Superbird, super price. $176,000...
Superbird, super price. $176,000 was the hammer price (less commissions) when this restored, ultra-low-mileage 440 Magnum/four-speed one crossed the block at Barrett-Jackson’s 2011 Scottsdale auction.
How was the market at the winter Arizona collector-car auctions this year? Better than the last few years, with quality cars bringing good money, and very little crazy money bidding and selling like there was before 2008.
And when it comes to muscle cars in general, and muscle Mopars in particular, they got plenty of interest from the biddersand two of them wound up among the top-10 sales of the entire Arizona winter auction season.
Only one of them broke the million-dollar mark: A ’70 Hemi ’Cuda convertible sold for $1,705,000 at Russo and Steele’s Scottsdale auction.
Meanwhile, at Barrett-Jackson, there were no million-dollar sale prices this year, but a restored ’56 DeSoto Fireflite convertible brought Duesenberg money when it sold for $368,000, the highest-selling Mopar at their big five-day event.
In all, according to one auction observer, it was a very good year. We’re almost back to 2007 overall sales at all the auctions, says McKeel Hagerty, president of Hagerty Classic Insurance. The difference is that it took a few more cars to get there. He adds, From an outsider/sponsor’s perspective, from a long-time-goer to these things, all of the auctions seemed busier, and all of the sponsors were back. There was more active bidding on a lot more cars.

Top seller of all the Mopars...

Top seller of all the Mopars in the Arizona auctions was this ’70 Hemi ’Cuda convertible, with just 19,000 original miles. Sale price at Russo and Steele’s auction: $1,705,000.
That included the top seller at Russo and Steele, the one-of-nine-Torqueflite-equipped ’70 Hemi ’Cuda convertible, the only one of those nine finished in white with a red interior. That was a pretty phenomenal price, says McKeel, who remembers where prices were on the rarest Hemi carsand what happened to them. There were a couple reported sales a few years ago of nearly $3 million on those. Then, all of a sudden, they were back down. This result (at Russo and Steele) represented a landmark sale for those uber-rare ’70 and ’71 Hemi ’Cuda convertibles.
That’s just part of a wider trend involving original muscle from all brands. They started making a solid comeback across the board, McKeel notes. Especially with the most highly optioned, the rarest, and the most preferred ones. Those were definitely back up, and those were the cars that sold the most by Barrett-Jackson, and by Russo and Steele.
Who to thank? Not the know-nothing speculators. McKeel says, What you see are collectors who are back in the market, buying the best stuff and paying good money for it.
Wouldn’t Richard Baird be...
Wouldn’t Richard Baird be proud! This ’56 DeSoto Fireflite convertible, whose “Forward Look” lines came out of his DeSoto styling studio during the Exner era, brought a winning bid of $368,500. Rare options include 2x4’s on its Hemi and the Kelsey-Hayes wires.
Good money for the best stuff is also reaching the re-creation/tribute segment of the muscle car market too. There’s definitely more strength in the tribute market than there’s been in the past couple of years, says McKeel. The quality of the build is important. No matter what, the muscle car world has been more tolerant of personalization than other parts of the collector-car hobby have been in the past.
That includes muscle cars equipped with slightly different (and often period-correct) wheels, or options or features that the car wasn’t built withlike disc brakes, a conversion that McKeel agrees with. If the car didn’t have them on originally, they make it more drivable. He adds of his experience with some drum-and-shoe-braked road rockets, I’ve been in more than one muscle car that felt like it was a hurtling ball of metal, and wishing that I had a parachute!
In all, McKeel says of the winter Arizona auctions, There was an appropriate group of sellers willing to take the right price, and a willing group of buyers bidding actively on cars, with some occasional points of irrational exuberance, which was fun to see.
It’s not only what car it...
It’s not only what car it is with what features, it’s also who sold it. Mr. Norm’s Grand Spaulding Dodge in Chicago sold this Hemi/727-equipped ’71 Challenger R/T new…and Russo and Steele sold it at their Scottsdale auction for $225,000.
We’ll look at some of the Mopars that crossed the block during the winter Arizona Auctions, which were the most fun ones to see, in our humble opinion. Sale prices shown don’t include commissions. For more info on each car you see herealong with complete auction resultslog onto www.barrett-jackson.com and www.russoandsteele.com. mm

Big money was there for the...

Big money was there for the right cars, including the ex-Bill Goldberg ’68 Dart, built by Florida Time Machines with a Ray Barton-built 427 Hemi backed by a Passon Performance OD A-833. Hammer price: $104,500.

The test car that Mario Rossi’s...

The test car that Mario Rossi’s race shop built for Bobby Allison to try out the first 305-inch NASCAR engine on the high banks found a new home at Russo and Steele’s auction, for $91,300.

Another E-Body that made the...

Another E-Body that made the Top 10 at the Arizona auctions. This ’71 Hemi ’Cuda coupe brought out the bidders at Russo and Steele…and the bidding didn’t stop until it hit $401,500.

This Hemi-powered ’69 Dodge...

This Hemi-powered ’69 Dodge Charger Daytona found a new home at Russo and Steele for $167,500.

See it when you believe it—a...

See it when you believe it—a real-life Muscle Machine. That’s a 14-71 blower atop its aluminum Hemi, and it sold for only $308,000 at Barrett-Jackson!

The only Hemi-powered ’67...

The only Hemi-powered ’67 Dodge Coronet R/T painted Metallic Silver at the factory scored a winning bid of $82,000 in restored form.

Don’t let the plain wrapper...

Don’t let the plain wrapper fool you. This is an original 426 Max Wedge-powered ’63 Dodge 330, built for the Super Stock wars on the nation’s dragstrips and restored to fresh-from-Hamtramck condition. Selling price: $71,500.

Not only were Hemis bringing...

Not only were Hemis bringing the big bucks, so were the RB-engined Mopars like this restored 440+6-equipped ’70 Cuda convertible. One of only two built this way (and the only orange one), it sold at Russo and Steele for $236,500.

Respect for the “re-creations”…as...

Respect for the “re-creations”…as long as they were the right car, built with desirable features (and a lot of skill). That describes this now-Hemi-powered ’70 ’Cuda drop-top, which fetched $94,000 when it crossed the block.

Auction buyers liked ’em rare,...

Auction buyers liked ’em rare, like this ’72 Plymouth Road Runner GTX. One of just 672 440-engined ’72 Birds, it brought a top (and winning) bid of $121,000 at Russo and Steele.

Built to enjoy—this ’56 Dodge...

Built to enjoy—this ’56 Dodge Sierra wagon, with a 440/727 powertrain under its Mooneyes Yellow/White colors. Selling price: $36,000.

Another DeSoto bringing “Duesenberg...

Another DeSoto bringing “Duesenberg money” was this restored ’57 Adventurer drop-top. Equipped with a “full-race” camshaft and 2x4’s on its Hemi, and Kelsey-Hayes wires all around, it went for $187,000.