The editor’s Blowin’ Smoke – 1-Jan-2010

It’s official: The Barrett-Jackson auction is evil. How’s that you say? I know many gearheads will spend the second week of January glued to SPEED channel wrapped up in the drama of millionaires and billionaire stroking each other’s egos as they bid up the price on vehicles that are only worth what they sell for because the guy bidding has no limits.

Now, I’ve got nothing against being rich. In fact, I’d like to be rich and often wonder why that desire never seems to match my career path. But that’s another story.

There is little doubt that some of the best, coolest cars in the world end up on the Barrett-Jackson bidding block and I guess that’s something positive. A cool car is a cool car regardless of the price. But the sheer monster popularity of the Barrett-Jackson auction has transcended the gearhead realm and is becoming almost a pop culture phenomenon.

What the hell am I saying? Well, the other day I’m cruising through the pages of a national classic cars for sale publication and I run across an ad for a 1973 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. I’m an Oldsmobile guy and my first car was a 1972 Cutlass S Holiday coupe. My grandma Denomme owned a ’73 Olds and I didn’t think it was a bad looking car.

The Cutlass in the ad was touted as a low mileage, totally original car that “would easily bring $60,000US at the Barrett-Jackson auction.”

I almost snorted my Cheerios.

The actual asking price for the car was $19,000, which raises a whole other question as to why a seller who claims a car is worth $60,000US would sell it for $19,000 Canadian. Wouldn’t it be worth it to drive to Arizona, stay the week, sell the car and pocket the almost $50,000C difference.

Now, low mileage, all original classic cars will always fetch a premium and I have no problem with that. (Discussions of whether a ’73 Cutlass is a classic are for another column.)

To give the seller the benefit of the doubt, it could have been a typo, and if it is, then my disgruntled rant loses some steam. But I checked eBay to make sure I wasn’t missing an emerging trend where 1973 Cutlass were suddenly the “it” car to collect. I didn’t find evidence to support that theory, but I did find two decent ’73 Cutlass coupes for sale, one with a bid of $761US and another for $321. With 1 day left in the bidding for one, and 15 hours left in the other, I doubt either car will sell for anything close to $2,000US.

So, where did the $19,000 price come from and what does Barrett-Jackson have to do with a car for sale in Canada?

Simply, attaching the name Barrett-Jackson to any car will automatically create interest and, perhaps persuade a less savvy buyer that the car he’s purchasing is worth more than it really is.

As far as I’m concerned, there are “real world” classic car prices and Barrett-Jackson prices and the two should never be mixed. The Barrett Jackson makes for interesting television, but I often wonder how good it really is for the hobby.

Oh, and if you happen to purchase this car, please write and tell me why it’s worth $19,000.

* * * * * *

As you can see from the photo, I ended up with the 1963 Rambler wagon I spoke about in my last column. I got it for $500, plus $20 to drop it in my driveway. OK, good deal. But the aluminum 6 turned out to be seized – No.5&6 pistons put up quite a fight when I tried to evict them from the block – so the hope of getting it up and running evaporated pretty quick. Still, as you can see from the artwork on page 10, it has potential. The cool part is, I tracked down the son of the original owner and got all the paper work for the car. It was originally sold at Central Rambler in Seattle, WA in 1963 and driven by the gentleman’s mom for almost 20 years. It was then passed on to him and he drove it until 1988 when a carburetor problem prompted him to park it. There it sat for for more than 15 years. He finally had a tow truck driver come and remove it from his property.

It was the tow truck driver who sold the car to me, but since he didn’t have any paper work (the car was towed away as scrap) I had to track down the original owner. He not only gave me the paper work, including bill of sale, he also gave me a set of 1963 Washington State license plates and a box of spare tune-up parts.

I’ve gutted the interior and the motor and tranny are for sale (any AMC fans out there – call me).

I’m leaning towards a SBC, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon.

In Volume 1, Issue 6, I teased readers with stories of my Project ’57 Ford Courier Delivery and it’s time to start delivering.

Until then, enjoy the Project’32V build that begins on page 32 of this issue.

And hey, don’t forget to call in or write – we want your opinions and comments.