Here is a very nice original 1968 Corvette Convertible that crossed the auction block on Friday’s broadcast of the 2010 Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction in Orange County, California. Is it worth the $35,200 selling price?
Lot #68 is a matching numbers original 1968 Corvette Convertible powered by the 327/350 hp L79 V8 and coupled to a Muncie 4-speed manual transmission. The L79 engine was chosen by 9,440 buyers in 1968, which means that 1/3 of all Corvettes in 1968 were ordered with the 327/350 hp engine.
This Corvette is optioned with a 3.36 posi rear-end, factory AM/FM radio and an auxiliary hardtop. The Corvette’s exterior is #984 Safari Yellow. 3,133 Corvettes were painted Safari Yellow which is about 11% of production. Safari Yellow ranked 5th out of 10 exterior colors for 1968. On the inside you find the standard black vinyl upholstery.
As far as curb appeal, this Corvette has it all. The paint looks fresh, all the chrome is sparkling and shiny and even the SPEED commentators mentioned the detailed engine compartment.
The Corvette hammered home for $32,000 and with buyer’s commission, the total sales price was $35,200.
This is a very solid Corvette ordered with the essential upgrades. Freshly detailed, it appears to be a solid driver that will only increase in value. While we find the selling price of $35,200 to be towards the high end for a small block 1968, both buyer and seller should be happy with the sale.
Here is an interesting 1966 Corvette Convertible that appeared Saturday at the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction in Palm Beach. The Triple Black Corvette features a 427/425 hp L72 and is fresh off a restoration, but it comes with a caveat: Originally a 427/425 car, it doesn't have the original engine. Will the price be affected or will its curb appeal rope in buyers who may be more interested in driving the Sting Ray instead of a storing a garage queen.
Through the catalog description at Barrett-Jackson.com and the comments from the SPEED commentators who saw the Corvette in person, we learn the that this Corvette underwent a no-expense-spared frame-off restoration by an NCRS judge. One of the SPEED commentators said that although this is not the original engine, the Corvette was originally built with the 427/425hp L72 and did indeed come from the factory with air conditioning. The NOM engine that resides in the Corvette now certainly looks like it belongs, and the reapplication of factory-styled stencils and shim marks adds to quality of the restoration.
The 427/425hp V8 is coupled to the close-ration 4-speed manual transmission with a positraction rear axle. Options include factory side exhaust, power steering, air conditioning, teakwood steering wheel, cast aluminum knock-off wheels, 7.75x15 Goodyear gold line tires, AM/FM radio with power antenna and auxiliary hardtop. The Corvette is documented with a bill of sale from Person Chevrolet in Memphis, TN and second owner's title and bill of sale from Union Chevrolet also in Memphis, TN, from 1969.
This well-optioned but non-original Corvette Sting Ray was hammered for $86,000 - a price we are agreeable with due to its NOM status. After the buyers commission, the total price was $94,600 which was good for 8th place on our list of top selling Corvettes from Barrett-Jackson's Palm Beach collector car auction.
Barrett-Jackson's next event is their inaugural Orange County auction which will take place June 25-27 in Southern California.
Once again, GM has stepped up to the plate to do something good for the neighborhood. During Saturday's broadcast of the Barrett-Jackson collector car auction, a beautiful 2008 Corvette Z06 427 Special Edition was offered for sale with 100% of all proceeds going to the Red Cross for their relief efforts in Haiti. Joining the Red Cross representatives on the stage was GM VP of Global Design Ed Welburn.
As with many of these limited special edition Corvettes, a meaningful sequence # is all it takes to get collectors salivating. In the case of this limited edition 2008 Corvette Z06 427 model, the sequence is #427 of 427 cars built. I don't think I need to go into the history of what "427" means to Corvette enthusiasts. The fact that this one is both the number of the sequence and the name of the limited edition is enough. Each of these Crystal Red Metallic 2008 Z06s was signed by now retired Bowling Green Assembly plant manager Wil Cooksey. This particular car is considered new and has just 15 miles on the odometer.
