The big news from Worldwide Auctioneers in 2018 was their location’s move to their new headquarters in the former WWII Museum just across I-69 from the Auburn Auction Park.
Somewhat surprisingly, considering the beyond-spacious facility encompassing over four acres inside, the consignment was down substantially – in fact by one-third – from last year’s cramped auction downtown at the Cord L-29 Assembly Building. It’s also a move outside the epicenter of the annual A-C-D festival.
That decline may reflect in some measure Worldwide’s upcoming auction at the Corpus Christi Old Car Museum siphoning off consignments that otherwise might have come home to Auburn.
Then, too, there’s Worldwide’s upcoming auction (and Salon) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia November 21-26. That is a lot of attention being distracted from an established event in good old Midwestern Auburn. There’s also the distraction of RM Auctions’ Auburn Fall just across the Interstate.
A quarter of the auction’s total came from just one car, Tucker s/n 1052, which sold for $990,000 and the sale’s total without it would have been under $3 million, particularly disappointing after Worldwide’s underwhelming Pacific Grove Auction in Monterey just two weeks before.
With 214 cataloged lots at Corpus Christi, all without reserve, the numbers there should be substantially better.
Here are numbers for the Auburn Auction:
| Year | Cars Sold/ Offered | Sale % | Average Sale | Median Sale | Total $ |
| 2019 | 76/92 | 82.6% | $52,006 | $26,400
[50.8%] |
$3,952,450 |
| 2018 | 112/114 | 98.3% | $62,729 | $46,200
[73.7%] |
$7,025,700 |
| 2017 | 84/87 | 96.6% | $$32,743 | $17,600
[53.8%] |
$2,750,440 |
Jose Martinez and Megan Boyd attended. The final copy is Rick Carey’s responsibility.
Lots are sorted in lot number order.
Lot # 9 1966 Pontiac GTO Convertible; S/N 242676B126209; Blue Charcoal/Black vinyl; Black vinyl top; Recent restoration, 2 condition; With Reserve; Hammered Sold at $60,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $66,000 – 389/360hp, Tri-Power, 4-speed, power top, red line tires, pushbutton radio, rally gauge cluster and tachometer, heavy duty ride and handling suspension, Safe-T-Track. – Excellent paint, chrome, brightwork and interior. Freshly completed to high standards with no issues, but also no representation of original configuration or PHS documentation. – Sold for $77,000 in Indy last year and bought here for a reasonable price for a 360hp Tri-Power 4-speed convertible.
Lot # 11 1939 Lincoln-Zephyr Convertible Coupe; S/N H83062; Coach Maroon/Red leather; Tan cloth top; Older restoration, 2- condition; Reserve; Hammered Sold at $54,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $59,400 – Fender skirts, clock, hubcaps and trim rings, wide whitewalls, spotlight, dual outside mirrors – An older restoration showing some signs of wear on the paint, but the interior is in immaculate condition with supple leather and clear, bright gauges. Tidy underneath. For casual enjoyment and showing, it has many more miles left to go before it needs any serious attention. – Sold at Auburn Fall in 2017 for $71,000, then at RM Hershey ten months ago for $79,750. The odometer shows just five more miles now than it did at Hershey and the condition is still very good so why it should bring $20,000 less is something of a mystery. The new owner was the lucky recipient of a good deal.
Lot # 17 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500 Fastback; S/N 67410F4A03139; Wimbledon White, Blue stripes/Black vinyl; Older restoration, 3+ condition; With Reserve; Hammered Sold at $130,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $143,000 – 428ci/335hp, 4-speed, power steering, power brakes, AM radio, 10-spoke alloy wheels, Sport Deck rear seat. – Originally an automatic, but now a 4-speed. Very good paint and chrome. The rear window has a significant amount of scratches. The windshield trim has a few light indentations on the passenger’s side and some scratches. The upholstery is good but the driver’s seat does show age with some waviness and an inch long area of separated stitching. Restored, but finished a while ago and lightly aged since. – Reported bid to $160,000 at Mecum Indy three months ago and moved on here at a modest price fully discounting its numerous issues and age. A sound value for the new owner at this price.
Lot # 19 1963 Lincoln Continental Convertible; S/N 3Y86N413620; Inverness Green Metallic/Bone leather; White vinyl top; Recent restoration, 2+ condition; With Reserve; Hammered Sold at $85,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $93,500 – Autronic Eye, power seats, power windows, factory air conditioning and AM radio, wheel covers, radial whitewalls, power everything. – Very good paint, chrome and interior. Recently restored by marque specialist Rich Liana and it shows. – This is a very strong price but the car deserves it. A full, correct restoration with no needs or excuses isn’t easy to come by with a ’60s Continental, a fact that isn’t lost on the folks in Auburn who didn’t mind overpaying a bit for the quality of car that doesn’t always readily available.
