Trying to get to Indianapolis...

[Pastel Blue]

Been watching the auction on the net. Looks like another buyers auction. Lots of muscle cars not getting anywhere near 50% of what they did a couple years ago. When a 76 bronco goes higher than a 71 RT challenger something has changed. Lots of no sales and when they drop the reserve usually goes no higher. You could sure buy them cheaper than you can build them.

Yes and no, based on my time spent there yesterday. The good cars; there is spirited bidding, but people are definitely easing off at set levels, not going crazy like in the past. Some of the Challengers/Mopars went pretty low in comparison to the past, but people now only wast the 426 hemis, 6 packs, etc. If you don't have those today, even with a nice car, the prices have dropped. Also, there are so many "recreations" of these cars, who knows what is real anymore...

I watched a Superbird sell for $110K (I think that was the #), pretty low, but I did not see the car in person to see the overall condition. From a distance, it looked good. In comparison, the Fryer blue Mach 429scj went just under $100K ($98/99K), pretty strong money in comparison... These cars are gaining in popularity, but the money is being spent on the BB's and the Bosses... The other variations will take some time to catch on more, I think.

A Boss 429 (black) cant recall if it was a 69 or 70.... was bid quickly to $250K, but topped out at $260k. No sale. Cautious times... The prices people were getting a few years ago, could and would never be maintained today, so what we are seeing today is a more realistic market for all the cars. I don't think we can continue to go back to those "heady" days and expect those prices moving forward.

I agree to a point with the statement, "buying them cheaper then building them". Its true, no doubt, my current restoration is a perfect example. I will never see my money out of the car, but that's not why I am doing it. I WANT to build it the way I have been preparing for the last 35 years in this year of Mustang, I WANT to be involved every step of the way, so when she is finished I know exactly what I have and will take much more pleasure in both driving and owning her. It costs money, big money today to build a car properly.

As a friend said to me recently, "a true labour of love"... and that's exactly what it is for me, personally. I could have easily bought anyone of the 6 Fryer cars yesterday instead of putting my money into the project at home, but even with those cars, there were issues. I would not be happy totally happy with any of them as they were presented, but that's just me. I would tear apart a car I just spent upwards of $100k and invest another $50-$100K bringing it back to the way I wanted, so maybe the way I am doing my restoration today will wind up cheaper in the end, for me! Make no mistake, I am in deep, but we will get there.

We are all in this hobby for similar but sometimes different reasons. To each their own, enjoy and live within your means to complete the car of your dreams. Cheers.

 

[tony-muscle]

I agree. Buyers are going for the big names like Boss, Shelby, split-window Corvette, Yenko, etc. The Superbird I saw went for 175k. A Shelby KR for 175k as well. On the other hand, I saw a Cuda covertible going for 52k and another going for 65k. Another convertible Cuda then went for 125K. I saw a bunch of 2G Corvettes going for 60k, which seems less that what they were not long ago. If the car had a 400+ ci engine, it helped a lot.

Overall, this was the best car show experience I ever had. I have been to a few car shows but here I saw the best collection of cars ever. I got to enjoy all the cars from Saturday's lot plus bunch of the cars from the previous days. Saw four Superbirds, bunch of Boss, dozens of Shelbys, even a bunch of those rare 71-73 Mustangs! I saw a 71 Mustang supposedly unrestored that I took a lot of pictures of. This was pure adrenaline. Plus, I got to do the Dodge challenge where they take you in either in a Viper or a Hellcat around a drifting course. That was an awesome experience.

 

[Pastel Blue]

I agree. Buyers are going for the big names like Boss, Shelby, split-window Corvette, Yenko, etc. The Superbird I saw went for 175k. A Shelby KR for 175k as well. On the other hand, I saw a Cuda covertible going for 52k and another going for 65k. Another convertible Cuda then went for 125K. I saw a bunch of 2G Corvettes going for 60k, which seems less that what they were not long ago. If the car had a 400+ ci engine, it helped a lot.

Overall, this was the best car show experience I ever had. I have been to a few car shows but here I saw the best collection of cars ever. I got to enjoy all the cars from Saturday's lot plus bunch of the cars from the previous days. Saw four Superbirds, bunch of Boss, dozens of Shelbys, even a bunch of those rare 71-73 Mustangs! I saw a 71 Mustanfg supposedly unrestored that I took a lot of pictures of. This was pure adrenaline. Plus, I got to do the Dodge challenge where they take you in either in a Viper or a Hellcat around a drifting course. That was an awesome experience.

if you are referring to the '71 red Boss 351, lets just say "it has been touched up"... Nice car, but a little too perfect in areas to be factory unrestored IMO. I enjoyed the cars here more then my five previous trips to Phoenix for BJ. The seating availability for the paying public I found better also. Food was great too! I enjoyed my first Mecum experience as well. Free parking and the doors open at 8am. Well worth $30 to get in. I travelled 1700km over three days for this visit, glad I made the trip. The only draw back was the area of Indianapolis my hotel was located in, not the best, but the price was right!

I am curious what the new R Shelby went for. Beautiful car, the technology on the Ford is nice.

 

[tony-muscle]

Too bad we were not able to meet. It would've been nice to walk around with someone's with similar interests.

The unrestored 71 Mustang i referred to was the red convertible not the Boss. Its probably been touched up as well, but I was interested in how the engine bay was supposed to look like. I only have experience with my 71 so it is nice to see others to compare.

BTW, i forgot to mention the McLaren. What a beauty of a car.

1971 M-code Mach 1