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revvinkevin

revvinkevin

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For you car guys & gals out there............

 

Lambrecht Chevrolet in Pierce, Nebraska was in business from 1946 until it closed it's doors in 1996.   Apparently it's been sitting untouched since the doors closed.

 

The total contents (NOS parts, tools, some advertising, most importantly the CARS!) will be auctioned off the weekend of September 28th & 29th, 2013.  

 

The amazing thing is there are nearly 500 cars and more than 40 of them have LESS THAN 10 MILES with the window sticker still in the window!

 

A pretty amazing!

 

Kevin



 

http://www.vanderbrinkauctions.com/auctions_details.php?detail=135&allimages=NO

 

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/...op-chevrolet-dealership-going-up-for-auction/

 
 
I don't think a dealership this small would have 500 cars on hand. Barrett Auto Auctions is probably adding a bunch to create more interest.

Notice that all these cars were being pushed rather than driven? That's because they need a lot of work done on them. For certain all the hoses and belts will need to be replaced due to dry rot. The fuel tank will need to be sent out to remove the tar like sludge from the evaporating fuel. The engine & trans will need a full drain and clean out. They will need new tires as the dry rot and flat spots have ruined them. I would probably flush the entire engine & trans just to make sure all the globby oil has been removed and to lubricate the dry engine cylinder walls.

And the plastic seat covers on the seats for all those years have probably dry rotted the interior vinyl & cloth seats. And even though the cars were inside a building enough UV has hit some of those cars to cause fading of the paint.

But for someone willing to do the work, they could have almost one of a kind auto on their hands.

Here in Houston on the 1st weekend of May a yacht club holds a Concours d' Elegance
car show. It is something else looks show room ready. They also have an auto auction too. Some of the most amazing cars come up for sale there. Lots of them will have bids that are near $1 mil.

Last year they had a 1967 Chevrolet Impala SS 396 white on white convertible. Just an outstanding car and in true Concours condition. It had just about every factory option on it. I really wanted it, but when the bidding exceeded $100,000 I couldn't even think about it.

http://www.keels-wheels.com/
 
Barrett Auto Auctions... adding a bunch to create interest

 

 

Allen, did you take the time to click the links and read the articles?   Barrett Jackson auctions has NOTHING to do with this auction.   

 

Also, of course there are not 500 vehicles in that small dealership building, that doesn't mean there are not cars stored in other buildings.    Look at the auction website and open the PDF which lists every car to be auctioned, there are nearly 500 listed.

 

>> Notice that all these cars were being pushed rather than driven?

Well yes, what do you expect them to do with a car that's been sitting the last 40+ years, just turn the key and start it?   

 

Why are you being such a "debbie downer" about this.   I posted this so share a pretty incredible find, but I guess I made a mistake posting it here.

 

Kevin

 

P.S.... just because all these cars and misc stuff from the dealership in this very small town (population 1755) are to be auctioned off... does not mean this is a high dollar auction with turn-key, fully restored cars that sell in the 6 to 7 figure range like you see at many Barrett-Jackson, Mecum or R-M auctions on TV.

[this post was last edited: 6/25/2013-12:23]
 
Some of those cars brought tears to my eyes. I'd certainly like to cash in on either one of the '63 Impalas, the '64 or the '56 model.

I know it's not nice to pray for money, but maybe "God" (or whatever the spiritual entity is) will give me a break and let me win a few million in one of the lotteries here in MO. so I can afford one of these fine beauties. :)
 
Well Kevin, I am glad you posted it. It's always great to see such a great source of classic cars revieled, as it is with vintage washers as in the Appliance Burial grounds.

Although not perfect, this is a chance for people who are less fortunate to own a classic car instead of having to pay a small fortune for them.

BTW, we had a 1960 Impala Sport Sedan in white, so a 1959 will not do. ;-)
 
I'm sorry you were so darned offended by my remarks.

I didn't mean to be a "double downer" on this subject. I was just letting people know what even though these cars are "new" they can't simply be driven off into the sunset without an inspection and part replacement. Believe me, there are people out there who think they could just drive them off. I've restored cars before and belonged to classic auto car clubs before and I've seen examples similar to this.

There have also been people who think the same thing about airplanes that have been sitting in hangars for years and years. Just get in and fly away. Usually with fatal results.

Are you aware that Pierce, NE is only a town of less than 1 square mile and has a population of about 1,700 people? How in the world could they accumulate so many cars?

