Barrett-Jackson and Karl Kustom Corvettes

Not only is there a ton of beautiful cars at Barrett-Jackson auctions, there are also a lot of venders.  Anything from car care products, to engine builders to custom building shops.

One of those was Karl Kustom Corvettes located in Des Moines, Ia.  I had a chance to speak with Jim Hidy one of the reps for Karl Kustom at the auction this past January.

SWEET!!!!

 

Nice looking car, yes?  HELL YES.  But there some interesting things I didn’t know about these custom Vettes and how they are made.

I spoke with Jim at length and I have to tell you that how I thought these were made wasn’t even close and how they are made was pretty surprising to me.  Jim set me straight.

Great Creation

 

These are of course C6 machines with the look of the  60’s Vettes.  All the great handling and power of the C6 underpinning and classic looks.  I thought ‘how cool they manufacture a body that snaps on the C6 frame.  But that’s not how it’s done.

More coming up in Part 2.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

What’s Coming Up – Karl Kustoms, PodCasts, More Barrett-Jackson and a Give-Away

Here’s what’s coming up.

A conversation with Jim Hidy from Karl Kustom Corvettes.

Give-Away  Contest –  1934 V- Ford Deluxe Roadster and 1932 V8 Ford Convertible.

 

PodCasts Update

More from Barrett Jackson.

 

Stay tuned by subscribing or grabbing the feed.

Thanks for reading

Tim

So What Did it bring at Barrett Jackson? – 1957 DeSoto Adventurer

This fantastic car sold for  $225,500.00.  See pic and video blow.
Year: 1957
Make: DESOTO
Model: ADVENTURER
Style: CONVERTIBLE
VIN: 50417567
Exterior Color: GOLD
Interior Color:
Cylinders: 8
Engine Size: 345

The 345

 

 

Thanks for reading

Barrett-Jackson – Car Art

I love car art, whether it be paintings of cars or car parts, photographs of either, hood ornaments, door handles, even bumpers and grills.  From time to time I pick up piece, or my wife does. 

My Son is a digital art’s major and photographer and he takes some great shots and produce some fantastic images.  The image of the two corvettes at an auto cross is his creation.  Interesting enough the red vette was my 1984 and the black C6 was an oman, as I now own a black C6.

At Barrett-Jackson besides beautiful cars there is a huge area for venders and car art is everywhere and yes my wife did find a piece for me from photographer Shane Knight – I’ll get to him in another entry.  But it is a mecca for creating your own car art.  It’s a bit crowded to set up you easel and whip out your paint brushes or charcoal, but a good camera and a little skill even the Average Guy and get some shot to take home and play with.

Now I can’t say as I have a great eye for doing this myself but over the next posts associated with this title, I’ll show you some that we took.  Believe it or not my wife did a great job with just her new Iphone 4S camera and of course my son with his higher end digital camera and lens.

First up is a shot my son took.  I can’t recall the car but I bet someone out there can.

Photo by RJS - prints are available

 
Great looking dashand side mirror.  Steering wheel is of course, not original.   This is one of my favorites.
 
Thanks for reading.
Tim

Barrett-Jackson Results – The Tucker

Having attended the Barrett-Jackson Auction in Scottsdale, Az. and blogging about it, thought I’d make a few entries as a follow-up.

I written about previous times I’ve attended (actually it is a family and friend affair – last year  went with friends and the previous and this year our son was able make room in his schedule to go) and how much fun it is and all of the events.

An additional thrill is being there in person and seeing some of the rarest cars on the planet.

Case in point is this Tucker.  That eventually sold for $ 2.9 million!!!  This picture is from Hemmings:

Beautiful car...but...

…Under the lights and in person….

1948 Tucker A beauiful Car!!!

Truly a great piece of history.

More coming…like…..wonder where some of those Win Both Vettes or Mustangs end up?   You’ll see.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

Five vehicles from Ron Pratte’s collection set to cross the block at Barrett-Jackson – Hemmings.com


Tucker #1043. Photos courtesy Barrett-Jackson

The big Scottsdale auction week is finally here, now with six companies set to to drop the hammer on literally thousands of collector cars in a mere handful of days. In typical fashion, Barrett-Jackson was the first to usher cars through the stage lights, and it’s here where we’ve been alerted to the probable sale of this 1948 Tucker (chassis #1043) currently owned by none other than noted Barrett-Jackson attendee and enthusiastic car collector Ron Pratte.

Specific details about the Tucker are lacking, other than mention of its restoration, on Barrett-Jackson’s auction description. And we use the phrase “probable sale” simply because unlike most of the lots at B-J, the Tucker is listed as having an undisclosed reserve. That said, Mike Schutta of the Tucker Historical Foundation, provided more insight.

This car is very nice and most Tucker fans are keeping a close eye on this auction to see if it will set a new record price for a Tucker. The current record is $1,127,500 paid for Tucker #1045 about 18 months ago. This Tucker is in much better condition.

An interesting tidbit is that Tucker #1043 was used as part of an advertising scheme for a golf driving range in a western suburb of Chicago back in the ’50s. It was painted Tropical Rose and Snowshoe White to match the driving range buildings.

