World's Biggest Classic Car Auction: 3,500 Cars 3rd-13th January

Mecum Kissammee, Florida, is by some margin the biggest classic and collectors car auction in the World, taking place 3rd to 13th January 2019. Here are just four of the highlights:

Main Picture: 1967 Pontiac GTO: 400 CI engine, Air conditioning, Power brakes, Power steering, 10 bolt rear end, up at No Reserve.

1950 Plymouth Convertible custom: 340 CI Mopar engine; Dual Holley carburetors; Mopar 940 transmission; Power steering; Power brakes; Vintage Air; 2 inch chop top; Power windows; Air Ride Technologies airbag suspension, up at No Reserve.

Raymond Lowey classic 1955 Studebaker Commander: 224 CI engine; Automatic transmission. Up at No Reserve.

1941 Lincoln convertible: 289 CI engine; Automatic transmission; 4-barrel carburettor; Power steering; Power brakes; Air conditioning; Tilt steering column. Up at No Reserve.

1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1: No. 15 of 69 produced, this 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is one of the most impressive cars of the classic muscle-car era, indeed, of any period in 20th-century automotive history. The ZL1 was conceived by La Harpe, Illinois, Chevrolet dealer Fred Gibb and produced under Central Office Production Order 9560, the directive employed surreptitiously by Chevrolet Product promotions manager Vince Piggins. COPO 9560 specified F41 heavy-duty suspension, power front disc brakes, ZL2 cowl-induction hood, a choice of heavy-duty Muncie 4-speed manual or Hydra-Matic 3-speed automatic transmissions and Chevrolet’s extra-strength 12-bolt Positraction rear end with 4.10 gears; but the heart of the ZL1 was its aluminum-block 427 CI engine based on the notorious L88 and developed in concert with Chaparral Cars for the Can Am series. Equipped with the Muncie M21 close-ratio 4-speed, this car was sold new to Dick Harrell Performance on May 28, 1969. Harrell’s Supercars shop in Kansas City, Missouri, prepared it for drag racing and then sold it to Jim Leatherman, who raced it as “The Leatherman” in 1969 and 1970. After decades, it was discovered in 2001 by its present owner, who took it to Bay Lake Restorations in Mascotte, Florida, and GM Muscle in Hudson, Florida, for a restoration that took five years to complete. Finished once again in the factory Cortez Silver with a black standard bucket-seat interior, No. 15 boasts the “Tonawanda Number 1 Team” decal on the right valve cover and “Dick Harrell Performance, Inc.” decals and emblems on the engine, cowl, quarter panels, rear deck and dash. Typical of the ZL1 Camaros, this example is equipped with a functional steel cowl-induction hood and associated air cleaner, color-matching painted steel wheels with dog-dish center caps, Goodyear Polyglas tires, a Hurst shifter, Stewart Warner 8,000 RPM tachometer and Stewart Warner auxiliary oil-pressure, coolant-temperature and amp gauges. The wildest production Camaro of its era, this ZL1 won Classic Chevy International Platinum in 2006 and remains in beautiful condition. Estimated at $450,000 to $650,000.

Link for more information: Mecum Kissammee 2019: Where the Cars Are.