Mecum’s huge annual Kissimmee auction finished on January 19th this year. In the middle of 2021, I gave up trying to chronicle every eighties vehicle sold at any particular auction—there’s often an endless sameness to them. So, I now only write about the cars and trucks that are less seen at auction—and those that sold (a red 1982 Porsche 935/84 race car was a no-sale at $1,100,000). Here are ten that attracted my eye, described in a little more detail than usual.
[Lot E117] 1982 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale coupe. White with a White vinyl Landau top and Dark Blue cloth Custom Sport front bench seat. LV2 140 bhp 5.0 liter/307 ci V8 with a four-barrel carburetor, a four-speed automatic, and 8,900 miles. A $20,500 hammer price indicates that these game-changing B-bodies still have their followers. Perhaps I should write about the Oldsmobile version soon.
[E194] 1989 Buick LeSabre T-Type coupe. Black with gray cloth front bucket seats. LN3 165 bhp 3.8 liter/231 ci V6 with fuel injection, a four-speed automatic, and 94,000 miles. Flint made a little under 16,000 of these late T-Types over three years—how many are left? $14,000 bought this example, evidently now sporting a BMW shade of black.
[L189] 1983 Honda Civic 1500S hatchback coupe. Victoria Red with black cloth front bucket seats with red inserts. EM 67 bhp 1.5 liter/91 ci inline four with a two-barrel carburetor, a five-speed manual, and 12,600 miles. $25,000 is real money for a non-CRX eighties Civic—but the 1500S was well-regarded when it was new.
[J123] 1984 Chevrolet Corvette hatchback coupe. Experimental tri-coat Tre-Celeste Pearl with medium gray leather front bucket seats. L83 Cross-Fire 205 bhp 5.7 liter/350 ci V8 with throttle-body fuel injection, a four-speed automatic, and 12,500 miles. Eighties Corvettes are a dime a dozen at auction (there were 33 at Mecum Kissimmee this year), but the color (only painted on two Corvettes) sets this one apart. $20,000.
[J235] 1987 Chevrolet Chevette CS hatchback coupe. Silver Metallic with gray cloth front bucket seats. LB0 65 bhp 1.6 liter/98 ci inline four with a two-barrel carburetor, a four-speed manual, and 47 miles. $30,000 for perhaps the nicest one remaining, but it’s still a final year Chevette. From the Ray Fauber Estate Collection, which featured many extremely low mileage vehicles.
[G322] 1987 Lincoln Continental sedan. Midnight Black with Oxford Gray leather Twin Comfort Lounge front seats. Windsor 150 bhp 4.9 liter/302 ci V8 with fuel injection, a four-speed automatic, and 86,000 miles. You see a reasonable number of eighties Lincoln Marks, but you don’t see nearly as many of these seventh-generation Continentals. $8,500 for another car I should probably write about at some point [update—I did].
[W128] 1988 Toyota Cressida sedan. Dark Red Pearl with burgundy leather front seats. 156 bhp 5M-GEU 2.8 liter/168 ci inline six with fuel injection, a four-speed automatic, and 75,000 miles. $20,000 bought this once top-of-the-line North American Toyota offering—produced just before the advent of Lexus. Cressidas are now rarely seen, though there were two at this year’s Mecum Kissimmee.
[W207] 1984 Ford Mustang GT Turbo convertible. Light Academy Blue Glow with a blue convertible top and charcoal vinyl front bucket seats. Lima 145 bhp 2.3 liter/183 ci inline four with fuel injection and a turbocharger, a five-speed manual, and 7,300 miles. I was completely unaware of this two-year-only non–SVO turbo Mustang until I viewed these auction results. $10,000 for this attractive and rare Fox-body.
[F159] 1984 Ferrari 512 BBi coupe. Rossa Corsa (of course!) with beige leather front bucket seats. Tipo F110A 340 bhp 4.9 liter/302 ci flat 12 with fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and 5,100 miles. At $345,000, the highest eighties vehicle sale of this auction—by a cool $80,000 over a 1988 Testarossa.
[S153] 1983 Lola T700 Cosworth Indy race car. In Budweiser colors—red and white. Cosworth DFX 2.7 liter turbocharged V8 with a five-speed manual. The first Newman/Haas-campaigned Indy Car, which was twice driven to victory by Mario Andretti in 1983, this was a race car that did sell—for $250,000.
Eighties Cars 