Lot # 21 1953 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible Coupe; S/N Engine No. 536217944; Pastoral Blue/Light Blue, Dark Blue leather; Blue top; Visually maintained, largely original, 3- condition; With Reserve; Not sold at Hammer bid of $47,500. – Power steering, power brakes, power windows, Autronic Eye, pushbutton AM radio, clock, wheel covers with whitewall tires and fender skirts. – The paint is good but there are a few small paint chips on the edge of the hood and one next to each taillight housing. The chrome has light scratches throughout. The upholstery shows age with heavy cracks. A driver quality car that isn’t totally original but doesn’t appear to have had any major restoration work. – While this car would make for a fairly straightforward restoration, no full restoration is cheap or easy. Nobody has taken the plunge since this car sold for $53,900 at Hershey two years ago, but the Auburn bidders put in a reasonable offer and it could have gone to a new home and into the shop at this price.
Lot # 23 1962 Chevrolet Corvette FI Convertible; S/N 20867S112535; Tuxedo Black/Red vinyl; Black vinyl top; Older restoration, 3+ condition; With Reserve; Not sold at Hammer bid of $95,000. – 327/360hp Fuelie, 4-speed, clock, AM radio, spinner wheel covers, narrow whitewalls – Driver quality older paint that shows age but no major blemishes. The chrome, brightwork, glass and interior are all in good lightly aged condition. NCRS Top Flight, Bloomington Gold, Gold Spinner and Triple Crown, but all must have happened years ago. An older show quality restoration. – Despite this restoration’s age, bidders have stepped up to acknowledge its quality not once but twice with generous offers that were unrealistically turned down. It hammered not sold at a $110,000 high bid in Indy this year and for a similarly appropriate near-six-figure price here in Auburn. Having been told twice, the consignor should adjust expectations.
Lot # 24 1991 Acura NSX Coupe; S/N JH4NA115XMT002490; Sebring Silver/Black leather; Unrestored original, 3 condition; With Reserve; Hammered Sold at $41,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $45,100 – Aftermarket CD changer, keyless entry, tinted windows, custom exhaust, and upgraded speakers. – Good paint, trim and interior with age that matches the 70,410 miles showing but no major flaws. A driver quality NSX. – The NSX didn’t compromise on performance or the driving experience, but it really is a supercar that can serve as a daily driver and a lot of them did. VTEC Honda engines can also take a serious beating, so high mileage isn’t something to be particularly worried about. This result is spot-on for a driver quality car with a few distractions from factory correctness, and both parties should be happy.
Lot # 25 1935 Packard Super Eight 1204 Coupe Roadster; S/N 8592260; Jade Green/Tan leather; Tan cloth top; Older restoration, 3+ condition; With Reserve; Hammered Sold at $165,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $181,500 – Rumble seat with folding windshield with wind wings, golf bag door, tan wire wheels, dual enclosed sidemounts with mirrors, luggage rack with trunk, wide whitewalls – The paint is very good other than a small chip on the passenger’s side rear fender. Very good chrome and brightwork other than the headlight housings, which are lightly pitted. The headlamp lenses are slightly yellowed as well. A 1997 AACA National First Prize winner, lightly aged but well-maintained since. – This restoration is now two decades old and has been toured but still shows well, a strong endorsement of the restoration’s quality and the care it has had. The rumble seat windshield is distinctive and the whole car deserves the price it brought here.
Lot # 35 1968 Chevrolet Corvette 427/435 Convertible; S/N 194678S424748; Le Mans Blue/Black; White vinyl top; Older restoration, 3+ condition; With Reserve; Hammered Sold at $65,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $71,500 – 427ci/435hp L71, 4-speed, AM/FM radio, Rally wheels. – Very good paint other than just a few small imperfections on the cowl section. The windshield trim is dull and surface scratched throughout, and the top is in poor condition. It is dirty and the vinyl piping on the edges has cracks throughout. The rear window is also yellow and cloudy. The chrome front and rear bumpers are very good. The upholstery is good. An NCRS Top Flight winner and is Bloomington Gold certified, but the freshness is gone. – This car was reported sold at Russo and Steele in Scottsdale in 2004 in unrestored condition for $58,320. It brought a bid of $70,000 at Mecum Indy this year, but the seller got realistic in Auburn and let the car go at a perfectly fair number. Back in 2004 this was represented as a well-documented original car in near-showroom condition. Since then it appears to have had a superficial restoration while adding only 10 miles to the odometer and is in markedly worse condition. In fact, it appears based on its descriptions at both events to be exactly the same car, but no longer represented as original and fifteen years scruffier. The conflicting history is troubling, especially at this price.
