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Influential 1951 Hirohata Mercury custom headed to auction

An icon of the custom car era, Bob Hirohata’s 1951 Mercury customized by the Barris shop, will go up for grabs at the Mecum Kissimmee (Florida) auction to be held Jan. 6-16.

The rise of custom car culture paralleled hot rod culture in the post World War II period. Many shops in Southern California began customizing 1949-’51 Mercs, using the slab-sided bodies as blank canvases for their vision of what cars could be. Chopping the tops, channeling the bodies, and shaving the trim for a smoother look transformed what was otherwise deemed a frumpy design.

The Hirohata Merc is viewed as the pinnacle of Merc lead sled design, and is recognized as the most famous custom of all time. Built by the Barris brothers, George and Sam, at Barris Kustom, it received all the right changes to make it look sleek and elegant, but not overstyled.

The main changes reworked the profile. The shop chopped the top four inches in the front and seven inches in the rear, leaned the the rear window forward, and replaced the B-pillars with channel stock to give the coupe a hardtop look. To give the car its low stance, the Barris brothers cut the front coil springs, C-sectioned the rear frame, de-arched the rear leaf springs, and set the rear on two 1.5-inch lowering blocks.

1951 Hirohata Mercury

Along the sides, the Barris brothers replaced the straight fender trim with rounded trim from a 1952 Buick Riviera that provides a delineation for a two-tone Ice Green and Organic Dark Green paint scheme. The bright color was a departure from the many dark colors on customs of the day. Large fender bulges were added to the rear, fronted by functional handmade scoops decorated with teeth from a 1952 Chevy grille.

At the front, the grille was shortened and a new handmade grille bar inserted. The bumper was modified, the headlights frenched (the trim rings molded into the fenders for a cleaner look), and wraparound parking light moldings were made using 1950 Ford parts. The hood lost its chrome and was extended and reshaped to fit with the new grille opening. The rear was given frenched 1952 Lincoln taillights.

Inside, the car received a rolled and pleated upholstery. Noted pinstriper Von Dutch applied his art to the dash, and Hirohata himself made his own teardrop dash knobs from plastic.

1951 Hirohata Mercury

Once the customization was complete, Hirohata had the engine swapped with the mill from a 1953 Cadillac, earning the car the nickname “Mercillac.”

The car won several awards, was featured in numerous magazines, and appeared in the 1955 movie “Runnin’ Wild.” Hirohata drove it for a few years, then sold it in 1955. In 1959, a high school student named Jim McNeil found it on a used car lot. He drove it until 1964, and then put it away. It resurfaced in 1989, when Rod & Custom editor Pat Ganahl coaxed McNeil into restoring the car with the magazine’s help.

The revived Hirohata Merc appeared at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2015, and was then added to the National Historic Vehicle Register.

Now, this piece of automotive history can be yours. We’ll see if it sells and how much it goes for in January.

The last 1987 Buick Grand National ever built heads to auction with 33 miles on odometer

The last Buick Grand National ever made is heading to auction with Barrett-Jackson at the company’s flagship Scottsdale, Arizona, auction scheduled for Jan. 22-30, 2022.

The Grand National was Buick’s muscle car for the 1980s. A performance version of the Buick Regal, it used a turbocharged 3.8-liter V-6 instead of a traditional V-8, extracting a surprising amount of performance from General Motors’ aging rear-wheel drive G-body platform.

The turbo V-6 was good for 245 hp and 330 lb-ft of torque, and was coupled to a 4-speed automatic transmission. Buick also launched a GNX closeout special (short for Grand National Experimental) for the 1987 model year, which upped output to 276 hp and 360 lb-ft of torque.

The last 1987 Buick Grand National (photo via Barrett-Jackson)

The 1987 model year was the Grand National’s last because GM dropped the G-body in favor of a new front-wheel-drive platform for the Regal. A standard Grand National rather than a GNX, the last car was built on Dec. 11, 1987, marking not only the end of Grand National production, but also the end of production at GM’s Pontiac, Michigan, assembly plant, which had been building cars since 1927.

