The "It's Showtime!!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Snapping photos left and right!  Just love the cars that are scattered all over the Farm Show Arena, inside and outside, for the 1st Mecum Auto Auction.  My friend Dale and I made a trip to see the auction in real time, since watching it on TV just about every day wasn't good enough.  Dale just called to tell me that the projected sales of $10 Million had turned out to be $20 Million, so they have decided to return next year.  I have included photos and some basic information about some of the cars that were crossing the auction block during the three-day auction in Harrisburg, PA.  Hope you can find one that you may have been interested in bidding on during the auction.  I'm sure that reruns of this auction will find their way onto Velocity Network in the near future.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

(5 pohtos) This is a 1931 Ford Model A Roadster with a 3-speed manual transmission.  Features a four cylinder engine and a neat rumble seat on the rear compartment.  Luggage rack can be seen on the bottom photo.  Notice the great leather seats and the spoked wheels.

(3 photos) This is a 1935 Ford Paddy Wagon with a three-speed trans.  It is one-of-a-kind and has never been restored.  Has an 85 Horsepower V-8 flathead engine and has 27,000 original miles on it.  It originally belonged to the city of Endicott, NY and was in service from 1935 to the early 1960's.  Lettering on the side panels is in real gold.  Pretty neat to own it and learn all the stories that go with it.

(3 photos) This subdued looking car is a 1966 Chevrolet Biscayne.  It's small chrome hubcaps, beautiful blue paint job and light blue interior doesn't lead one think to think that it has a 454 Cubic Inch with 350 Horsepower under the hood.

(4 photos) This 1937 Ford Custom Pickup is great.  It has Ford power with a 351 engine stroked to 393 CI.  The hardtop is removable and the leather interior is beautiful.  The silver paint seems to glow and I love the raked looked of the truck.

(6 photos) This is one of my favorite colors for a classic car.  This 1956 Mercury Monterey has a 3-speed transmission on the floor.  Has a Lincoln 312 CI V-8 engine and the details that it has make it a favorite.  Everything from the chrome body trim to the tear-drop spotlight, bullet hubcaps, chrome side pipes and bar grill to the suicide spinner on the steering wheel make it a winner. 

(5 photos) This was probably my favorite car that was to be auctioned.  It is a 1941 Willy's Blown Gasser that features a 526 CI engine, Dart Big Chief 12 degree heads, solid roller cam and Jesel rockers & lifters  All this adds up to 1100 HP when using 92 octane gas.  Over $150,000 has already been invested in it.  The wheelie bars at the rear of the car are made from titanium.  You can almost hear the roar of the engine and smell the rubber on the street when it accelerates while it stands still in the Farm Show Arena.  Would love to see it run sometime.   My 1953 Henry J, which was my first car, would look great done like this.  If only ........