In the background, the hammer falls Wayne Schemekle's unrestored 1970 Boss 302 Cougar Eliminator sold for $121,000

Cars of every shape and size show up at collector auctions, and there were more than 3,000 of them at Mecum Kissimmee, which has become the season opener for the winter auction circuit. Starting in Florida makes this a somewhat different audience than some of the more westerly auction venues, as the Orlando area as a popular destination for snow-weary northerners, as well as international travellers, have an opportunity to bid on some stellar cars. Indeed, with the event book-ended through a couple of weekends, you could find ample things to do with the family and still get your fill of car action.

Even if you are not looking to find that car of your dreams, there is a lot to see. After all, the cars themselves are on display where you can see them up close, and the field isn't limited to pristine restorations. There are street rods and hot rods, drag cars and street machines, oddball station wagons, and low-mileage highway cruisers. There are deals to be had if you are patient. The auction venue itself is an indoor stadium called the Silver Spur Arena, but the overall Osceola Heritage Park has space for the thousands of cars, Dodge's Hellcat-based thrill ride, a special event-oriented midway, and the so-called 'glass house' where the most valuable vehicles were usually on display. This year, that building included a number of great vintage drag machines, ultra-low-mileage original muscle cars, and a mixture of exotics led by Bugatti and Ferrari. For many, Mecum's season-opening event is a wide-open chance to enjoy great cars, whether you are a big roller, a budget chaser, or just someone who appreciates the faster things in life. Even the sold cars often end up back on display, and huge tents are erected to allow a leisurely walk through to see the cars. There are also media presentations on big-screen TVs throughout to keep up with what is on the block, and Mecum publishes catalogs for some of the collections. This year, we also saw a great wooden racing boat collection, road art that included the never-used stock of an old sign company, a bi-plane, motorcycles, and some other surprises. Go to mecum.com and sign in (it's free) for the full results.



Sudden Death 1975 Mustang II

If there was one car this year that typified the Car Craft mystique, it was this legendary Motor City street machine built by Pro Stock racers Wayne Gapp and Jack Roush (yes, youngsters, Roush was all about drag racing in the '70s). The Mustang II design was lamented by many, but once a Pro Stock suspension design, cage, and set-back Cleveland-based engine were installed, this silver beast was notorious on the streets of Detroit, with the name Sudden Death coming from a HOT ROD article by the legendary Gray Baskerville. Twin-turbos were too much for it, so it got parked in the '80s, but current owner Tom Tate found it and redid it like it was back in its heyday. On the block Thursday, the bidding reached $47,000, which did not meet the reserve, so Tom kept it. The internet was buzzing on this one, though, and since Mecum offers sellers a second chance to run the car through later in the year, we may see it again.



1965 Z16 Chevelle

Kayo Erwin of Tennessee is a long-time collector who brought a number of cars that had been in his collection for decades. One was this low-mileage, restored RPO Z16 1965 Chevelle. As some people may know, these were image cars for Chevrolet, released to prime the pump, so to speak, for the upcoming 1966 SS396 package. This is why only 201 were built that first year. The beautiful car took home a winning bid of $280,500.



1972 Mr. Norm GSS Dodge Demon

The Demon name has been brought back by Chrysler/FCA recently, but the original small-block version had its own version of 'serious.' Mr. Norm's Grand-Spaulding Dodge in Chicago released an exclusive edition that featured the 340 Six Pack that had been used only on the 1970 Challenger E-bodies Trans-Am packages. These A-bombs rarely show up for sale, and this one was in pristine shape with A4 Gunmetal Gray paint. From the Wayne Scheeckle collection, and $62,700 later on Friday afternoon, it belonged to someone else.



The ZL1 Camaro Offering

Topping the million dollar mark for muscle this year was a pair of ZL1 Camaros, both with original ZL1 engines. One was sold new through the Fred Gibb franchise itself, and the other was a reassignment from Chevrolet after Gibb frantically called Detroit when he got the first invoice. He had been told the sticker price would be about 4500.00; instead, when the first truckload arrived in LaHarpe, Illinois that February, each car had a retail of over $7,000! It was the only time Chevrolet is known to have taken pre-ordered cars back, and they were reassigned cars to other dealers directly from Norwood. Only 69 ZL1 Camaros were built, and they rarely show up with real 1969 blocks in them.



Landy's Dodge

The Mecum auction publicity department worked hard to promote the exclusive drag cars owned by Nick Smith. These were the cream of the crop for the years they raced, and none was more known to the Mopar faithful as the 1965 Dodge Coronet raced by Dandy Dick Landy. Featured in a monster wheelstand in a full-color CC center spread that year (and on Kissimmee-area billboards in 2018), the Landy machine is considered one of the best preserved of the batch of cars built by Chrysler as 'AFX Dragsters' that year. It climbed to a cool $500,000, but Nick (seen at left with his crew) decided he would keep it. Vintage drag cars have cooled recently.



