In October I wrapped up my unintentionally epic series of 20 articles based on my trip to the Scottsdale classic car auctions this year. I profiled a couple hundred vehicles, out of about 2700 at the auctions. Despite an almost overwhelming number of very high quality cars, I was a little disappointed that there weren’t more unusual or unique vehicles that really piqued my interest. In contrast, it seemed to me that I remembered there being more of those the last time I was there. So I went into my photo archives from 2010 and sure enough, there were an ample number of cars that really pegged my needle. Click through to see 12 more that I found. This year was the first time I had been able to attend since 2010, so I was really raring to go. I used to live in the Phoenix area and attended Barrett-Jackson almost every year from 1992 to 2006, when I moved to Texas. Local shows and auctions are always fun, but just don’t compare to the pinnacle of automotive display one finds in Scottsdale every January. In quantity and quality of cars, it can’t be beat (especially for American cars).
I’m a big fan of original, unrestored cars, so several of these fall in that category. Apart from that, these are mostly uncommon-now (and a few rare-when-new) models that were really cool to see. Of course, I chose cars according to my particular tastes, but from my time on Curbside Classic I think there are quite a few of us on the site who share many of my peculiar automotive inclinations. I thought it might be worth an article showcasing some of the most interesting cars. Hopefully you will feel the same way.
After this first car, I’ll present these chronologically. There will be links to the Barrett-Jackson webpage profile on each car, which will have more pictures, details and the sale prices for those interested. I’ll show the first 13 today and the rest in part 2.
These first two photos are of a 1958 Jaguar XK 150. I won’t be showing engines or interiors in this article, except I can’t resist on this one. What a gorgeous powerplant! While it looks a little like a tiny V12, it’s a dual overhead camshaft 3.4L (210cid) straight six with dual SU sidedraft carburetors making 210hp and 216lb-ft torque.
Here we have a 1950 Chevrolet Deluxe Styleline that somebody bought new, died shortly thereafter and the car sat for several years until it was bought by another owner who intentionally stored it for preservation. It had a little over 400 miles, amazingly. Click the link for the full story. It’s claimed to be original down to the tires. It helps that it was from northern CA, which I believe has to have one of the best climates for long term vehicle preservation.
A category that I’m a sucker for every time is wagons. I’ll stop and look at anything with a long roof. They are always unusual, even at Barrett-Jackson. When was the last time you saw a 1955 Ford Country Squire? It’s great that somebody did a high quality restoration on one. Though common back when they were new, the faux-woodgrained beauties were rare compared to other Ford wagons, selling about 19k out of the 209k wagons Ford made for 1955.
A 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air hardtop coupe is not a rare sight at a classic car auction, of course. However, a low-mile, unrestored, mostly original one is. The color is what blew me away on this car. I still remember standing and looking at it for a long, long time. The Inca Silver paint is unfortunately not original, but the white roof paint is. So are the interior and the rust free body panels and chassis. This is another northern California car.
Some people don’t like ’57 Chevys, but I sure do. This example shows so well, it really exemplifies the surprisingly graceful, attractive lines that Chevy gave their car in its second facelift on this body. I challenge anyone to say that this particular car isn’t stunningly beautiful, especially from the rear.
One of the most perfectly preserved cars I’ve ever laid eyes on, and certainly the best original condition ’57 Plymouth anywhere, this 1957 Plymouth Savoy was stored in a long term collection from day one.
This car reminds me of the world’s worst preserved 1957 Plymouth, the Tulsa Centennial Time Capsule car, “Miss Belvedere”. You may remember the story of how it was unearthed in 2007, as testimony to the awesome destructive power of water. Here’s what’s happened to it since.
On the topic of Forward Look Mopars, while they are not rare in the collector car hobby, they are uncommon enough to be worth looking at when you get the chance. They really were great looking cars, which unfortunately didn’t have a high survival rate. Their tendency to rust was famous, even when not stored in a water-filled time capsule. This 1958 Plymouth Fury was restored .