The last Grand National has been treated as a celebrity since it rolled off the assembly line 34 years ago. It’s been kept in a climate-controlled storage space and only brought out for special appearances, such as Buick’s 2003 centennial celebration in Flint, Michigan. It also appeared in the 2012 Grand National documentary “Black Air.” Today, it shows just 33 miles, according to the auction listing.

While there can only be one last Grand National, several other low-mileage examples have emerged from hibernation recently. Barrett-Jackson featured a GNX with just 8.7 miles earlier this year, and a 49-mile Grand National went up for auction in 2018. An unsold GNX with 202 miles was listed on Bring a Trailer last year, and also appeared on Jay Leno’s Garage.

A 1969 Ford Mustang once owned by Steve McQueen can be yours

A Ford Mustang previously owned by actor Steve McQueen will cross the Mecum Auctions block in Las Vegas next month. No, it’s not the 1968 fastback from “Bullitt,” but it is a genuine McQueen-owned Mustang, according to the auctioneer.

The car in question is a 1969 Ford Mustang fastback, with different styling than the iconic 1968 model, and it’s blue, not green. The listing says it’s powered by a 5.7-liter V-8, likely referring to the 351-cubic-inch engine available that year, which actually displaced 5.8 liters. It’s coupled to a 3-speed automatic transmission.

The Mustang currently shows 49,000 miles on its odometer, according to the listing. Judging by the accompanying photos, the car is a bit rough, with a distressed paint job. Select parts, including the ignition system, some hoses, and the oil pan gasket, have been replaced, the listing said.

1969 Ford Mustang owned by Steve McQueen (photo via Mecum Auctions)

Mecum doesn’t publish pre-auction estimates, but this Mustang is likely to sell for a lot less than the original “Bullitt” 1968 Mustang, which commanded $3.4 million at auction in 2020.

That car, which was ushered back into the spotlight in 2018 with help from Ford, spent decades in anonymity with a New Jersey family. At one point, McQueen asked to buy the car back, but his offer was turned down.

McQueen owned a wide variety of cars and motorcycles, and used many more in his movies. One of multiple Porsche 917K race cars used in McQueen’s 1971 “Le Mans” film was auctioned off earlier this year, while McQueen’s 1956 Jaguar XKSS currently resides in the collection of Los Angeles’ Petersen Automotive Museum.

Larry takes a nostalgic stroll through the AutoHunter docket

I don’t know about you, but when I page or click my way through a collector car auction catalog, I often stop to engage in a moment of nostalgia when I see a car that triggers very personal memories.

I had that experience again this week as I worked my way through the offerings on AutoHunter, the online auction platform driven by ClassicCars.com:

Larry takes a nostalgic stroll through the AutoHunter docket | Pontiac GTO

I was in college when the original Pontiac GTO lured me to our local Pontiac dealership. I couldn’t afford such a car, but I did seriously consider the LeMans on which it was based. As it ended up, I didn’t buy the LeMans either. Instead, I went to the local American Motors store where my grandparents had bought cars and had had good dealerships experiences.

Fast forward a few years and I’m working on a book about the development of the revived Chevrolet Camaro and how much of the engineering development of the sports coupe was done in conjunction with GM’s Australian arm, Holden.

As part of my research, I’d gone Down Under to ride along in early prototypes and larger I went to Germany to watch the Camaro do its fast lap at the Nürburgring. While in Europe, I was invited to tag along as the engineers did a development drive, my invitation made in part because I had borrowed a small van from Opel and the engineers decided it would be an ideal vehicle to carry all their luggage.

But they also had pity on me and my low-powered van, and a couple of times offered to drive it so I could experience one of their cars. In addition to Camaros, they’d brought along a prototype, a 4-door sedan, of the Holden-built Monaro what would become the basis of the Pontiac G6 and later the last-generation GTO.

Like the GTO, this engineering-development car had a powerful V8 engine and 6-speed manual gearbox, and it was an absolute blast to drive.