Lot # 37 1966 Volkswagen Type 2 Samba Microbus, 21-Window; S/N 246039611; Velvet Green, Pearl White roof/Tan vinyl; Recent restoration, 2- condition; With Reserve; Not sold at Hammer bid of $110,000. – 1776cc engine with two Weber dual choke carburetors, roll back sunroof, luggage rack, VW CofA documented. – Fresh paint, but the chrome and brightwork look older. Original glass with some scratches. Freshly restored interior. A recently restored Transporter that missed on a few major details, and these are worth enough money these days to do a more thorough restoration. – This 21-Window sold for $118,250 at Mecum Denver last year, and this year it came to Indy, where it hammered not sold at a $120,000 high bid. To expect more than the reported high bid here in Auburn is therefore unrealistic, especially given the vehicle’s issues.
Lot # 45 1957 Ford Thunderbird Convertible; S/N E7FH281008; Colonial White/Red vinyl; Older restoration, 2- condition; With Reserve; Hammered Sold at $100,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $110,000 – 312ci/270hp, dual quads, automatic, power brakes, Town and Country radio, chrome wire wheels with whitewall tires and fender skirts. – The paint is very good, but there is a faint imprint from the top as well as a tiny chip. The chrome brightwork is very good throughout, with exception to the top mounting points and rear bumper which have a few light scratches. The interior is in great condition. A lightly aged former show car with a desirable engine. – Bid to only $80,000 on the block and closed later with this result. It was reported sold at Mecum Indy in 2012 for $108,650, then here three months later for $104,500. At Mecum Indy this year (where there were 24 ’57 T-birds on offer, 9 of them F-birds) it was reported bid to $90,000. The ’57 T-bird market is saturated after the inundation at Mecum Indy. This one is not getting better with age, nor is the audience’s opinion of its value, and the seller realized it needed either to find a new home at whatever the market will bear or go into hibernation until there’s an upturn in the market for ’57 T-birds. The consignor opted to take the money and move on.
Lot # 47 1966 Ford Mustang GT Fastback; S/N 6F09K254694; Black, Gold stripe/Black vinyl; Older restoration, 2- condition; With Reserve; Hammered Sold at $60,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $66,000 – 289ci/271hp K-Code engine, 4-speed with Hurst shifter, AM radio with 8-Track, styled steel wheels, double red line tires. – Represented as one owner and 80,667 miles from new. Very good color-change paint (originally Silver Frost) with no serious scratching or swirling, but there are small imperfections on the roof where dust or dirt is trapped in the paint. The upholstery is in good condition, but it does show age with light wrinkles. The door handles have some light pitting and surface scratches. The chrome is mostly good but the front bumper has surface scratches throughout. The front windshield trim has an indentation on the passenger’s side and light surface scratches. The drip rail guard trim, taillight trim, rear window trim, and rear bumper are in very good condition. A solid K-Code fastback restored to reasonably high but not exacting standards, and driven lightly since. – In early Mustang hierarchy, fastbacks are worth more than notchback coupes but come in below convertibles, and the K-Code GT with a 4-speed is the most desirable variant that isn’t a Shelby. This is a sensible result for a strong, honest example with all the right stuff.
Lot # 50 1948 Tucker 48 4-Dr. Sedan; S/N 1052; Red/Tan cloth; Older restoration, 2- condition; With Reserve; Hammered Sold at $900,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $990,000 – Preselector transmission, pushbutton radio, chrome wheel covers with whitewall tires. – Unfinished when Tucker folded, bought at the bankruptcy auction and completed from NOS parts with some replica body panels. Thought to have been used at some point by the factory for testing the Tuckermatic transmission. The paint is very good but there is a small chip on the driver’s side fender and a fish eye on the passenger side fender. The interior upholstery is very good. Clear, bright gauges. Excellent brightwork. An older show quality restoration. – Offered by Auctions America at Ft. Lauderdale in 2016 where it was reported bid to $850,000 but not sold. That oversight was corrected here for somewhat more, a realistic price for an assembled Tucker with a unique history. Proceeds to Mayo Clinic Cancer Research.
