Mecum Auction Reender Collection

[HalcyonDays]

A lot of nice Model A's crossed the auction block yesterday. It was advertised as a farm equipment auction and held on a Thursday. No reserve on most cars a 180A Deluxe Phaeton $35K, A400 $28K, 68C cabriolet $24K, Victoria $13.5K, '31 Roadster Pickup $26K and 30/31 Roadsters $25K. The cars all looked to be in very nice condition.


Anyone go to the auction or have thoughts on the collection?

[alexiskai]

Someone took a risk on that 35-B. Nice body and top, but they had to push it onto the stage. $19,500 including the auctioneer's fee seemed too high.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by alexiskai

Someone took a risk on that 35-B. Nice body and top, but they had to push it onto the stage. $19,500 including the auctioneer's fee seemed too high.

I am not sure that it was out of line as I think that is the direction things are going. You likely bought yours just at the right time.

Many things that would likely affect it being pushed across the auction block. I am guessing you don't know why it was pushed but maybe the car was running earlier and ran out of gas? Maybe with that carburetor set-up the head-pressure of the fuel was too low that caused that? Maybe someone tried to start the engine incorrectly and ran the battery down so the auctioneer just waived it onto the stage?? I will say that sometimes people's mindsets on something like that scenario is they know they wanted it but because they think it will run, their hope is they can 'steal' it at a value. Then you have several that have that same mindset which causes the bidding to escalate quickly.

It sure did not seem like any effort was spent on detailing them, did it? The color combination is not authentic nor is the cheap Cartouche interior however it does appear to be a flashy car that might appeal to someone's spouse. Therefore if the buyer was getting encouragement, then it was a good deal. I do think the car likely had a 'shallow' restoration in that they door latches were not rebuilt, and the running boards were the cheapest ones available (note the sag). BTW, did you notice the R/F tire??

[HalcyonDays]

I was surprised at how fast the cars moved across the block, not more than a minute on stage. The Vicky at $14K seemed low, but difficult t determine condition based on photos.



I was more curious why the collection was sold on a Thursday in what was advertised as a tractor auction. Did not seem like the place to get the highest price for the cars.

[Jeff/Illinois]

How about that 1911 Model T Touring car selling for $40K, and the '32 Ford Roadster pickup at 64 thousand?

The '48 Diamond T dually pickup was cool, sold for north of 60K. Neat truck. Has to be kind of rare.

Prices seemed strong. Mecum has a strong following. I don't think with them it would make a huge difference what day the auction was on at least here in the Midwest. I live 25 miles from this sale and actually forgot about it. It was raining around here anyway so I guarantee there was a BIG farmer crowd at this sale.

That '36 Ford PU has been around the block, it sold at a Mecum sale in Houston in 2017 for $33,500. This year it shows up in East Moline and sells at $34,100. No profit made there after subtracting entry fees, seller's commission, and transportation. There was/ is plenty wrong with this truck that would take many thousands of dollars to straighten out, from the wrong engine color to the VERY wrong body color combo (Ford did offer fleet colors upon special order to generate sales, but even then baby poop brown doesn't cut it) to the WOOD on the bed floor Ford never did that, to the wrong seat upholstery.

[HalcyonDays]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Do you know of anyone that attended the auction or had the opportunity to see the Reender collection in person?

[alexiskai]

Originally Posted by BRENT in 10-uh-C

BTW, did you notice the R/F tire??

Seriously – I was thinking "Didn't anyone check the two side spares for a whitewall?" Although given the yellowing of the other 3, maybe that would've stood out as well.

Looks like the original collector passed away 7 years ago. If nobody's started it for 7 years, that could account for the failure to run.

Did you recognize the carb? It wasn't one I was familiar with.

[Bob-A]

alexiskai,


I don't know about the carburetor, but the intake manifold is an early accessory Stromberg one.


Bob-A

[Jeff/Illinois]

Originally Posted by HalcyonDays

Do you know of anyone that attended the auction or had the opportunity to see the Reender collection in person?

Yes a retired farmer friend went and he told me that prices were strong across the board in his estimation.

He doesn't know Model A Fords all that well, he is a tractor collector, but he told me the Model A's were real nice cars in his opinion and he would have been proud to have owned any of them