The 427 edition Corvette reached $190,000 with noted Corvette Collector Dave Ressler being one of the buyers in the mix. In the end, the Corvette was sold for $200,000 with all funds going to the Red Cross. As with their charity auctions, Barrett-Jackson waives buyer and seller fees so the full amount goes to the cause. Although Ressler didn't end up with the Corvette, he still offered a sizable contribution to the Haiti relief efforts.
GM's participation in helping raise funds for Haiti despite its own financial issues is to be commended as well as the buyer who stepped up and paid $120,000 over the original $80,000 MSRP.
This custom maroon/black 1967 Corvette sure has a lot going for it. Celebrity ownership by an A-list Hollywood actor is just one of the reasons why we tuned to SPEED tonight. This numbers matching 427/435 horsepower L71 Corvette Convertible has all the options of the iconic 1967 Sting Ray: Convertible body, stinger hood, sidepipes and knock-offs. Throw in the celebrity component and you'll see why it fetched $150,000 at the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction in Las Vegas.
The story which has been often repeated this weekend is that Willis purchased the Corvette in El Paso during filming of "Last Man Standing". While the Corvette is mostly stock, Bruce had the car custom-painted. An Alpine 5-CD Changer stashed in the glove box completes the customizations.
In the promotional pictures the Corvette was shown wearing a set of S/S Cragars, but at the auction you see a set of midyear knock-offs on the car, perhaps from 1966 as suggested by one of the commentators. Just goes to show that just because the catalog says so doesn't make it true. Do you own due diligence!
The '67 Corvette was previously offered at Bonhams California Classic last year where it was a no sale. Bidding on the classic Sting Ray was fast and furious at Barrett-Jackson where it finally hammered at $150,000. With the buyer's commission, the total sales prices was $165,000.
As we moved we deeper into the docket of Corvettes available at Barrett-Jackson's collector car auction in Las Vegas, we're starting to see more classic Corvettes on the auction block. This 1961 Tuxedo Black Corvette appeared late on Friday night's auction and was the first C1 Corvette to be featured this weekend.
1961 Corvettes featured a restyled front grill without the "heavy teeth" and on the rear there are now 4 taillights instead of 2, a Corvette tradition to this day. This 1961 Corvette features the 283/230 hp V8 and a 3-speed manual transmission - all included on the base model that sold for $3,934 when new. Tuxedo black was the 5th most popular color (out of 7) and was chosen by 12% of buyers.
This 1961 Corvette was purchased by a woman who the SPEED commentators said had one of the busiest pens all day. Sort of breaks from the stereotype of Corvettes owners are all balding middle-aged men suffering through a mid-life crisis. The Corvette was hammered at $52,000 and with the buyers commission, total price was $57,200. Even though the Corvette comes equipped with just the basics, the price is spot-on for a base 1961 Corvette with major curb appeal.
SPEED's live coverage of Barrett-Jackson begins ar 4 p.m. ET and it should be a great day today — the money's here, the cars are here and it's time to get 'er done.
My favorite car from Saturday was this amazing 1947 Cadillac woody wagon, which sold for ,800.
This car was stunning in every respect and sold for a fraction of what it would cost to build. Consider it extremely well bought.
The 1964 Corvette Sting Ray has always been the step-child of the mid-year C2 Corvette generation. Combine that fact with a non-original motor and a color combination that wasn't the most popular and you have all the makings of a lackluster auction. However, this is Barrett-Jackson in Las Vegas and that can only mean that this recently restored 1964 Saddle Tan Corvette performed well on the auction block.
This 1964 Corvette features a Saddle Tan interior, a color chosen by just 8% of buyers. Despite the fact the Corvette is missing its original engine, the non original motor may actually be termed an upgrade as it's an L79 327/350 hp V8 from a 1967 Corvette. Complete with Corvette-fined manifold covers and a 1964-styled air cleaner, the 1967 Corvette small block looks right at home in the engine bay. Other upgrades include disc brakes, which didn't appear on Corvettes until 1965.
