January 2005
The Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction rolled into Scottsdale, Arizona's Westworld. There were almost 900 cars on display that would eventually each get it's turn on the auction block. I was able to shoot about 90 pictures before my batteries went dead. Searching through the camera bag only revealed 8 more dead batteries.
Most of the cars are kept under several large tents which adds an extra $200 to the owners entry fee if he wants to park his car under the protective tarp. This week it would be money well spent given the rain Wednesday and sprinkles Thursday which gave the grounds a thin mushy grass & mud consistency. The other drawback for a novice photographer such as myself is the cars on the outer perimeter under the tent, were partially bathed in Fridays sunshine, causing some shadows in the pictures. Oh well, here's the pictures I shot, click on the thumbnails for a larger view.
Note - the prices listed are the bidders winning offer plus the additional 8% he pays to Barrett-Jackson. (Oh yeah, and the buyer also pays an 8% fee to B/J)
The cars that are staged in this area right before they're rolled in and onto the auction block
Chrysler again was a main sponsor and had a display of all their vehicles when you walked into the auction
There were 4 or 5 of these tents where the cars were stored all week prior to auction.
Of course I have to shoot a bunch of Buick GS (and others) pictures
One of the Buicks a few folks were watching was this 1970 GSX. From what I gathered this car was not a matching numbers car, but still an original GSX. The motor was the standard 455 as opposed to the Stage 1 455. However, it was in great shape and garnered a $52,920 winning bid!
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1) 1970 GS 455 equipped with a 1971 model 455 Stage 1, $21,600
2) 1970 GS 350 , $20,500
3 & 4) 1987 Buick Regal NHRA Super Stock record holder 7.98 @ 176.44 mph, $49,680
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1) 1967 Wildcat convertible, $14,040
2 & 3 ) 1962 Invicta station wagon, $43,200
4) 1954 Special station wagon, $30,780
5) 1968 GS 400, $17,010
OK, all of the pictures here were shot Friday. While working on this page I had Speedvision on and was watching today's (Saturday) cars go on the block. This car went for an unbelievable $3,000,000 plus a $240,000 commission to B/J
Here's the pictures and info from the Barrett Jackson web site;
OPTIONS
COLOR - GOLD
TRANS - HYDRO
CYLINDERS - 8
ENGINE SIZE - 324
HORSEPOWER - 250
The XP-20 project, commonly known as F-88 was a pet project of Harley Earl (working with him was Bill Mitchell, Ken Pickering, Zora Duntov etc.). Four cars came out of the project, but only styling order #2265 (this car) survived. It was sold or given to E.L. Cord (Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg owner) in 1955. Hundreds of internal GM documents and original blue prints are still with this sole survivor.
As you'd expect, there are always plenty of great looking Chevy's for auction
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1 & 2) 1972 Camaro, $31,860
3 & 4) 1969 Camaro, $$75,600
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1) 1963 split window Corvette, $64,800
2) 1955 Nomad with a 700 horsepower Donavan 572, $96,120
3 & 4) 1970 Chevelle SS with 9857 original miles, $81,000
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1) 1966 Caprice, $27,000
2) 1969 Camaro Pace Car, $66,960
3 & 4) 1969 Camaro, $57,240
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1) 1969 Z-28 Camaro, $38,340
2) 1967 427 Corvette convertible, $124,200
3) 1955 Belair convertible, $46,440
4 & 5) 1967 Corvette 427 Tri-Power, $132,300
A few of the Chevy's I didn't catch the winning bid
The MOPARs typically bring in big bucks especially when there's a Hemi between the fenders. Original examples were bringing in 6 figures. Hemi powered clones, now renamed "recreations"
were even bringing in 50-60 thousand dollars!
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1) 1970 Dodge Challenger was a "Hemi Recreation", $66,960
2) 1968 original factory Hemi Super Stock racecar, $207,900
3 & 4) 1971 Dodge Challenger convertible "Hemi Recreation", $101,520
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1) 1970 Plymouth 340 'Cuda, $25,920
2) 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A, $66,960
3 & 4) Hemi 'Cuda, not sure if this one was a clone/recreation or not?
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1) 1967 Plymouth GTX, $91,800
2) 1970 Dodge Challenger 440 6-Pack, $85,320
3 & 4) 1970 Plymouth Superbird 440 6-Pack, $115,560
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1 & 2) 1970 Hemi Cuda, $118,800
