Motostalgia Auctions, Keels and Wheels Concours d’Elegance, Seabrook, Texas, May 2, 2014
Report and photos by Rick Carey, Auction Editor
Motostalgia Auctions moved into the Keels and Wheels Concours d’Elegance at Lakewood Yacht Club in Seabrook (Houston), Texas in early May, the slot abandoned three years ago by Worldwide now holding forth at the Concours d’Elegance of Texas at La Toretta, north of Houston in Montgomery, Texas on the same weekend.
Motostalgia made its first appearance on the auction scene last fall with a high profile sale in Austin, Texas on November 16, 2013, the Saturday evening before the US Grand Prix.
The USGP weekend auction was marked by: a) an unusually high number of cars (46.4%) recycled from recent auctions; and b) a remarkable number of post-block sales (13 of 58 sold lots, 22.4%) amounting to over 60% of the sale’s $10.1 million total. Two of the post-block sales were recorded at amounts over the pre-sale high estimate, something rarely, if ever, seen.
The auction at Keels and Wheels was similar.
40.9% of the lots offered were re-runs of prior auction transactions.
33.3% of the lots offered were re-sales of cars in prior auctions within the last year, most within 6 months.
8 lots were closed post-block (based on reported selling prices which do not compute to rational auction bid amounts) including one, 1957 Porsche 356A Speedster s/n 87909 which reportedly brought a price over its pre-sale high bid, a result which mirrored its reported result in Motostalgia’s Austin auction in November, i.e., post-block sale for more than the pre-sale high estimate.
Overall Motostalgia did well in its first appearance at Keels and Wheels. With a quality presentation and some good cars, 79.6% were reported sold bringing a total of $5,413,375. 58.8% were sold below the low pre-sale estimate, 7.4% over the high estimate (5.9% discounting the post-block sale of the Porsche Speedster.)
But those with memories may well recall the auction scene in the late 1980’s and early 90’s when sales proliferated like an ebola virus infecting attractive host venues. Remember Orion? Sportscar Geneva and Interlaken? Guernsey’s? Paul McInnis?
It’s also tangible evidence of the flipping that is ever more prevalent as cars change hands with, apparently, the sole purpose of taking them elsewhere on the auction calendar in hope of finding a more gullible bidder in a different venue. Three of the cars reported sold here (two of them post-block sales) went immediately onto a waiting transporter and crossed the block at Mecum’s big Indianapolis auction two weeks later. Two failed to find new owners in Indy, but one, the ’50 Buick Super Riviera Custom, made a healthy profit more than sufficient to defray the costs of re-cycling all three cars and still leave some money in the seller’s pocket.
Lot # 107 1960 Porsche 356B Coupe, Body by Reutter; S/N 109796; Engine # P601046; Red/Black vinyl, cloth; Estimate $50,000 – $75,000; Cosmetic restoration, 3+ condition; Post-block sale at $47,273 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $52,000 – Blaupunkt multiband radio, chrome wheels, Goodyear blackwall radials, Porsche CofA. – Restored some time ago. Hasn’t been like new since 1960 but has good paint, chrome and interior. Engine is orderly but shows use. – This coupe would have been a better value in the high $40’s than in the low $50’s but that’s hardly enough difference to call it one way or the other.Lot # 111 1950 Buick Super 2-Dr. Hardtop Riviera Custom; S/N 15964046; Black, Woodgrain/Grey herringbone; Estimate $40,000 – $60,000; Customized restoration, 3 condition; Hammered Sold at $22,273 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $24,500 – Dynaflow, skirts, hubcaps, trim rings, red steel wheels, whitewalls, pushbutton radio. – Lowered and given a good older paint job with very good woodgrain panels above the fender break. Good interior and major chrome but scuffed stainless window trim. Cowl paint chipped by the hood corner. Windshield stone chipped, cracked and delaminating. Underbody painted over old undercoat. An imaginative mild custom with great eye appeal from a distance, not so much up close. – Trying to find a home: Sold at B-J Scottsdale Reno last January for $27,500, then at B-J Reno in August for $33,000. The transaction here was an opportunistic purchase for a mediocre car, but it recycled two weeks later at Mecum Indy and sold for a home run price of $42,120.Lot # 119 1954 Kaiser-Darrin 161 Roadster; S/N 1611413; Engine # 3495359; Pine Tint Green/Light Green; Estimate $105,000 – $135,000; Visually maintained, largely original, 3- condition; Hammered Sold at $105,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $115,500 – Wire wheel covers, whitewalls. – Grimy, oily chassis, orderly engine has been given some cosmetic attention. Quick, superficial repaint. Not a car to like. – While the appeal of the Kaiser-Darrin is undeniable, the appeal is worn thin by the superficial condition of this