Part 2
One of the biggest hammer price surprise was lot 189, a grey 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray “Split Window” Coupé, previously owned by Chip Miller, famous Corvette collector and Corvette events organiser, who passed away in March 2004. His ex Sting Ray had been kept completely original by the Andrews family and unrestored since it went out on the factory, and yet in an almost Concours condition. I was seriously doubting whether this car would perform well, knowing that most american car collectors are very keen of “as-new” restorations, but it seems they turned me wrong. And pretty wrong, as lot 189 achieved no less than 253’000 $ final price, more than two times over its high estimate. Alongside was its older sister, a 1961 Chevrolet Corvette C1, with the four headlights in a livery proposed only during one year, the “Jewel Blue” and “White Coves”, which sold for 71’500 $.
Turning my head away from the Sting Ray, not without any difficulties, as I particularly love Split Windows, I found myself face to face with lot 206, a 1957 Oldsmobile Starfire Ninety-Eight “J-2” Convertible. A car I had never even heard about as I am not originally muscle car fan, nor do I had had the chance of looking into the american car culture, as we don’t have the privilege to see much of them in Europe. Thus, I discovered that this rather big grand cruiser was equipped with an engine so powerful it was actually banned from Nascar ! Lot 206 had been restored with numerous desirable options and was sold at a final price of 187’000 $. Another Oldsmobile convertible was offered during this sale, a 1950 88 Deluxe Holiday Coupé, which had had a long-term ownership, and was sold for 60’500 $.
As any respectable car collectors, Paul and Chris Andrews have had a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, the inevitable Bible you can find in any car collection. Theirs was a matching numbers 1959 Convertible, in the Anthracite grey (although originally this 300 SL was one of four delivered in Linden Green) over black leather livery with which they won the 2004 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. Proving agin the still growing interest in 300SLs amongst car passionates and collectors, it achieved a staggering 1.842 million $ final price. Upon the 2005 Ford GT, the only other modern sports car sold by RM Auctions was a Ferrari 599 GTB which apart from being fitted some tuning black rims and a GTO imitation package, this Maranello’s creation had had two previous owners but had only covered 2’800 miles from new, and was sold for 214’500 $, a price I would have suspected to be much lower…
Although this may look like a Chevrolet Corvette C2 Sting Ray being ready for some repairs, it isn’t. This 1965 piece of electric machinery was used by the american car manufacturer to showcase its Corvette works during motorshows and events. Therefore it was truely a must-have for any Corvette collector, although its final price tag under Max Girardo’s hammer, 715’000 $, must have discouraged more than one…
There were a lot of Corvettes for sale in the Andrews Collection, and I wasn’t surprised. Here in the United States, the Corvette is known to have the same sort of iconic status the Porsche 911 has in Europe. It’s been around for more than half a century, and its original success recipe has not been changed much throughout the years. A simple V8 in the front, a light plastic bodywork and a mechanical gearbox in the middle, available in Targa, more powerful Z06s or ultimate ZR1s. The Corvette has always been the benchmark and the reference for american sports cars, even at times where the other american reference, the Mustang, was struggling to survive. They have been racing and winning in multiple world reknown races such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and brought the innovations down to their road cars, while still maintaining a low price, at least in America… Lot 251, a racing 1962 Chevrolet Corvette C1 “Gulf Oil” was part of this history, winning its class at the Daytona Continental and the 12 Hours of Sebring back then. It was sold for 1.65 million $.
Another typical american convertible I had only heard about but never saw one was this 1957 Pontiac Bonneville, which was the only original black example with the fuel injection engine, sold for 209’000 $. I barely had finished to look at the Bonneville, trying to anchor its shape in my memory that I encountered yet another american automobile I had never seen. And it was a Pontiac too !
This 1953 Chieftain Deluxe Eight Catalina, lot 250, was sold for 33’000 $. In the background, behind the Chieftain, you might notice the last Chevrolet Bel-Air of the sale, a 1955 “Nomad”, the station wagon version of the Chevy which had just undergone a restoration process. This was the third Chevrolet Bel Air of the Andrews collection for sale on Saturday 2nd of May, 2015 and was finally sold for 82’500 $.
An american car collection wouldn’t be american if there wasn’t at least one Mustang… More than an icon, the Mustang could probably represent the whole american automotive industry. Big V8, fast in a straight line, loud, fuel thirsty, the Mustang is every bit of american car. This 1965 GT350 R, one of the finest racing examples existing, prepared by racing legend Caroll Shelby had had several wins during its history, with its most notable ones being a 1st in Class at the 1967 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race. Estimated between 850’000 and 1 million dollar it was finally sold at
770’000 $.
The highly awaited lot of the sale, and probably the most historically significant upon my opinion was lot 237. This AC Cobra Shelby 289 Competition from 1962 was simply the first ever racing Cobra sold to the public, and helped amateur racing teams to compete and win several races, proving that Cobras prepared by Shelby could still be winning weapons in private hands. Some amazing pictures of this car were during the 2012 Colorado Grand, where no doubt that the Andrews family must have enjoyed it fully. This car was probably the one that made me doubt why were the Andrews selling all these cars of their collection. This piece of history is part of american’s automobiles holy grails, just like a Ferrari 250 GTO, or a Lamborghini Miura is to italian automobile industry, and especially when preserved in such a nice state like it was, should be kept for many additional years. Max Girardo awarded it to its next owner for a nice 1.98 million $.