Which brings us to the 2006 Pontiac GTO being offered on AutoHunter. The car has a 6.0-liter LS2 V8 rated at 400 horsepower and connected to a 6-speed manual gearbox and limited-slip differential. The powertrain has been upgraded with an AEM intake and Corsa exhaust.

The car has been driven less than 66,000 miles since new.

Larry takes a nostalgic stroll through the AutoHunter docket | 2005 Mini Cooper

Several years ago, it appeared that a 1960s-era Mini had been abandoned in our church parking lot. I was on the church board at the time and no one seemed to know why the car was there. I even began the process of establishing that the car was abandoned with the thought that we’d gain the title and stage a fund-raising auction (which I planned to win).

Turned out that the car belonged to a friend of the pastor, who had told his friend the car could be left there while the friend was on an extended trip.

Old Minis are fun cars, but so are the newer ones, especially the Cooper-tweaked models. Basically, they’re street-legal go-karts.

The one up for bidding on AutoHunter is a one-owner car with M7 and other aftermarket tweaks to its supercharged 4-cylinder engine, and a Borla cat-back exhaust. The car, equipped with a 6-speed manual gearbox, also has suspension and brake-system upgrades.

Other features include navigation and Harmon Kardon audio.

This is a car that has been enjoyed, being driven 165,500 miles since new. Its sale includes the original engine components that were replaced with aftermarket parts as well as M7 parts that were not installed.

Larry takes a nostalgic stroll through the AutoHunter docket | Hudson Super Jet

In the era before shopping moved to suburban malls, there were such magnetic places at Macy’s in New York City, Marshall Field & Co. in Chicago, and the J.L. Hudson Company in Detroit. Each was a multi-story department store and destination that drew consumers and especially treated them with their Christmas holiday displays.

Joseph Lowthan Hudson also financed Roy Chapin’s fledgling car company, which was given Hudson’s name rather than Chapin’s.

Hudson produced cars from 1909 to 1954, when it was acquired by American Motors, which kept the brand alive for only a few more years. But the brand was innovative and is cherished. Personally, I enjoyed visiting the amazing Hostetler Hudson museum — and was sad to cover its funeral auction — and also enjoyed being one of the judges at the annual Orphan Car Show staged by the Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum, which is housed in a former Hudson dealership in southeastern Michigan.

Which brings us to the 1954 Hudson Super Jet up for bidding on AutoHunter, a car owned since new by the same family and driven less than 67,000 miles in all those years.

The car has an inline-6-cylinder engine and 3-speed column-mounted manual gearbox with overdrive.

The car has been repainted in its original teal green shade (with the wheels powder-coated to match), the engine has been rebuilt, the bumpers re-chromed, and the interior refurbished with new upholstery, door panels and carpet.

As you might expect from a family-owned and offered vehicle, the car isn’t quite perfect. Door latches need to be adjusted, the dome light and a radio knob are missing. On the other hand, the car is being sold with some spare trim pieces and 6-volt bulbs.

To view these and many other vehicles available, visit the AutoHunter website.

Despite pandemic, Mecum had a healthy 2020 and heads eagerly to Kissimmee as 2021 begins

Just before heading off to Florida for Mecum Auctions’ huge and annual collector car sale at Kissimmee, John Kraman looked back on 2020, the year interrupted, though only briefly for Mecum, by the coronavirus pandemic.

“We did 13 auctions,” said Kraman, who after many years as part of the auction company’s consignment team has become even better known for his television commentating for NBCSN’s coverage of Mecum sales.

Mecum sold cars in Florida, including the record-setting Bullitt Mustang, and motorcycles in Las Vegas in January, and next went to Glendale, Arizona, just as word of the pandemic was spreading and the Mecum team wondered if each day’s sales might be the last.

The auction was completed, but ensuing events were postponed while Mecum regrouped, came up with a health-safety plan that could be modified to meet local regulations and, starting in June, resumed live sales, something few other auction houses were able to do as they largely switched to online events.