While surfing through the Barrett-Jackson website for more information on the Tucker, we stumbled upon four other Ron Pratte-owned vehicles that will also be offered at Westworld during the weekend, beginning with the car pictured above: the 1947 Bentley Mark VI with coachwork by Franay. The Bentley was last offered for sale by Barrett-Jackson – at no reserve – at their 2006 Palm Beach auction, where the hammer fell at $1,728,000 (including buyer’s premium). At that sale, details of the Bentley were as follows:

4.5 Liter Inline 6 with a four-speed. Coachbuilt by Franay. Magnificent restoration to Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance winning standards. This is the first major winning Concours d’Elegance car after WWII. Winning the first two major Concours in 1948, back-to-back, on the 12th of June at Enghien and the 17th of June at Bois de Boulogne. Mr. Gudol, the original owner and visionary of the Franay, was an industrialist whose sole purpose was to prove to the world that France was not only back from the rigors of war, but ready to reassert its dominance of haute couture and automotive design elegance. The awards the Franay has won over the decades is proof of his timeless vision. Mr. Gudol, in his wisdom, continued to enhance and advance the performance capacity and design elements of the Franay to push the envelope of an ever improving competitive edge in Concours d’Elegance competition. Mr. Gary Wales, who has shepherded the Franay through over 50 major awards and honors since 1990, has scaled back the number of public appearances so that the car is currently eligible for any and all Concours d’Elegance events.

Like the Tucker, the Franay Bentley touts an undisclosed reserve.

Then there’s Pratte’s 1957 De Soto Adventurer convertible, again with an undisclosed reserve. Oft-repeated generic De Soto history aside, specific details provided by Barrett-Jackson state:

Powered by the famous 345/345hp Hemi V-8 with dual quads, an automatic transmission, push-button shifter on dash, and independent torsion bar front suspension. With the division’s top Hemi V-8 under the hood, the Adventurer was an early muscle car with a set of the most aesthetically pleasing tail fins ever seen on virtually any car.

The only two cars listed by Pratte without a reserve are this pair of 2007 Shelby GT500s, which are to be sold as a pair. Details per the auction site are identical for both Shelbys:

In January 2006 Ron Pratte bought the Ford Motor Company’s newest car, a 2007 Ford Shelby GT500 VIN 00001 that benefited Carroll Shelby’s Children’s Foundation. In the past, Ford reserved the first fifty cars produced for Ford family members and senior executives or by other people on a selective list. Ford was so grateful to Ron for his generosity, they offered him the opportunity to buy two more, VIN 00002 and VIN 00005. While Ron is keeping VIN 00001, he is selling the orange Coupe and matching convertible as a pair. The successful bidder will get both cars for one price. These cars are special in other ways as well, as part of the purchase of VIN 00001 was a trip to the Flat Rock assembly plant where these legendary cars are manufactured. At the end of the tour of the assembly plant, Ron was presented with the keys to VIN 00001, VIN 00002 and VIN 00005 by Carroll Shelby and Carroll autographed all three cars for Ron. Along with his cars were three other 2007 Shelby GT 5000′s, for Carroll Shelby, Steve Davis and Gary Bennett. Ron then threw Ford a curve and said he didn’t want any of these cars shipped by rail to the owners, he wanted them trucked, enclosed, to his facility in Chandler, Arizona, bypassing the traditional dealer delivery and inspections. All of the cars, including Carroll’s personal GT 500, were delivered to the respective owner this way. This is a unique opportunity to own two pieces of Shelby and Ford history.

Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale auction started Sunday and will run through this weekend. For more information, visit Barrett-Jackson.com.

I personally love the De Soto.
 
Thanks for reading.
Tim

Corvette Club steps up and honors a returning soldier | Hemmings Blog: Classic and collectible cars and parts

Read it on Hemmings Blog. 

Corvette Club steps up and honors a returning soldier | Hemmings Blog: Classic and collectible cars and parts.

 Great Story.

Beautiful 1980 Vette Great job done by Classic Glass Corvette Club of Marietta, Georgia

 

Corvette Club steps up and honors a returning soldier | Hemmings Blog: Classic and collectible cars and parts.

Bondurant And SMS To Auction Special Camaro For Charity At Barrett-Jackson

 

January 6th, 2012 aunik_aronno

 
Awesome car!!! 

 

Barrett-Jackson‘s upcoming Scottsdale event later this month is shaping up to be an exciting affair, with all sorts of classic and modern hardware crossing the block. One of the latest to join the party is the SMS-Bondurant Camaro.

Presented by Steve Saleen and Bob Bondurant, the special SMS supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 Camaro gets a rating of 620 horsepower, 570 lb-ft of torque, a six-speed manual transmission, Borla exhaust, “Red Butterfly” hood, Eibach S suspension, custom 20-inch SMS wheels, and the autographs of both Saleen and Bondurant on the dash.

It’s production car #001 of the new collaboration, and it’ll be auctioned to benefit the Make A Wish and COX Charities foundations.

Bob Bondurant at his driving school in 2007

Image via Wikipedia