Behind the Cobra I was surprised by the ressemblance of this red car I had never seen before – yet another one – to one of the pretty Italian Cisitalia. And in fact it turned out this 1955 Kurtis 500 Swallow Coupé, with its bodywork by Allied was inspired by the elegant and pure shapes of the Italian manufacturer. Moreover, it is the only example with such a bodywork, and I do admit I love the Carrera Panamericana vinyls on its body, showing it had done its job and hopefully its future owner, who purchased it for 220’000 $, will bring it back to the mythic race.
Paul and Chris Andrews were proposing a few pickup trucks and simple four wheel drive cars during their collection’s sale. Lot 254 was a first generation 1987 Land Rover Range Rover, which was sold for 22’000 $. Then, coming from one of the rare Canadian automotive manufacturers, a 1953 Mercury M100 Pick-up truck was sold for 26’400 $. Last but not least for now was a 1954 Ford F-100 Custom pick-up truck, built for hot rod enthusiast Joe MacPherson, and sold for 374’000 $.
Chris, Paul’s son being a hige hot rod enthusiast, it was logical that we were going to find some during this sale. The most interesting one was probably the 1932 Ford Lakes Roadster Custom by Khougaz (blue with red and chromed rims), which is a piece of history to show that hot rods exist since way longer than I actually expected. Modded almost directly when it went out of the factory, it was clocked in 1946 at El Mirage Dry Lake at an incredible top speed of 141.95 miles per hour ! It was sold for 187’000 $. On its left, a green 1916 Ford Model T “Trojan”, built by Harry Markiecki was trying to grab my attention, but I couldn’t get my eyes of the Lakes Custom. Probably because the Trojan was based on a much more common Model T…
Chris Andrews, as Rob Myer’s auction house said, is an “accomplished artist and businessman in its own rights”. An assertion which was verified by lot 188, a 1932 Ford Pickup Custom “Loose Change”, built by Paul Andrews. This was in fact the first hot rod ever built by Chris, and one of the other cars I couldn’t understand that made me doubt why the family was selling part of their collections. This car on sale would be like Horacio Pagani selling the Prototipo Zero of the Zonda, the car he has worked on since the beginning of his brand. I mean who would sell his first ever car built here ? Let me guess ? No-one. Lot 188 was finally sold under Max Girardo’s hammer at a final price of 38’500 $. The red pick-up behind Chris custom 1932 pick-up was another custom, based on a Chevrolet C10 Cheyenne. It had just undergone a thorough restoration and was sold for 55’000 $. Amongst the other very interesting SUVs and pick-up trucks of the sale were two Japanese Toyota Land Cruiser FJ Series. The first one, lot 199, was a 1965 FJ45 Land Cruiser Pick-up custom, with loads of patina, which I truely hope will be kept in this state by its future owner who purchased it for 38’500 $. The second one was a 1976 FJ40 Land Cruiser, one of the most desirable and legendary off-road cars ever, with the Land Rover Defender and the Mercedes G. Lot 202 was sold for 57’750 $.
The three last pick-up trucks of the sale were lot 209, a 1937 Ford Pickup custom which was featured at the time in several magazines and was sold for 41’250 $, a 1955 Chevrolet 3100 Cameo which had been restored and was sold for 66’000 $, and finally lot 186, a 1970 Chevrolet El Camino Custom, sold for 30’000 $. Apart from the Mercury pick-up truck I had discovered earlier was another Canadian car joining the sale of the Andrews Collection. lot 193 was a 1966 Acadian Canso Sport Deluxe Custom with a gigantic 555 cubic inches V8 and a five speed manual gearbox.
Looking around, I was actually surrounded by custom cars, whether they were pick-ups, hot-rods, or muscle cars, proving the almost obsession of Chris Andrews with these. Lot 217 was a 1932 Ford roadster Custom that was sold for 82’500 $, but its main problem – or sacrilege, depending on how purist you might be – was that it was fitted with a 392 cubic inches Hemi V8. A Hemi in a Ford… It sounds to me like trying to play ACDC with a synthesizer, buying a Ferrari 308 and putting a Lamborghini Gallardo V10 in it. A catastrophy, something that should never happen. Never. The limits have been trespassed here. Clearly.
Continuing with the customs, lot 213 was another Ford, a 1934 Coupe customized for grand cruising thanks to air conditioning for instance. It was sold for 82’500 $. The last custom of the sale was a bit of a bathtub in fact, and you might have noticed it previously with the Lakes Roadster and the Trojan custom. This 1927 Ford – again – custom “Voodoo Doll”, lot 229 was sold for 55’000 $.
My favorite Corvette has been since several years the C1 single headlamps, model years from 1956 and 1957. It is in fact so elegant that it always reminds me of some Italian shapes of the time. Equipped with the 283 cubic inches and the very desirable fuel injection option, as only 1040 were made with it, this 1957 Chevrolet Corvette C1 had been gold certified by Bloomington and had been awarded NCRS Top flight. Consequently, it was sold quite a nice bit over its high estimation of 140’000 $ at a 170’500 $ final price.
One of the most, if not the most interesting automobilia lot of the sale, was certainly the fully functional Ferrari engine dynamometer, a tool which would be very useful for any Ferrari car collector or mechanics who would want to test its engine settings. Lot 183 was awarded a final price of 155’250 $.
Apart from the Porsche Cayman, the Ferrari 599 GTB, and the 2005 Ford GT, the last modern car offered for sale by the Andrews family was a 2008 Shelby GT500 KR, which had been bought new by the Andrews, and consequently only had had one owner since new. Moreover, it had only covered less than 1’000 miles since and was thus in a particular good state. Lot 197 was sold for 77’000 $.