Anyway I am so glad that you posted this link. It was fun reading it. I guess I am just too practical for some. [this post was last edited: 6/25/2013-13:17]
 
The folk's had the 1963 Belair

Kevin thanks for posting this.  I would love to get one of the Impala's.  I think the 63's had the green  "cold" light on the dash.  It was a very useful feature when we lived in Michigan.  I think the "engine cold" light was linked to the thermostat in the radiator, when the light went out you knew you could turn the heater on blast. Mom could get the "cold" light to go off much sooner than Dad (LOL).  Thanks for the post, the dream and the memories.  Arthur
 
Well.....like the old adage,

They're only original once. The moment tires start getting swapped and fuel tanks are flushed is the point at which the value starts to drop. Half the fun is tackling the small stuff like that, and the new owner has the satisfaction of knowing the replacement parts are correct and the work is done right.

These Barrett Jackson cars are no more authentic than a PT Cruiser. Over-restored, over plated, body parts and trims ordered out of a catalog. No, these small town auctions and barn finds are where it's at!
 
Wow!

I really enjoyed this,and there was apic of cars in a warehouse.The Chrysler dealer hear in Hampton used to do the same thing,but they were outside, so sad most went to ruin.Most of the time all you have to do is file the points,put in a fresh batery gas and they will start.My doctor bought a 1950 Desoto with 3,000 miles on it.It was covered and on stands for 47 years.Took very little to get her going,even the original tires I think are still on it.They were the last time I saw it. That 58 Chevrolet Cameo is worth a small fortune,it has a fiberglass rear body on it.Thanks again for posting,its so interesting, Bobby
 
Thanks, Kevin!

Many of those cars were customer trade ins that sat outside all these years. I think around 50 with less than 10mi on the clock? Just too cool. I hear that there are two 'new' Vegas mixed in there. Better not tell Tim (Macboy91si) about them!

Ducks and runs...

RCD
 
As We Collectors Know All To Well

News travels fast, especially for NOS or nearly new items, so it shouldn't come as a surprise worldwide attention has been focused on this upcoming auction.

It is all but a given that anyone thinking of attending and bidding should know how to roll with the big dogs.

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130624/CARNEWS01/130629911
 
@frigilux

Several years ago when one was just a wee new member posted a link to an eBay auction for a warehouse full of NOS Frigidaire parts and so forth. Apparently the place was a family business and the "kids" were liquidating everything.

Long story short the group in general found out who won the auction and rolled up with a semi to haul away the stash, but somewhere out there somebody copped the lot.
 
It is all but a given that anyone thinking of attending and bidding should know how to roll with the big dogs.

Not necessarily. A lot of the people you see examining the cars at auctions bring along their favorite mechanic to examine the cars before the auction. Then they bid accordingly. And surprisingly some buyers don't even attend the auction. They just give an employee $150,000 and tell them "Come back with something interesting."

I knew John O'Quinn the famous Houston lawyer with a personal car collection of over 600 cars. He liked cars with histories. Like Marilyn Monroe's white on red 54' Cadillac convertible. Pope John Paul's original Ford Escort. This was his last car before becoming the Pope. Dean Martin's 66 Pontiac Grand Prix. He also had Joan Crawford's 48' Chrysler convertible. All of these cars are in concours condition. In fact he had a private "invitation only" building that stored them all under one roof.

John had 4 or 5 very trusted buyers that would scout cars for him. But he very rarely went to an auction himself.
 
Collection?

More like a junk yard.

I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but cars that have been left out exposed to the elements for a few decades or more are a huge project to whip back into presentable shape. There's a handful of cars that were kept inside the dealership building, but the majority of the 500 cars at auction were left out in a field on the family farm for decades. It's not quite like the proverbial rare classic found sheltered in a barn for years. Maybe the Chevys can be salvaged, because there is such an abundance of aftermarket body panels and trim available for these, but for the other brands, good luck.
 
After watching the video on one of the links... the auction "house" - really a husband and wife team - should be reprimanded for setting metal parts like hubcaps and steering wheels on top of the few cars in the auction that were "new" and kept for years in the dealership building. Amazingly stupid and careless.
 
I think the people doing this auction may have had good intentions, but may have simply been overwhelmed by the number of cars they had.

