Mecum Kissimmee - Ridetech Selling 1968 Chevelle

[jorge]

Hey guys, Bret Voelkel is heading off to the Mecum Auction early next week to sell his 1967 Chevelle SS. He is out at the show right now sending in updates. Thought some of you might be interested in what goes on out at that show. The Mecum auction is a 25 year old auction that holds the largest collector car auction in the world in Indianapolis, IN annually with over 2,000 cars. The show we are at is in Kissimmee, it started yesterday and will run until Sunday.


The Chevelle is slated to be auctioned off on lot T277 on the 26th around 8:30pm. (Auction information can be found here). The event will be televised each day on Discovery’s Velocity channel:

TV Schedule Discovery Velocity channel DISH – 364 DirectTV – 76

Times: Wednesday (01/25/12): 1:00pm to 9:00pm EST Thursday: 1:00pm to 9:00pm EST Friday: 2:00pm to 10:00pm EST Saturday: 2:00pm to 10:00pm EST

Here are some pictures of the Chevelle:











Should be a fun auction!

[jorge]

Here is Bret's update from the first day of the show:

"I love buying cars! (doesn't every hotrodder?)

I have justified my car buying activities to this point by using these cars for product development, promotional activities, product demonstrations, etc. At one time we had 27 (mostly) running, functional cars in the ridetech stable. We have a team of guys whose main job description is to build and maintain this fleet. It was like herding cats.

Selling a car is fun as well, but much more work! I can't bring myself to let a car go that is "in poor health". I have to make sure everything works and that it is roadworthy for the long term for a new owner. This typically means there is little profit in this activity.

I also like to build cars. Like most hotrodders, I've been building cars since high school. My responsibilities at ridetech have prevented me from getting my hands scratched on a car build for quite some time. In November I decided I was going to let go of a really nice all original big block 4 speed 67 SS Chevelle. Of course, being original, it drove like a 45 year old car. We can't have that...not when the solution is sitting right there on the RideTech shelf.

A couple more calls had a Vintage Air A/C system and Frontrunner, Baer brakes, Holley carb MSD distributor. And a GearVendors overdrive unit sitting on my doorstep ready for installation.

During my 6 week endeavor to get all this stuff installed I discovered a couple significant things: I LOVE working on my cars...and the fit and quality of performance equipment today is truly nice. I had so much fun piddling in the garage in December and January that my guys at the shop thought I had a new girlfriend or something!

My children had not seen me do any serious work on a car and were a bit impressed that I actually knew where those dusty wrenches in my garage were.
Humans love when a plan comes together and I am no exception. We got the Chevelle all done and took it for a drive. It never ceases to amaze me how a few boxes of bolt on parts can transform a wallowing sickly pig into a crisp powerful performer.

There is a problem, however...now I really want to keep the car..

(insert 3-4 Chevelle pics)

I've taken several cars to the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale. I wanted to try the Mecum event this time for a couple reasons...Kissimmee is a lot closer than Scottsdale...and the Mecum auction is a reserve auction...I can decline to sell the car if it doesn't bring some minimum amount.

I arrived in Kissimmee on Tuesday afternoon and spent the rest of the day feeling my way around. It's an impressive array of cars. The prices seem fair to high so far, the weather is great, and the next few days look promising. I'll get some more pictures and notes and report back again tomorrow.

Until then...have fun!"

Some pictures from the event:

This is the shot you see on TV. One critique...they need an elevated stage.

Tuesdays cars won't knock your socks off, but this Monte Carlo turned down $22,000. Lots of cool parts on this one.

Mecum is more than just "normal" Hotrods...lots of busses, tow vehicles, and trailers.

The Mecum polishing crew works on this big block Mopar in the staging lanes. It looked solid and sold for $22,000.

[mpozzi]

Watching Mecum now. Some interesting prices for the second and third gen Camaros and Firebirds. Good to see ...

Mary Pozzi

[wellis77]

That Monte looks a lot like the one built by Michael at Prodigy.

[jorge]

Bret sent in another blog update this afternoon. The car sells tonight.