Dana Mecum applies ‘Sold’ sticker to the Bullitt Mustang windshield | Mecum Auctions photo

Kraman said that Mecum also had strong online sales at its live events, though the effort pre-dated the pandemic. Online bids had accounted for less than 5 percent of Mecum’s business in recent years, and too often online bidders lost their connection after a few seconds.

Knowing that needed to change, the company instituted a major operation to improve both hardware and software. Kraman said the new system was in operation at Kissimmee in 2020 and has been smooth and seamless and, with many people reluctant to travel, helped account for nearly 20 percent of bids during the year.

Speaking of bidding, the majority of cars consigned to Mecum Auctions are done so with a reserve price, a minimum amount the seller expects before relinquishing the vehicle to the high bidder.

“Seventy to 75 percent is a strong sell-through for a reserve auction,” Kraman said, adding that in 2020 Mecum’s various auctions posted sell-throughs of 80 percent or better.

“It’s testament to the strength of the market,” he said. “The pandemic has not curtailed any interest at all. In fact, it’s just the opposite. It’s become more important to people to surround themselves with things that make them feel good.”

Instead of traveling to Europe and other exotic vacation destinations, people were buying recreational vehicles, all-terrain vehicles and buying collector cars. And more people had time to finish collector car projects they’d already started.

“It’s a situation of redefining priorities, not putting off decisions,” he said.

“All of us are getting older,” he noted, adding that situation also applies to those in their 50s who a decade ago were still raising their families.

“Life is short. I’m going to jump in while I can.”

Vignale-bodied 1952 Ferrari 340 America won’t cross the block, but will be offered at Mecum’s Gallery sale in Kissimmee | Mecum photo

One evidence of the generational shift among buyers, Kraman said, can be seen in a trend in the marketplace, where cars from the mid-1950s to early ‘60s remain popular, but those from the late ‘60s and early ‘70s “represent the huge majority of cars that trade hands.”

And the people buying them are, for the most part, from a generation that wasn’t even alive at the time, he added, explaining that many of those vehicles, including vintage Ford Broncos and Chevy C10 pickups, are being purchased and updated into resto-mods with modern powertrains, so they look original but can be driven comfortably in traffic.

Kraman said the fact that Mecum’s virus protocols have worked has resulted in strong turnouts since it returned to live sales. Live though restricted, that is. For example, at Kissimmee in January 2021, only bidders and consignors will be allowed into the auction block arena. Others buying general-admission tickets will have access to all other areas and will be able to see all but perhaps a handful of the vehicles on offer.

On the docket: Carroll Shelby’s own 1965 427 Cobra (above) and Mickey Thompson’s 1963 Corvette (below)

The Kissimmee auction, conducted at Osceola Heritage Park, runs from January 7-16, with vehicle sales beginning January 7. When the auction ends, the Mecum crew has only a few days to pack up and regroup at Punta Gorda, on Florida’s Gulf Coast, where it will handle the deaccession of the Muscle Car City museum. That sale is scheduled for January 22-23.

Usually, Mecum would be heading to Las Vegas about then for its 30th annual vintage and antique motorcycle auction, but restrictions at the South Point venue have caused the postponement of that sale, which has been re-scheduled for April 28-May 1 and moved to the Las Vegas Convention Center, where Mecum recently staged one of its collector car auctions.

As far as the docket for the Kissimmee sale, it includes cars from 25 collections. The docket also includes 22 Ferraris. That Ferrari figure includes a 1967 330 GTC, 1973 365 GTB/4 Daytona, and 2018 812 Superfast. But it does not include the 1952 Ferrari 340 America with Vignale coachwork (and 5th-place finisher at Le Mans) that will be offered at the Mecum Gallery exposition sale being staged in conjunction with the auction.

