
- 1987 red orange Land Rover Defender 90 custom (just about everything) SUV with orange/black leather bucket seats, a 2.5 liter diesel inline four, and a five-speed manual—$41,000
Houston was another Mecum auction in Texas that featured many Chevrolet trucks. This profusion of bowtie trucks meant that Chevrolets were 44% of the eighties vehicles sold. Other prevalent marques were Jeep and Nissan/Datsun. What do you think?
Eighties Cars 