Sox & Martin 1971 Plymouth Hemi 'Cuda Pro Stock

To put it bluntly, vintage race cars are cool. Sure, they may not be for everyone, but they still make up a segment of the collector-car hobby that doesn’t seem to have a ceiling right now (we’re talking growth and popularity, not an arbitrary figure hampered by the economy). Proof of this – to some degree of accuracy – can be found in Mecum Auctions‘ online catalog for their upcoming Kissimmee, Florida, auction, which is scheduled for January 26-30, 2011.

Aside from Bruce Larson’s 1963 Cobra DragonSnake we already mentioned, Lot S150.1 is sure to draw plenty of attention for the quarter-mile contingent: a Sox & Martin 1971 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda (pictured above) that dominated the Pro Stock ranks. According to the seller this is the 14-win Mopar that has since been subjected to a thorough restoration. Mecum officials project that it’ll cross the block at 3:55 on Saturday (Jan. 29) afternoon.

If neither of those tickle your vintage racing dreams of ownership, perhaps one of the other nine-plus racers will, including Lot S197: the hard-to-miss 1972 Ford Pinto campaigned by Bob Glidden – this is the car that won Pro Stock titles in 1974, ’75 and ’78. Lot F129 is a factory lightweight 1962 Ford Galaxie originally raced by Phil Bonner. Road racers might prefer Lot S108, a 1962 Chevy Corvette that finished third in class at Sebring in ’62. For those who like fast wagons, there’s Lot F146, a 427-powered 1967 Mercury Comet called “The Collector.” Another NHRA record holder is Lot S214, a 1968 Plymouth Hemi Barracuda once owned/driven by “Bullet Bob” Reed. Then there’s the former Ed Skelton-owned 1967 Ford Fairlane R-Code lightweight that’ll cross the block under the Lot F266 designation. We’re still not through, because we have not touched on Lot F163 (a 1964 Mercury A/FX Comet), or Lot S109 (a 1961 Chevy Corvette).

Not shown is Lot S166.1 (Grumpy’s 1974 Chevy Vega) or Lot T280 (a race-ready 1987 Alfa Romeo Spyder). And there’s no telling what could be added to the catalog in the coming days.