Among other featured lots among the 3,500 vehicles scheduled to cross the block are Carroll Shelby’s personal 1965 427 Cobra, Mickey Thompson’s personal 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 “tanker,” a 1965 GT350R Shelby Mustang, a pair of 1965 Shelby GT350s, a 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing and a ’67 300SL roadster, a 1970 Plymouth Hemi Superbird and a 1971 Plymouth Cuda convertible.

Plus a 1958 Dual-Ghia convertible, a 1964 289 Cobra and a 1967 427 Cobra, a 2018 Ford GT in Heritage livery, a 1970 Ford Torino Twister, a 2019 Porsche 911 Speedster, and a 1956 Chevrolet El Morocco convertible believed to be the last original example surviving.

Oh, and also matching 2005 and 2018 Ford GTs in Speed Yellow livery.

To see the full auction docket, visit the Mecum website.

Lincoln limousines among Kennedy items in Bonhams presidential auction

Two historically important Lincoln limousines that carried President John F. Kennedy – one of which he rode in on day that he was assassinated – will be offered during Bonhams’ live/online American Presidential Experience Auction in New York on October 14, just three weeks ahead of the presidential election.

The white 1963 Lincoln Continental convertible that was designated “Limo One,” and which carried the President and first lady on the morning of November 22, 1963, in Fort Worth with Texas Governor John Connally, has a pre-auction estimated value of $300,000 to $500,000.

The Lincoln, which was on loan from Bill Golightly of Golightly Auto Sales for the Fort Worth tour, carried the Kennedys and Connally to the Hotel Texas Ballroom, where Kennedy delivered his last speech, and then to Carswell Air Force Base where they boarded the flight to Dallas.

The other Lincoln is a 1960 Lincoln Continental Mark V Executive Limousine used by President Kennedy for personal trips in Washington, DC. The Mark V was specially outfitted by Hess and Eisenhardt for presidential use with bulletproof doors, divider window, passenger air controls and a two-way telephone in the back seat, which was an uncommon luxury for the period.

The car was sold in March 1964 to James C. Walsh, a doctor who had known John Kennedy. Walsh confirmed in a letter that “He [President Kennedy] did use this car for his own personal uses in contrast to the official use of the larger White House limousine.”

Valued at $200,000 to $300,000, the ’60 Lincoln has had its body restored but the interior is original, according to Bonhams.

Several unusual collector’s items from the Kennedy years also be auctioned, including two mockups that provided a glimpse into the President’s life.

Kennedy was known as the first jet-age president, when Air Force One became a Boeing 707, and a full-scale replica of the plane that was used as an exhibition piece for the public will be among the auction offerings.

“The replica includes the full cockpit, crew officers’ workstations, the state room where Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as President and the President’s quarters,” Bonhams says in a news release. “It recreates in minute detail the original designs by Raymond Loewy, who created the distinct blue livery which has been used for all Air Force One airplanes since.”

The display piece is valued at $200,000 to $300,000.

The replica Oval Office has been used as a television prop

Just as evocative is a full-scale mockup of the White House Oval Office, “complete with wooden panels, a fireplace and furniture including a scale fine-wood reproduction of the Resolute Desk,” Bonhams says.

The replica, which has been used on such TV programs as Saturday Night Live and The Today Show, is valued at $40,000 to $60,000.

A more-personal item from the Kennedy pieces is the leather Air Force One bomber jacket originally owned by the president. The government-issue G-1 flight jacket with the presidential seal sewn on was given by Kennedy to his close friend and “special assistant” David Powers during Kennedy’s term in office.

The presidential flight jacket is valued at $200,000 to $300,000.

Kennedy gave the leather flight jacket to close friend David Power

Bonhams will conduct the Presidential Experience Auction, which also includes a number of other historic presidential items, with a live auctioneer on the rostrum at the Bonhams’ showroom on Madison Avenue and live streamed on the Bonhams website, with bids accepted online, by phone or by absentee bidding.

The Kennedy limousines will be available for viewing at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Philadelphia from October 9 through 11, then by appointment at Motor Car Manor in Ramsey, New Jersey.

For more information, visit the Bonhams website.