That Boss 351

Another car from Wayne Schmeeckle's collection was this 1971 Boss 351 Mustang. The final Boss package released in that era, this was a dealer demo that had been sold with less than 1,000 miles on its odometer. In fact, it has been driven only 823 miles since new and had an MCA Thoroughbred Gold award to prove it. When the hammer fell, this incredible survivor was sold for $192,500.



Thrill Rides by Dodge

Sometimes you want to take a break from the action, and lots of people were walking over to the Dodge display to get a fast and sideways blast in a new Challenger or Charger. The track layout changes based on space, and this year was a water-assisted tire-churning kick through a chicane, immediate heavy braking, a hairpin turn-around, and 100 feet of hard acceleration. Dodge gets your info, gives you some free swag, and thrills you with a seasoned driver at the wheel. This is free with your admission into the venue; just do it before the line gets too long.



The Absolute No Reserve Offering

On several days throughout the auction, groups of cars were offered with no reserve price to begin that day's bidding. The early birds who were on hand for the day's start found out quickly that these were all solid cars, and most of them sold at close to market value. They included Hemi Mopars, Shelby Mustangs, and more. This 1970 W30 Olds 4-4-2 hammered a big $99,000 final bid on Saturday morning.



Gas Ronda's 1965 Mustang

Among the cars in the Nick Smith Collection was this original 1965 A/FX Mustang. Painted Poppy Red with correct lettering, this was one of the cars created under contract with Ford for NHRA-legal racing. Ronda actually had two of these SOHC-powered cars, as the first one assigned to him was wrecked in pre-season testing. He then ran the season in this car, which had originally been built for show use. It's new owner won the auction with a final bid of $324,500 on Friday.



Celebrity Drivers





1962 FX Fords

So few of these cars were built, and fewer exist now. We are talking about the very first embers of Total Performance for drag racing, the 1962 Ford Galaxie lightweight. Nick Smith had one of the four that were not rebodied as 1963 models, while a very young Bruce Larson personally went to Detroit and got lightweight parts through Ford to uphold the brand's honor in the mid-Atlantic and northeast regions. This included the first 2x4 intake released to the public beyond Dick Brannan's experimental stuff. Selling the car for the widow of a close friend, Bruce was happy to have it hammer home at $66,000, complete with a near-priceless book of paperwork.



Daytona 500 Camaro Pace Car

We all know about the Indy Pace Car program with the orange and white packages, but how about this 1969 Camaro dressed out for the 1969 effort at Daytona. Produced during the third week of October 1968, the NASCAR pace cars first saw official duty at the 1969 Daytona 500, and they were used through the season at various other tracks, receiving new lettering for each race. All of them were returned to Chevrolet Motor Division at the end of the 1969 season, intended to be sold to the public. Based on its unique optioning, it is believed this was one of the ten cars from that program, and owner Joe Cheek had a buyer for it through the Bid Goes On program about an hour after the car did not meet reserve on Friday. The Bid Goes On option lets buyers make a higher counter offer to Mecum, who checks to see if the owner is interested. If so, the money changes hands and another car is sold!



1970 Hemi Coronet R/T Hardtop

This big, bad Dodge was a personal favorite, and I had chatted with long-time owner Chris Coulson many times during the last two years. The first 1970 Hemi exported to Canada, and the only one in this body design to feature the four-speed, 4.10 Dana Super Trak Pack option, this Plum Crazy purple Mopar climbed to a final hammer of $143,000. Mecum had promoted the car at both MCACN and in the event advertising, and my (possibly biased) opinion, it was a great buy on a unique performance car. I wish I had the $144,000 to try for this one!



The Happy Days hot Rod

Ok, so maybe its not as cool as some of the musclecars up for sale, but this little machine would be cool just to take to cruise night. With some possibility of even George Barris having been involved with it, it was still a movie-level build and not really detailed. It was graced with signatures of many of the Happy Days TV stars including 'the Fonz' Henry Winkler, however. Frankly, when the bidding topped $80,000, we are of the belief the owner would have been wise to send it a new home.



Big Bad Jav

This 1970 Javelin was part of the No Reserve collection and took home a healthy $55,000 Saturday morning. Hard to restore, this SST was a real Go Package equipped version, complete with the optional spoilers, sidepipes, blue paint, 390-CI engine, and four-speed crash box.



Getting The Old Car Back

The first car that noted collector Tim Wellborn had ever bought from Mecum auctions was a 1970 LS6 Chevelle. He sold it a couple of years ago, having found another one with lower mileage. A persistent friend talked into Tim selling that one, and, to his surprise, the original black car was among the 2018 catalog offerings. Between doing NBC-SN color commentary on Friday, got the car back for his Alabama museum, noting with a slight grin that he actually purchased it back for a little less than he sold it for.



