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Automotive Lifestyle
AUTOS: Muscle Cars Flex, Lead Barrett-Jackson Sale
Horsepower rules in Orange County as a pair of beefy 1970 Chevelles top the spread.
Bob Golfen  |  Posted June 27, 2010   Costa Mesa, CA
A 1970 Chevelle SS custom coupe sold for $250,000 in a charity sale to benefit the Armed Forces Foundation. (Photo: Barrett-Jackson)
Mighty muscle cars ruled the day at Barrett-Jackson’s “prime time” Saturday auction in Orange County, with a very rare and highly desirable 1970 Chevelle LS6 convertible reaching the high point at $253,000, including buyer’s fee.

This Chevy has it all, said Craig Jackson, auction CEO, as he cajoled the bidders: a top-notch restoration of a fully documented LS6 painted Fathom Blue and packing a 454-cubic-inch V8 and four-speed stickshift.

The 1970 Chevelle LS6 convertible, a rare holy grail for muscle car fanatics, is powered by a 450-horsepower V8. (Photo: Barrett-Jackson)
“This is a blue-chip car; it doesn’t get any better than this,” Jackson said.

The Chevelle was described in the Barrett-Jackson catalog as “arguably the pinnacle of the muscle car heap and one of the most sought-after combinations ever to pound the pavement.”

On the block, the bidding stopped at $230,000 when the auctioneer cried “Sold!” Jackson said that for that price, he would have bought the car himself, “if I didn’t have a rule not to bid against my own customers.”

Technically, the Chevelle finished second to the charity auction of another highly desirable 1970 Chevelle, a custom-built SS coupe whose sale benefited the Armed Forces Foundation. That car reached $250,000 on the block, but since Barrett-Jackson waives all fees for charity sales, the final price came in $3,000 behind the LS6.

Following these special Chevelles were three more high-horsepower entries:

An enormous supercharged Hemi V8 is jammed under the hood of the Willys street rod. (Photo: Bob Golfen)
• The movie-star 1970 Plymouth Road Runner, a custom beauty called The Hammer that appeared in two “The Fast and the Furious” films and numerous publications, hit $187,000, including fee.

• An absolutely splendid 1967 Chevy Corvette 427 roadster that earned a prestigious Bloomington Gold Award, reached $181,500, with fee.

• One of the auction’s marquee cars, an evocative drag-racing-homage 1940 Willys street rod, also reached $181,500. The gleaming black rod, suitable for street or strip, packs an 870-horsepower supercharged Hemi V8 and a manual-reverse four-speed transmission for very quick getaways.

Before the Willys came up on stage, owner Paul Wells of Las Vegas told how he found the car 10 years ago in a turkey coop in Charlotte, N.C., owned by a guy who wore bib overalls.

He was always a huge fan of the old-school drag racers who competed in race cars built from small, lightweight Willys coupes, Wells said, and quested for one to build for himself in remembrance.

“This is something I’ve wanted since high school,” said the 58-year-old Wells, who grew up in Utah.

The gigantic chrome-plated engine and towering blower attracted a crowd, not to mention the high-performance DVD/flat-screen TV and pounding audio system installed in the trunk.

“At car shows, everything you have extra is a few extra points,” Wells said.

The retro-inspired Thunderflite custom creation sold for way less than expected by builder Dino Arnold (in black cowboy hat). (Photo: Bob Golfen)
Saturday sales were a mixed bag, with some high-quality cars selling at bargain prices in the no-reserve auction and other, lesser examples hitting big numbers. Jackson was practically apoplectic when the pristine 1971 Dodge Challenger convertible used in the TV series “The Mod Squad” went for just $45,000, before fee.

“This could be the buy of the show right here,” Jackson said.

Another disappointing result came for the Thunderflite, a unique 1961 Thunderbird custom with space-age bodywork and a clear double-bubble roof. Designer and builder Dino Arnold had said he expected the striking and multiple award-winning creation to reach well into six figures, but it stalled on the block at $77,000, not including auction fee.

The highly publicized custom 1936 Ford coupe owned by West Coast Choppers’ Jesse James was bid up to a respectable $150,000.

Saturday morning, Barrett-Jackson reported that its Friday sales were higher than expected, at $4.25 million, and the crowd estimate was 17,000. On Saturday, the crowds were noticeably bigger, with the auction tent packed standing-room only during the afternoon bidding.

Bob Golfen, Automotive Editor for SPEED.com, is a veteran auto writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, who has driven and evaluated essentially every new vehicle sold in the United States. A lifelong car enthusiast with a passion for collector cars, car culture and the automotive lifestyle, he annually attends and writes about Arizona's famous January collector-car auctions, focusing on Scottsdale’s monumental Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Event and other Barrett-Jackson auctions. SPEED.com fans email Automotive Editor Bob Golfen at
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