Lot # 51 1956 Ford Thunderbird Convertible; S/N P6FH249198; Red/Red, White vinyl; Older restoration, 2- condition; With Reserve; Hammered Sold at $35,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $38,500. – 312ci/225hp, floor shift automatic, chrome wire wheels with whitewalls, fender skirts, Continental kit, Town and Country radio. – The paint is good, but there are some light surface scratches on the cowl and trunk. There are also the usual surface scratches where the top rests. Good upholstery, but there is light pitting on the steering wheel around the horn ring. The trim that surrounds the cabin is covered in surface scratches. The mounting points for the top are highly scratched and lightly pitted. The driver’s side wind wing has some light pitting. The engine compartment is detailed and tidy. The brightwork is very good. A solid second-year T-Bird with light age that takes little away from its overall presentation. – Sold at Mecum’s Louisville auction in 2017 for $42,900. The $4,000 difference between then and now is a good taste of the market’s overall softening in the past two years. This is a realistic price today.
Lot # 61 1953 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster; S/N E53F001209; Polo White/Sportsman Red; Black top; Recent restoration, 2 condition; With Reserve; Not sold at Hammer bid of $170,000. – WonderBar AM radio, tools and jack included. – Showing 10 miles since restoration. number 209 of the first 300 Corvettes built in 1953. Spotless engine bay. Fresh paint, chrome and interior. Fresh, gorgeous and ready for a show field but not overrestored. – This car hammered not sold at a $230,000 high bid at Worldwide’s Texas sale last year, then bid to $210,000 at Auburn Fall 2018 and $200,000 at Worldwide’s Scottsdale auction in January. Any ’53 this fresh, even one that has crossed the block a time or two too many and is starting to get stale, is worth quite a bit more than this reported high bid but the bidders’ patience has been worn thin.
Lot # 64 1949 Lincoln Cosmopolitan Convertible; S/N 9EH40652; Black/Red leather; Tan cloth top; Older restoration, 3+ condition; No Reserve; Hammered Sold at $30,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $33,000 – 337/152hp Flathead, 3-speed on the column, power top, power windows, power seat, AM radio, fender skirts, clock. – Good black paint and very good interior. Solid older replacement top. Good, lightly aged chrome and brightwork. An attractive but driver quality older restored classic Lincoln. – This result is realistic for both the buyer and the seller, reflecting the restoration’s age, use and the rarity of the model.
Lot # 70 1931 Auburn 8-98 Standard Speedster; S/N GU72931; Red, Black fenders and accent/Red; Black cloth top; Rebodied or re-created, 3+ condition; With Reserve; Not sold at Hammer bid of $120,000. – Red wire wheels with whitewalls, dual sidemount spares with accessory mirrors, cowl lights, golf bag door, Columbia dual ratio rear axle – The paint has chipped edges and surface scratches, and the windshield has light pitting. The upholstery has some waviness and a few small abrasions on the piping but still presents well. The whitewall tires have some yellowing. Although there are some imperfections that show the age of the restoration, in its entirety it still presents very well although without ACD certification of its body style. – The boattail section of the body is fiberglass, sufficient to damp interest in the car and goes a long way to explain, along with its aged condition, why it wasn’t sold here.
Lot # 1164 1964 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe; S/N 194376S121554; Sebring Silver/Black vinyl; Older restoration, 3 condition; With Reserve; Hammered Sold at $42,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $46,200 – 327ci/300hp, 4-speed, spinner wheel covers with narrow whitewalls, air conditioning, side exhaust, centerlock alloy wheels, woodgrain steering wheel. – The paint is fair with large cracks along the entire cowl section, as well as near the passenger’s side headlight housing. The chrome front and rear bumpers are good. The windshield trim has a few surface scratches, the interior upholstery is good. A mostly unremarkable but fundamentally attractive C2. – A spot-on result with a driver quality ’64 coupe bought for driver money.
Lot # 1165 1934 Pontiac Series 603 Coupe; S/N 842019; Maroon, Black fenders/Gray fabric; Older restoration, 3- condition; No Reserve; Hammered Sold at $27,500 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $30,250 – 223ci/84hp, tan wire wheels and chrome hubcaps, enclosed side mounted spares, rumble seat with grey vinyl upholstery, luggage with gold anodized latches, and rear window blind. – The paint has a good shine, but there are many blisters located on the front and rear fender as well as the cowl section. There are also chips on the passenger’s side spare. The chrome brightwork is very good throughout. The upholstery is in good condition. The simulated woodgrain dashboard has a few small paint chips. The dark paint conceals the blisters fairly well, and the brightwork and interior are more than adequate. An aged older restoration. – It may be aged but it is usable and surprisingly attractive with 84hp to contend with modern traffic. Both the seller and the buyer should be content with this result.