Another restored wagon, this 1958 Chevrolet Brookwood was eye candy for someone who likes wagons and ’58 Chevys, such as myself.
The owner had upgraded it during the restoration with a tri-carb 348, Bel Air interior and who knows what else. The result is super cool, though, and I would absolutely love to have it in my garage!
Yet another favorite category of mine is vintage emergency vehicles, be they police cars, fire trucks or ambulances. I actually have had a fascination with cop cars new and old since I can remember. To this day, I make a practice of photographing new police cars and have several books on old police cars. Needless to say, this 1957 Mercury Monterey caught my eye. It was not originally a police car, but on the exterior at least, the recreation is really spot on. I have not been able to confirm if the California Highway Patrol actually had any 1957 Mercurys. Mercury would seem to be a natural for highway patrol work if for no other reason than they had a model called the Turnpike Cruiser!
A 1959 Chevrolet Impala may not be too unusual, but an unrestored one with under 30k miles is a bit harder to come by. And it’s a red Sport hardtop coupe with original paint and interior. On top of all that, it has its original fuel injected 283 and four speed manual!
Love that crazy batwing rear end! Surprisingly, the fuel injected 283 was not the hottest engine in 1959. With a 10.5 compression ratio and 290hp, it is basically the same engine introduced as the top option for 1957, but by 1959 it was outgunned by a four choices of solid lifter 348’s available with 305-345hp.
Pontiacs of the full size variety always get my attention, but this handsome blue 1960 Pontiac Bonneville convertible is striking enough to captivate anyone. Even the baby in the picture likes it.
If the convertible didn’t sate my 60 Chief appetite, the wagon certainly did! This 1960 Pontiac Catalina Safari (also seen in the top photo) was billed as “mostly original”, with new paint and some other minor refurbishment. It really looked good and warmed my wagon-loving heart.
All Pontiacs in 1960 came with 389cid engines, with different compression ratios and carburetion set ups depending on model or options. This one has the optional (for Catalinas) four barrel, making 303hp. The side window treatment was kind of unusual, in the history of wagons. All GM wagons for 1959/60 had the extra window. Have any other wagons had an extra rear quarter window? You might think it was so that sedans and wagons could share rear doors and windows, but it doesn’t look like they do.
A 1963 Buick Riviera is not a terribly uncommon sight at Barrett-Jackson, but it’s also always worth looking at Bill Mitchell’s classic styling statement when you have the chance, isn’t it? The rear of this car is visible in the background in the Jaguar photo at the top.
Is it worth looking at two? Of course! Black or white, take your pick. This 1964 Buick Riviera was also wearing the somewhat unusual wire wheel covers, with no indication the two lots were related. I remember the car, it was stunning in black with a tan interior. Fresh restoration and it sold for only $25k. I think it would go for a lot more than that now.
In fact, all the prices seem pretty low now. I don’t follow the market trends closely, but I think 2010 was in the midst of a downturn in the classic car market that followed a downturn in all markets related to the larger economy (i.e. the recession).
That’s all for this installment. Stay tuned tomorrow for the conclusion which will feature some more gems from the mid 60’s to the 90’s.
Interesting to read about the “de-rusting” process they used on Miss Belvedere. Hopefully the car remains intact for a while longer.
Those low mile cars are amazing. And as for that 57 Chevy, I don’t hate them. I just find them so common that they kind of melt into the background for me. It takes one in a special condition and/or color to make me stand there and admire it, and this silver one did it for me.
Mercury did indeed get used for the CHP in 1957 – if the old TV show Highway Patrol is to be believed.
And I am another fan of 1960 Pontiacs. The 389 and 4 speed HydraMatic would be so much more satisfying than a 283/Powerglide. That wagon is really cool.
I’m not sure the TV show is to be believed. From what I’ve read, by 1957 CHP was no longer providing the show with real patrol cars. The show had to make their own. I haven’t turned up any period pictures of true CHP 57 Mercurys.