The 1964 NYWF 427 Galaxie

Probably the biggest surprise for some attendee was that this big Galaxie 500 convertible brought $225,500. Powered by the R-code 427 8-bbl package, what made this car special was that it was used at the beginning of the 1964 New York World's Fair as a display car along with the first Mustang. A convertible with extra chrome and trim. This car was spectacularly restored and is a special piece of Ford history.



Joel's Crazy Corvette

There were some very nice Corvettes here, from high-buck 1963 Z06 tankers to reasonably priced late models. If we had to pick one to take to the Car Craft Summer Nationals, we would have done what collector Todd Werner did and grabbed this documented 1970 Phase III Motion machine. Well-known in the hobby and once a cover car on one of the long-gone east coast magazines, this car featured a radical appearance and equipment thanks to Joel Rosen and his crew at Motion Performance. The car was expertly restored by George Rubistello about 2003. Werner, whose collection of vintage drag cars was featured on our cover a few years ago, added this unique machine to his stables for $104,500.



By the time I get a Phoenix

The 1960 Dodge Dart Phoenix is a monster Mopar from a time when Detroit was adjusting to the new decade with varying degree of success. The company built fewer than 600 of these cars, and most of those are long, long gone by now. Stylish in a way Chrysler could only have done, this rare example was pretty cool, and it was the only car we saw this year featuring the long-ram intake design, which was coded as D500 on the 383 Wedge. With spectacular paint, a large number of factory options, mostly original equipment, and a selling price of $68,200, this would have been another wild piece to own, if only for its crazy engine technology and unreal body size.



The NOS Old Sign Factory

The Flexlume sign company went bankrupt during World War II because the government did not want their neon- and incandescent-lighted advertising signaling to enemy flyers where our cities were. When the company's assets were sold in 1944, what was left of their old stock that had not been turned to the wartime scrap went into storage for 80 years. On Sunday's final day, this collection of cool advertising was sold at no reserve. Many were smaller pieces while others, like these never-used Gulf signs, were so large they would need a real gas station to hang up for display. How neat would it be to become the first-ever owner of one of these still-crated old-school signs?



1961 Pontiac Safari Wagon

Mecum sold tens of millions of dollars worth of cars here, so relatively speaking, only a few did not meet the reserve. One of them was this very cool 1961 Safari station wagon that was just begging for a Nostalgia Top Fuel car to push around. A single repaint in rare 'Firedawn Mist' (a bronze metallic paint), original sheet-metal, great two-tone interior, dealer-installed Tri-power layout on the 389 engine, a power rear window, upscale trim, and complete paperwork rounded it out. It stopped getting action on Wednesday at only $25,000, so the owner understandably chose to take it home.



The Bugatti

When money is no object, you have the choice of modern hypercars like this one, a 2018 Bugatti Chiron. Think of this car as having Formula 1 technology in a street car. It makes more than 1,400 horsepower bone stock, goes 0-60 in 2.3 seconds, top ends at 261 MPH (honest, officer, I missed the sign), and really can't be Car Crafted. After all, the tires are $22,000apiece! This car, which showed just 249 delivery miles, had a literal million dollars in optional equipment alone on it. Even when the bidding pushed above the $3M range, it did not meet the reserve. How many already-full garages could you buy for $4,000,000? A bunch, but the Chiron was a true spectacle here, and lots of people enjoyed the chance simply see one of these very exclusive cars up close. They took lots of selfies here, too.



1970 Buick GS Stage II

This 1970 Stage II Buick GS 455 was one of the No Reserve cars, and it certainly lit our fire. Created by the company's engineering arm, just two cars received Stage II parts, as GM had gotten very serious about emissions controls before the development onf ths package had concluded. This one held NHRA and AHRA records, as well as cool authentic racing paint and a prototype hood scoop. It hammered home at healthy $115,500 on Friday morning.



His and Hers GTOs

This 'couple' of red convertibles was offered separately, both beautiful presented and optioned differently. 'Hers' was a 1967 with white interior, power seats and top, automatic transmission, and a 2.93 rear gear. 'His' was a 1966 four-speed with a Royal Bobcat tune up, 3.55 gearing, Hurst wheels, and day-two Tri-Power. Sold back-to-back, the same buyer took the pair, offering more than $140,000 for the classy lady after laying down an additional $92,400 for the he-man model. We'd drive either. Right, dear?



The Last Auburn

Last year when we picked our favorite classic car, the Duesenberg was an easy choice. It was a cool car but, hey, it's a little pricy like the Bugatti. This year, we picked a classic that sold for a lot less: only $121,000. Auburns were among the best-known models of the 'deco era,' but the ravages of the Great Depression spelled their end. This 1936 Model 852 was the final new release by the ebbing Indiana firm- a cabriolet featuring a rumble seat, a Lycoming straight eight, and scads of class. It's so cool as it sits that it might even be a car we would leave stockmaybe.