The fifth annual Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction in Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay always attracts thousands of aficionados of antique, classic and exotic cars. This year's event, held Sept. 20 to Sept. 22, was no different as a record-setting 68,000 car enthusiasts attended, representing more than a 10 percent increase from last year.
Inside the massive events center, attendees strolled through the exhibitor and staging areas, where highlights included a tribute to racing and car design legend Carroll Shelby, who died in May.
Right away, however, we ran into Mike Kinney, a familiar face in Las Vegas classic car circles with his Gasoline Alley gang. This time, he was showing off his latest creation, a highly customized 1947 Dodge four-door sedan named Swoopy that was the star attraction at the Jetset Magazine and BMS Navigo custom trailer display.
"I found it 10 years ago in a barn in West Virginia," said Kinney, who took the car's current art deco design cues from a magazine article he'd seen years before. "It was all there when I bought it, but it was rough around the edges and the engine was frozen up solid."
Now, after more than 3,500 man hours and a decade of research and writing checks, Kinney's been offered "multiple six figures" for a unique car that boasts all sorts of custom work as well as a 392ci Hemi engine and one-off wheels designed by Mike Curtis, Boyd Coddington's former machine shop supervisor.
For the Las Vegas auction, more than 500 vehicles were up for sale from private owners, restoration shops or collectors just paring down their inventory. Highlights included everything from an authentic 1970 Plymouth Hemi Superbird two-door hardtop with 20,846 original miles that fetched $297,000 to an endearing 1957 BMW Isetta that sold for $22,000.
Cruising the prestaging floor, rare finds were abundant, including Robert Davey's 15-window 1963 Volkswagen Deluxe Microbus. Davey, of Villa Park, Calif., came across the iconic vehicle in Southern California a few months ago and bought it from the owner, who had just finished a "nut and bolt, rotisserie restoration." (In a rotisserie restoration, a vehicle's bodywork is removed and the remaining frame is placed on a rotating device that allows fine detailing of the undercarriage and chassis).
"This is just my observation, but I think this car is probably one of the most photographed here," Davey said. "It's just so utilitarian and everyone thinks of it as the grandfather of the today's minivans."
The vehicle, which had the rare walk-through/split front seats, a rebuilt 1,600cc dual-port engine and four-speed transmission, sold on the last day of the auction for $55,000.
Most restorers and owners take great pride in their vehicles, some to the point of admitted obsession. A 1955 Chevy 210 two-door hardtop was a bit of the reverse. It was, according to its owners, never restored. It was all-original, with fewer than 8,500 documented miles. It eventually sold for $50,000.
Barrett-Jackson, established in 1971, is headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz. The company conducts yearly collector car auctions in Scottsdale, Palm Beach, Fla., Orange County, Calif., and Las Vegas
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