There was a guy I knew that had about 8 classic cars. A 72 Pontiac convertible,
4 Chrylser-Maserati cars from the 80s, a 4 door Cadillac that he claimed was the biggest 4 door Cadillac ever made in standard production, and a few other Cadillacs from the 70's-80's.

The house he lived in was small. He begged his friends for 1 car space in their garages. He only drove a 1990 Cadillac himself. So his mechanic told him he would store the cars for free. He thought the mechanic would take in 6 of them and store them somewhere in his garage. Nope, he stored them on the lot behind the mechanic's shop. The guy wasn't charging him any storage fees.

Unfortunately, this guy passed on quite suddenly from a heart attack. So his sister handled the estate. When she went to look at the cars, the mechanic said her brother hadn't been by to see the cars in at least 8 years. After sitting outside in the Texas sun for 8 years and exposed to the elements, it wasn't a pretty site.

Most of the cars paint was peeled off, the roof on the Pontiac Convertible had just rotted away leaving the interior open to the elements. She tried listing the cars in Hemmings, tried local classifieds, even tried Craigslist but there were no takers. The few people who came to look at the cars turned around and said "no thank you". So the cars were hauled off to the junkyard for scrap.

I helped a guy once with an authentic "barn find". It was a 1967 VW Sqareback that was located in the small Texas hill country town of Comfort, Tx. It was in a barn since the mid 70's. It didn't look too bad just filled with all kind of fluff & grasses and weeds. We towed it back to Houston into a storage building. When we rolled it off the trailer the guy in the drivers seat jumped out pretty quick. He said there "are noises in that car". What they had was a car that had a family of rattlers in it. They were all buried in the debris in the car. He opened the back hatch an a few of them came out. At that point I said no way was I going to work on that car with those snakes in it. I heard later on that he just parted the car out and it wasn't in the greatest shape and he felt it wasn't worth restoring.
 
This story has hit Yahoo! news now.

 

Respective project scopes notwithstanding, this is still an impressive collection of vintage cars.  When was the last time anybody saw a car with less than ten miles on the odometer that was also a candidate for restoration?  It's not a selling point, but for that characteristic alone there are some unique finds here, and the cars have a history behind them and in some cases their original window stickers, all of which provides value.

 

 
 
Maybe that catch of vintage cars should go to a museam-there they could be preserved for all to see.If they go on the road-you can be sure they will be worn out,modified, or even crashed.Bad end for such historic cars.surprized GM wouldn't want to buy them back for a museam they could set up.Don't know if GM has such a thing-here is a start!
 
The NOS cars that were stored indoors will hopefully go to people who won't ratrod, donk, or "improve" them with every non stock item they can find. I'm certainly not talking about having to replace original hoses, tires, batteries, anything else that 40 plus years of non use can be a hazard or inconvenience to deal with. I would hate to see anyone take one of the new cars and replace everything usable, or redo paint and upholstery that hasn't been ravaged by UV rays or dry rot. 
 
The NOS cars that were stored indoors will hopefully go to people who won't ratrod, donk, or "improve" them with every non stock item they can find. I'm certainly not talking about having to replace original hoses, tires, batteries, anything else that 40 plus years of non use can be a hazard or inconvenience to deal with. I would hate to see anyone take one of the new cars and replace everything usable, or redo paint and upholstery that hasn't been ravaged by UV rays or dry rot.

Now you're talking. I'm sort of a persist when it comes to cars. The more original they are the more I like them. But at local auto shows these kind of cars hardly ever win a prize. The ones that do win are the ones that have been turned into low riders, custom day glo paint, and all kind of "lighting effects" added. I am sure there is a market for them. I hope none of the new owners decides to take a chainsaw to the car and cut the roof off just to make a "cool convertible". I've seen that one several times.
 
This is only a couple of hours North and West from Omaha - it would be fun to see the cars and the auction. Norfolk, a small city just a few minutes from Pierce, NE should be able to handle the influx of buyers easily.

Could be a fun September day. We should plan a party!
 
For the prices that I'm sure the garaged NOS cars will go for, they will probably go to people who appreciate them.  If you want a vintage Cameo, Impala, Corvair, Vega, etc. to pimp out, you can find one that runs for a whole lot cheaper than I bet the inside cars will go for. Rich(er) collectors are going to come out of the woodwork, so they can say they put the 2nd, 11th, or 50th mile on a vintage collectable.  I can't blame them for it, I would too in that situation.  They will be able to put the money into the cars that they need.  
 

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