Bidding on this Sting Ray convertible was strong from the beginning and shot right up to $50,000. The hammer closed out the sale at $55,000 and with the buyers commission added, the total sale rang up at $60,500. A strong price for a non-original Corvette, but not out of the ballpark for a recently restored mid-year convertible.
Regular production C4 Corvettes aren't really known for their collectability yet, but sometimes one comes along that piques our interest and this 1993 Arctic White Corvette Coupe did just that as it crossed the auction block on Thursday evening at Barrett-Jackson's Las Vegas Collector Car auction. Apparently I wasn't alone in my thoughts as Lot #93 was hammered for a strong price of $21,000. With the buyer's premium, the total selling price was $23,100.
The C4 Corvettes marked an interesting time period for the Corvettes and some will argue that Corvette's return to premium sports cars status started with the iconic 1984 Corvette. However, the differences between the first Corvettes of the C4 generation compare greatly to those cars after 1992 when the C4 received the LT1 350 cubic inch 300 horsepower V8 engine.
SPEED's announcers particularly liked this Corvette and called it the perfect compliment for the guy who also owned a 1953 Corvette. While we believe there are only about 150-170 of "those guys" out there with a first year Corvette in the garage, we agree that a White with Red interior Corvette does make the perfect the anniversary model even when though the true 40th anniversary models were Ruby Red.
Only 15,898 Corvette coupes were produced in 1993 so the model year doesn't suffer from over-production which keeps prices down. Arctic white was the third most popular color (3,031) coming in behind the Rub Red anniversary color (6749) and Torch Red (3,172).
This Corvette features the Corvette Preferred Equipment Group #1 option which provides electronic air conditioning, Delco/Bose music system, electronically tuned AM/FM stereo, radio with Seek-Scan, digital clock stereo cassette tape, compact disc player, blue removable roof panel, leather sport bucket seats, 6-way power driver's seat and 6-way passenger power seat.
Being in mint condition with just 26,072 miles on the odometer and documentation also helped push this Corvette's value higher.
Our Corvette Price Guide shows a high price of $15,000 for standard 1993 Corvette coupes while the high price on a Corvette convertible of the same year was more than double that at $34,500. So while the buyer paid a premium for that particular model, the price was still consistent with other models from the same year. Of further note is that we still show the standard 1993 coupes depreciation at just 6% last year which is the lowest percentage of Corvettes from 1993. The convertible models from 1993 show double-digit depreciation of 12% last year.
Based on the condition of the Corvette, we believe both buyer and seller should be happy with the outcome of this sale.
Well, I certainly didn't see this one coming: A $110,000 top bid for a Barney Fife tribute car once owned by a Barney Fife impersonator. But, hey, this is Vegas. Anything is possible and nothing is what it seems, right?
The faux Mayberry police car, a 1963 Ford Galaxie sedan, was the top seller Thursday, proving the old auction axiom: All that has to happen to send the price through the roof is for two people to want the same car. Clearly, that's what happened here.
The best thing about the opening day of the auction is that there were lots of nice cars that sold for affordable money.
Among the bargains was a 1972 Plymouth Barracuda 340/4-speed for $26,400; a tastefully done resto-mod 1957 Plymouth for $20,900; a gorgeous 1953 Pontiac Chieftan wagon for $21,450 and how about this one — a 1991 Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 with 27,000 original miles for a mere $24,200?
For smart buyers, the deals were definitely here. And besides, it's an incredibly intoxicating atmosphere, being surrounded by so many great cars.
Check out Bob Golfen's story about the sale of a vintage MGTD here: automotive.speedtv.com/article/autos-sel... and be sure to check back during the day for blog updates, stories, photo galleries and chats.
If Day 1 is any indication, we're in for a great weekend.