"I've been to the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale several times...that is one fun event, I don't care who you are! This is my first Mecum event. Although the crowd is possibly a bit smaller here, they definitely mean business. I think a significant portion of the crowd at Barrett is there for the social aspect, the Mecum crowd is here to buy cars.

Interest in the Chevelle is very high. I've already had 2 people ask the most important question: "where will you and the car be after it crosses the auction block?"...implying that if it does not meet reserve they want to see what it will really take to buy the car. I'm good with that.

Lots of Firebirds and Trans Ams here. Lots of Corvettes and Camaros as well, of course. Nice ones. Rare ones. Some are even both! Of course with 2000 cars here, there's lots of everything.

It's interesting that many of the cars are unattended, at least so far. If I were in the market for a car I would like to talk to someone about it. I would also expect it to be kept clean. Apparently a large number of car owners do not share my opinion! Ty and I have hung around the car cleaning and chatting up fellow hotrodders and potential buyers all week. To me it's not what I have to do; it's what I GET to do.

It's also interesting to see some cars that have obviously been quickly assembled to flip at the auction. They're not hard to spot...buffing compound in the crevasses, lots of flat black paint underneath, a set of cheap shiny 18" or 20" wheels, and gloss black drum brakes. I have nothing against these cars at all...they make great starting points for serious Hotrod projects!

The prices in general seem robust. There is no "stupid" money being spent (at least not yet...), but almost every car is hitting its reserve and selling. I'm encouraged not only for the Chevelle in particular, but the health of our industry in general.

Well, it's time to go talk to some more hotrodders. Make sure you watch tonight around 8:30 EST on Velocity...and bid high and often!

And by the way... I LOVE my job!

As usual I've got my eye on a couple cars. The problem is, the cars I can afford will sell on Wednesday (before the Chevelle). The cars I WANT sell on Friday and Saturday (and will likely be beyond my pocketbook). I've been casually snooping around for a 33-34 Ford, or a 35-40 Ford coupe. I want a really nice steel car that is finished so all I have to do is maybe some suspension work. After the Chevelle sells I can ramp up my efforts for one of those. There are a couple here selling on Friday, so we'll see."

- Bret


Like I said...LOTS of Formulas and Trans Ams.


You guys know I'm a sucker for Boss 429 Mustangs. This one is near perfect.


Looks like a car lot from 1973


Not a great picture, but it is a great car.


Lots of 55-57 Chevy action too...


Florida is where all the old pro street cars go to retire!

[MarkM66]

That Monte looks a lot like the one built by Michael at Prodigy.

I think it is.

[MarkM66]

Nice post. Keep the updates coming.

[barraza]

Brets Chevelle didn't meet the reserve. Bid to $47k I think. It looked great, I wonder if it will sell afterward. Frank sold a 68 z28 about an hour earlier, low $60's

[jb@ridetech]

here is the video of the chevelle @ Mecum .

[MarkM66]

Did someone buy it after it crossed the block?

[jorge]

Did someone buy it after it crossed the block?

Not that I know of, but there are still a couple of guys still interested at the moment.

Here's the update Bret sent today.

The ridetech crew is at the Mecum Auction selling our 1967 Chevelle SS. Bret Voelkel, president of ridetech, sent in his final report from the Mecum auction:

“The Chevelle didn’t meet the reserve. I was a bit surprised given the conversations I’d had during the week and the pricing trends on Thursday. It came very close, but the bidding stalled at $47,000. I’m not revealing the reserve quite yet because I’ve still got ongoing conversations with at least 2 solid guys. I’m still confident we’ll go home with an empty trailer, or at least with a different car in the trailer.

Friday is cloudy, cool and windy…and significantly more crowded. The prices are stronger as well…people know the cars get better (and more expensive) as the week goes on. I’m still a little dumbfounded that so many cars are sitting around dirty and unattended. The 36 Ford I’m looking at has a weeks worth of dust on it and no owner or caretaker in sight. Maybe it’s just me, but I’d really like to talk to someone about some of the details on that car. It will make the difference between buying the car or not. In reality, that one is likely a $70,000 unit…too much for me right now.

