Dallas Mecum Auction
I attended all three days of the recent Dallas Mecum Collector Car Auction. What an experience! I was on TV every day on the newly-named Velocity cable channel (the old HD Theater).
As a member of the Lone Star Corvette Club (LSCC), the club the Mecum organization had asked to furnish auction block drivers, I volunteered to drive some fabulous automobiles. I was told that the reason Mecum chose the LSCC was since many of us own vintage Corvettes and know the procedure to start them. I would think that they would have called the Texas Chapter NCRS but we don't have 800 members.
Of course, the most memorable cars were the Corvettes, especially the Red/red LS1-engined '62 "tribute Corvette" built on a C5 chassis that sold for $91,000, I think. Another was a red '59 Corvette that had a distinquished visitor. While I was sitting in the car waiting for the call to move the car, Terry Michaelis, well-known auction attendee and an expert/collector/seller of vintage Corvettes, came by to look at the car. He was very kind to shake my hand when I introduced myself as one of his customers.
I also got to speak to Bill Stephens of the cable show "What's My Car Worth" and a Corvette collector. He was very kind to take the time to speak to a fellow collector while waiting to inform the TV audience of the 1990 ZR-1 that was his immediate interest.
I guess since this is the NCRS Forum, you won't want to hear about the '67 Mustang "Boss 557", the 1950 Cadillac, or the '69 Yenko (427) Camaro that I drove across the stage. Or, the '56 Chevy Bel Air that sold for $70,000 and the
I came away from this, my very first collector car auction with a profound sense of disgust for many of the owners of vintage automobiles. About half of all the cars I drove those three days would not turn over. When jumped, many of these would not fire up. Some that would fire up would not stay running and had to be pushed across the entire auction block.
One owner, of a '71 BMW 2002 sedan I drove, blamed me for the car not starting on stage. I later found out that he spent half an hour trying to start it after I parked it in the "not sold" lot. I was told it never fired up for him, either.
The condition of some cars was appalling. I drove one '81 Camaro that many guys were drooling over. It was filthy inside and out and had quite a few inside trim pieces missing. The steering wheel was so sticky, I had to wash my hands as soon as I parked that pig in the "sold lot". It sold for $3,500 to the "lucky owner".
Mecum was very impressed with the numbers of cars and the total dollars. They will be back next year. But, I hope they find another venue since the City of Dallas has too many restrictions on cars in the Dallas Convention Center.
All cars had to have less than one-quarter tank of fuel and their batteries disconnected. This caused Mecum to have to tow each car via golf cart, to the block, connect the batteries, and push them to the stage. Only then were the drivers allowed to fire up the engines. Cold engines, stale gasohol, imperfectly connected battery cables, and gummed up carbs conspired against half of the cars.
If you plan to put a collector car in a televised auction, please run some fresh fuel through her, check the condition of the battery, and take her for a spin. Too many of these cars had problems that can only be explained as owner neglect. I would never buy one of these cars since you cannot drive them before you buy them. I guess that is why I had so many bidders come up to talk to me about the car right before I drove it onto the stage.
-Clark
As a member of the Lone Star Corvette Club (LSCC), the club the Mecum organization had asked to furnish auction block drivers, I volunteered to drive some fabulous automobiles. I was told that the reason Mecum chose the LSCC was since many of us own vintage Corvettes and know the procedure to start them. I would think that they would have called the Texas Chapter NCRS but we don't have 800 members.
Of course, the most memorable cars were the Corvettes, especially the Red/red LS1-engined '62 "tribute Corvette" built on a C5 chassis that sold for $91,000, I think. Another was a red '59 Corvette that had a distinquished visitor. While I was sitting in the car waiting for the call to move the car, Terry Michaelis, well-known auction attendee and an expert/collector/seller of vintage Corvettes, came by to look at the car. He was very kind to shake my hand when I introduced myself as one of his customers.
I also got to speak to Bill Stephens of the cable show "What's My Car Worth" and a Corvette collector. He was very kind to take the time to speak to a fellow collector while waiting to inform the TV audience of the 1990 ZR-1 that was his immediate interest.
I guess since this is the NCRS Forum, you won't want to hear about the '67 Mustang "Boss 557", the 1950 Cadillac, or the '69 Yenko (427) Camaro that I drove across the stage. Or, the '56 Chevy Bel Air that sold for $70,000 and the
I came away from this, my very first collector car auction with a profound sense of disgust for many of the owners of vintage automobiles. About half of all the cars I drove those three days would not turn over. When jumped, many of these would not fire up. Some that would fire up would not stay running and had to be pushed across the entire auction block.
One owner, of a '71 BMW 2002 sedan I drove, blamed me for the car not starting on stage. I later found out that he spent half an hour trying to start it after I parked it in the "not sold" lot. I was told it never fired up for him, either.
The condition of some cars was appalling. I drove one '81 Camaro that many guys were drooling over. It was filthy inside and out and had quite a few inside trim pieces missing. The steering wheel was so sticky, I had to wash my hands as soon as I parked that pig in the "sold lot". It sold for $3,500 to the "lucky owner".
Mecum was very impressed with the numbers of cars and the total dollars. They will be back next year. But, I hope they find another venue since the City of Dallas has too many restrictions on cars in the Dallas Convention Center.
All cars had to have less than one-quarter tank of fuel and their batteries disconnected. This caused Mecum to have to tow each car via golf cart, to the block, connect the batteries, and push them to the stage. Only then were the drivers allowed to fire up the engines. Cold engines, stale gasohol, imperfectly connected battery cables, and gummed up carbs conspired against half of the cars.
If you plan to put a collector car in a televised auction, please run some fresh fuel through her, check the condition of the battery, and take her for a spin. Too many of these cars had problems that can only be explained as owner neglect. I would never buy one of these cars since you cannot drive them before you buy them. I guess that is why I had so many bidders come up to talk to me about the car right before I drove it onto the stage.
-Clark
) are the ones that won of course. That is why I am proud of NCRS when they give people incentives to drive these cars, maybe they should do more even. I would never buy a car at aucton that doesn't run, I am surprised so many do, but I guess some want pristine, museum pieces or ones that need a lot of work, not me.
. They prefer the quick gratification of the exciting win on national TV, or in front of a big crowd.
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