example, a car that can be driven as is but will never swell its owner’s heart with pride, or fill it with confidence. This price should have been enough to buy a good, sound, fully-restored example and 50% or so over what similar Kaiser-Darrins are worth.Lot # 121 1965 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster; S/N 194675S121115; Engine # T0518IF 5121112; Red/Black; Black vinyl top; Estimate $70,000 – $95,000; Cosmetic restoration, 3- condition; Post-block sale at $54,545 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $60,000 – 396/425hp, 4-speed, radio delete, heater, alloy wheels, red line tires, side exhausts, later Big Block blister hood. – Represented as matching-numbers block. Freshly repainted but otherwise tired, aged and neglected. Driver’s door rubs. Flawed chrome. An old and not even conscientiously maintained Corvette with new paint for the auction. There are no good surprises in this Corvette. – A usable Corvette driver but even with the numbers-matching block (note the limiting noun used) it’s nothing to be excited about. The price isn’t unreasonable, but it’s strong.Lot # 122 1954 Nash-Healey Le Mans Coupe, Body by Pinin Farina; S/N 3082; Ivory/Crimson leather; Estimate $55,000 – $75,000; Cosmetic restoration, 3- condition; Post-block sale at $56,364 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $62,000 – 252/140hp, 3-speed, overdrive, wire wheel covers, turn signals, whitewalls. – Sound older repaint, upholstery and chrome. Areas on the body are generously filled. Engine compartment, underbody and chassis benefited only from a generous application of matte black. Dash and gauges superficially redone. A desirable car that deserves better. – This poor boy has been around, appearing at Mecum’s Kissimmee auction in January with a reported high bid of $70,000 before selling here at this price. It has potential, which the buyer failed to realize two weeks later when it crossed the block at Mecum Indy with a bid of $62,000. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?Lot # 127 1954 Jaguar XK 120 Roadster; S/N S675799; Engine # W7059-8B; Red/Black leather; Black cloth top; Estimate $75,000 – $95,000; Cosmetic restoration, 3 condition; Hammered Sold at $74,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $81,400. No Reserve – Chrome wire wheels, blackwall bias ply tires, fender mirrors, tribar headlights, Lucas fog lights. – Sound recent repaint over old paint and insufficient prep and finishing. Sound but poorly fit interior. Decent chrome, incorrect repro rear bumpers. A sound driver-quality XK 120. John Osha collection. – Sold by Worldwide in Houston in 2008 for $76,500 and no better for the passage of six years, nor much worse, either. A driver-quality XK 120 of no particular distinction that shows 97 more miles on its odometer today than it did in 2008. The modest increase in value is less than is typical for Jag XKs in the past few years, but that is more a matter of a generous 2008 price than a modest price today.
Motostalgia Auctions Houston 2014 – Auction Report Page Two
Lot # 143 1955 Porsche 356 “Pre-A” Continental 1500 Cabriolet; S/N 60873; Engine # P35295; Terracotta/Ochre; Estimate $365,000 – $405,000; Recent restoration, 2+ condition; Hammered Sold at $305,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $335,500 – Bent window, hubcaps, silver painted trim rings, whitewalls, Becker Mexico radio, chrome bumpers, translucent green visors, no hood handle, tool kit and owner’s manual. – Restored like new with better cosmetics. A really pretty car in a lovely period color combination that is the way it was delivered including its original engine. – A particularly choice Porsche, restored with meticulous attention to its original configuration and appropriate parts. It was reported sold at the Gooding Scottsdale auction last January for $310,750, selling here for about $5,000 less on the hammer essentially confirming its value about 1/3 million dollars.Lot # 145 1961 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciale, Body by Bertone; S/N AR117251; Engine # AR0012001472; Red/Grey cloth, Red vinyl; Estimate $130,000 – $150,000; Recent restoration, 3+ condition; Hammered Sold at $107,500 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $118,250 – Body number 871003. 