We did try to bid on a 76 Caddillac convertible for my buddy Albert Melchior yesterday. We figured it was a $20,000-25,000 car….it went for $36,000! happy seller!

I’ve decided that if I don’t get my original reserve price out of the car I’ll take it home and drive it. It’s just too nice a car to compromise the price. There’s just nothing about the car I don’t like! I might pick out something else to sell later…anyone need a great 71 GTO convertible?

I’m not sure what I would do different at the next auction to make a car more sellable. A Friday or Saturday sale time souls help, but there are only so many of those. Maybe some extra pre auction promotion? Hard to say. A different day, a different auction…a different price. I’m still working on two guys here so I’ll keep you updated after the weekend if the Chevelle sells or not. Until then…!”

-Bret


Almost…but not quite.


Here’s that 36 Ford coupe I’ve been talking about. If you own this car, wipe it off and come and talk to me!


I even got my kids in on this deal. Who could refuse a Chevelle flyer from these two!


Hard to tell in a picture, but this car is tight, tight, tight…the definition of “laser straight”.


It may or may not be your style, but this old Ford is a kickass piece!


I didn’t dare ask a price, but these restored bowling games were cool as hell.

[lt1chevelle]

thats a weird looking 68 chevelle

[John510]

Correct me if Im wrong but isn't 47K a good bid for that car?

[jorge]

Hey good news! It sold, here's what happened from Bret's summary of the event:

"After the Chevelle didn’t sell on the block I figured there would be several people want to negotiate a better deal after the fact. I was right. I talked to at least 3 people at length who I thought were real players.

But I was wrong. After all day on Friday and most of Saturday none of my “players” had pulled the trigger so about 2:00 PM I decided to pull the plug and send Ty and the car home and enjoy the rest of the weekend. The timing here becomes quite important so pay attention...

My family had come to Florida for the weekend as had my buddy Albert Melchior and his family. We went to a nice seafood dinner at the Moonfish grille at around 7:30PM when Frank Serafine from Prodigy Customs [my broker for this auction] called and said someone had claimed the Chevelle at the reserve price.

What! After all this time? Is this a done deal...do we have a signed contract? Do I need to turn Ty around [he was already in Georgia by that time]? Frank wants to make double sure so he calls me back about 15 minutes later...yep, it’s a done deal, turn Ty around, get the car back here.

Ty is already 2 days late getting back...we were so sure that the car would meet reserve and be gone on Thursday night. He is not happy, but ever cooperative as he knows “it is what it is and the job has to be done”. So he starts back south and gets back to the house about 2:00 AM on Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, the buyer has become quite concerned that the car has been transported out of state and wants to make his offer contingent upon final inspection when it returns. I have no problem with that necessarily since I know the car is just fine, but it does allow the buyer to potentially get a case of “buyer’s remorse” and use that contingency to refuse the car. Ty is already headed back so I have another drink and hope for the best.

The end of the story is I was issued a check about 4:00 on Sunday afternoon…4 hours after my family and I had flown back to Indiana and I was lying on the couch. I have no idea who bought the car…or even if we had talked to them during the week. I told my wife that I hadn’t worked this hard for a sale since our first date!
So...my thoughts about the Mecum program...

They are very efficient. Each car has a selling time printed right on it...and they stay pretty close to that. On the other hand, they don’t give you much stage time and don’t hype the car up on the block as much. Is this good? I guess it depends on if you are a buyer or a seller, and what your tastes are. The Mecum deal seemed to draw serious buyers with serious money. I say lots of people with notebooks, price guides, and calculators.

Prices? I thought they were average too soft. I didn’t see anything I thought was a home run for the seller. I did see several cars that I would have bought if I had the means.
Will I go back? Very likely, if I have something to sell and if I don’t have another event on top of it. At the end of the day…I saw a LOT of cool hotrods, talked to some very nice hotrodders and spent a week in 80 degree sunshine. Tough to top that! "

- Bret


I didn't think this car would ever see this trailer again. But at this point I was already planning to drive the car this summer. Wrong twice!


I almost bought this 55. Morrison chassis, forgelines, ls1…it was a no sale at 50k.