There are two new auctions in Scottsdale next month, one brand new from Scottsdale International Auto Museum, one from the more established Motoexotica. With Kruse gone and ICA scheduling no 2011 auctions, it’s really a wash in terms of the number of sales. Like Kruse and ICA, neither SIA Museum nor Motoexotica are trying to go head-to-head with the established names. SIA Museum, in fact, runs this weekend on January 1-2, and Motoexotica is two weeks later, January 14-15.
SIA Museum’s auction is part of the opening and despite a low profile, manages to have some interesting stuff, headlined by a couple of cars I recognize. The oddball ex-Howard Hughes 1936 Lincoln Model K boattail I’d know anywhere, and since selling for $1 million at Leake in 2009, it popped up a few more times that year, never equaling that total. They also list a 1931 Duesenberg Murphy Convertible Sedan in two-tone red that looks awfully familiar, but there’s only a thumbnail, too small to reproduce here. Visit SIA Museum and let me know if you can ID it.
Missouri-based Motoexotica has been doing business since the late Eighties as a retailer, started holding auctions in the last few years. For their Arizona debut, they’re working with used-car giants Manheim, out of their big, permanent facility at the western edge of Phoenix. It’ll be interesting to see what they end up with; as I’ve mentioned before, there used to be a lot of wheeling and dealing at Kruse and ICA in the week before the B-J/RM/Gooding/Silver auctions.
In any case, between their contacts, good PR and Manheim’s pull, I expect it’ll be worth attending, and prices will almost certainly be reasonable. One I’d jump on is the ‘71 Trans Am above. It’s not my beloved Super Duty and it’s not perfect, but it is a 455 HO with a build sheet and looks ready to go.
Here are two from Motoexotica for Dan and the rest of you whose appetites have been whetted by recent Finds of the Day. The 1976 Pacer claims to be a local car with a single repaint over what looks like a good interior.
The 1969 Wagoneer has been breathed on, with TH400 and 350 smallblock, not to mention those directional wheels, but I do love that body style and it’d make a fine weekend bomber/parts hauler, a good base for a cool offroader, or resto candidate.
Lastly, less you think I’m a complete philistine, there’s an absolutely killer 1954 Jaguar XK120. If the provenance is right this is one great car. That color, with blackwalls and stone guards, just say serious driving to me.