5-speed, hubcaps, Pirelli Cinturato tires. – Good paint, chrome and interior, but lightly soiled. Orderly and lightly used underhood. Badly scratched left door window. Rear bumper rechromed over unfilled pits. A sound and pretty car and an excellent driver. – Not the best Sprint Speciale in the world, but far from the worst and good enough to give some confidence in its maintenance. At this price any concerns about cosmetics are fully discounted. It could have brought Motostalgia’s low estimate without being expensive and at a little below it is a sound value for the new owner.Lot # 147 1969 Alpine A110 Coupe; S/N 00000000174; Blue, White, Red/Black vinyl, cloth; Estimate $50,000 – $75,000; Competition car, original as-raced, 4 condition; Hammered Sold at $52,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $57,200 – Orange center modular wheels. – No known race or rally history, a street A110 with faux rally livery. Dirty, dull, used and sadly neglected. The physical presentation is sorry: chipped, scratched and carelessly adorned with stickers covering who knows what. The interior is sound, but the engine compartment and chassis have been treated to no more than some gloppy underseal and haphazard layers of black paint. It’s a project car, with limited project prospects because of its lack of history. – The last twelve months have seen more Alpine Renault A110s cross auction blocks than the previous three years. This is far and away the worst of them, too, and it is something of a miracle that anyone picked it up for 4% over the low estimate. It could have gone away for 15% under the estimate and not been anything more than trouble for the new owner.Lot # 151 1956 Jaguar XK 140MC Fixed Head Coupe; S/N S814541DN; Engine # G4468-8S; Black/Crimson leather; Estimate $115,000 – $145,000; Older restoration, 3+ condition; Hammered Sold at $110,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $121,000 – Chrome wire wheels, blackwall tires, fender mirrors, fog lights, overdrive. – Good older paint and chrome and very good newer interior. Excellent interior wood, dash and gauges. Some erratic underhood wiring. Distributor vacuum advance not connected. Front wheel wells freshly squirted with chassis black. A presentable but not reassuring driver. – The XK coupe looks gooood in black, good enough for the Houston bidders to minimize this car’s shortcomings and pay a superior price for it.Lot # 167 1918 Cadillac Type 57 Victoria coupe; S/N PP57976; Blue, Black fenders/Brown cloth; Estimate $45,000 – $55,000; Visually maintained, largely original, 3- condition; Hammered Sold at $40,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $44,000 – Black wood spoke wheels, silver painted lock rings, wide whitewalls, opening windshield, folding steering wheel, dual rear spares. – Fresh body and fender paint of indifferent quality. Otherwise an orderly and well preserved car. Orderly underhood. – Pretty much the same as it was when sold at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale in 2009 from the GM Collection where it brought $35,200, or at Mecum’s Kansas City sale last December at a price of $31,030. It is more than just an old car, though, with an armor-clad ex-GM Collection provenance and unusual performance and luxury for its period. This much could buy two good Ford Model Ts, but who needs two when the same money buys a Cadillac. A sound value even at the highest price it’s brought.Lot # 168 1931 Chrysler CM New Six Roadster; S/N R1615CM; Green, Dark Green accents/Tan vinyl; Tan cloth top; Estimate $65,000 – $80,000; Older restoration, 3- condition; Hammered Sold at $60,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $66,000 – Light Yellow wire wheels, wide whitewalls, dual sidemounts with mirrors, rumble seat, trunk rack, folding windshield, wind wings, Depress Beam headlights. – Restored long ago to the standards of the times. Paint is generally sound but aged. So is the interior. Chassis is grimy and greasy. Peeling top bow varnish. Aged but not failing chrome. Good, for its age, but aged is what it is. – The CM New Six is a new and low-slung sporty model Chrysler Six on a double-drop frame introduced mid-year fitting in an attractive price gap between Chrysler’s little CJ six and the bigger eights. It is a pretty little car sold by RM in Arizona in 2005 for $46,500 showing the same mileage it has today, a handsome, but not inexpensive, tour car.Lot # 170 1934 Morgan F-4 Roadster; S/N F173; Red/Tan; Black leatherette top; Estimate $40,000 – $55,000; Recent restoration, 2+ condition; Hammered Sold at $33,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $36,300 – RHD. English Ford 988cc/36hp water cooled inline four, 3-speed, 3-wheels, beige wire wheels, chrome radiator shell, later gauges. – Freshly restored, in some areas over-restored, with excellent paint, chrome and interior. – Offered at Mecum’s Kissimmee auction a year ago where it no-saled at $35,000, then sold at Mecum Kissimmee this January for $31,320. A cheeky little Morgan, not quite the sporting machine that its motorcycle engined siblings are but still a classic Morgan that will be welcome in all sort of British car events. Its superior presentation more than makes up for the modest premium it brought today.
Is it just me, or does it seem like the only consistent winners here are the auction house and transport companies?
Did the “Maserati” Birdcage ever raise a bid and if so how much?
I think it was just window-dressing, but I wasn’t there when it crossed the block.
Some great looking vehicles. Is 10% the normal commission fee on these auctions? Damn. Still waiting for the Houston car shows to come back!!