I found several references on the web to 1957-58 Mercury CHP cruisers. The name “Turnoike Cruiser” is only partially appropriate of course, as we don’t have turnpikes here. By the way, Mercuries were used again briefly around 1970, which I am old enough to remember. Oldsmobile was the other one-off CHP Cruiser I remember from my youth, otherwise just Ford, Dodge and Chevy.
My grandmother owned a 1959 Pontiac Star Chief with the 4 bbl 389 and 4 speed HydraMatic. It had about rusted to death by the time I was able to drive so I only got to drive it a handful of times. Probably a good thing as it would launch a lot harder than my six cylinder Ford, despite having considerably more road hugging weight. If I recall correctly the four speed HM would shift from first to second at around 5-6 MPH. The last time I got to drive “Chief” I burned about six months of tread off the right rear tire, nothing says hooning like a huge V8 with an open differential.
Im with you on the 57 Chevy, ive always felt the 55 was the best of the bunch. love the menacing front end of the 57 Mercury. 60 Pontiacs are really beautiful cars. I especialy like the rears of them and the wagon has an air of rarety with the single rear tail light.
JPC: I recall my Father telling my Mother about his co-worker who traded off his ’59 283/PG Chevy station wagon for a ’60 Pontiac station wagon with the 389/4 speed hydramatic powertrain.
When asked why he he got rid of a 10 month old new Chevy wagon; the co-worker told my Father that the Pontiac, compared to his Chevy, felt like an Atlas rocket when he stepped down hard on the gas pedal.
Like these cars over the line of “mid life crisis purchase” ’69 Camaro resto-mods seen at suburban strip mall ‘cruise-ins’.
In my immediate family there were 3-4 55 Ford wagons. My father owned a red and creme Country Sedan and uncles owned Ranch Wagons of various dark colors. The closest thing that I ever saw to a Country Squire was a classmate’s Mercury woody wagon of about that vintage, so actually quite rare when new.
As for the 58 Chevy wagon, my father traded the Ford for a 58 Brookwood that was turquoise and white, though not 2 toned like the car pictured. While another uncle, a near lifelong Chevy owner had a baby blue 58 Nomad. My mother grew to hate our Brookwood so much that my father was never allowed to buy a new Chevy again.
My dream 50s wagon is a 59 Mercury 2 door hardtop wagon, with a 4 door being an acceptable substitute.
I’m with you, a Mercury 2 door hardtop wagon would be ultimate wagon for me!
Housewives of the fifties & sixties were VERY protective of their Ford station wagons!
My Father unwittingly unleashed “Housewife Hell” when he traded off my Mother’s Country Sedan station wagon without her knowledge.
“June Cleaver” became “Roseanne” in a heartbeat.
That is a world completely foreign to me – where I (as “the man of the house”) would trade off the car my Mrs. drives and replace it with something of my choosing, all without letting her know about it. Yikes!
Those very low mileage, all-original cars are really interesting, and surprisingly reasonably priced, considering their uniqueness.
It is so weird that the ’57 Chevy Bel Air is such a common classic car; and that Silver is WAY TOO COMMON amongst car colors (or lack thereof) these days; and yet, take these two common things and put them together, and you get a stunning rarity.
It’s my favorite of this bunch, followed closely by that lead in pic of the ’60 Safari wagon.
I really like the ’60 Blue Bonnie, too.
And no wonder Christine was possessed! Her sister was buried alive. I would’ve been pissed off as well! ;o)
The white top and chrome make it work. I despise silver on modern cars but am always surprised how stunning it can look on old ones. I’m convinced it’s the blend with other colors for accent and acres of chrome. If this were monotone silver with grey interior and the chrome trim was toned down and changed to matte black it would look so much more dull, like we’re used to.
That Chevy looks stunning in silver. It would have been a real standout in its day; nowadays silver is more of a default colour.i
I go very hot and cold with 57 Chevys, if I haven’t looked at one in a long time I think they’re really attractive, the ultimate expression of 50s American car styling and performance, but then I see a 55 and I think the 57 the tackiest line ruining refresh in automotive history. Luckily I don’t see any 55s or to lesser extent 56s here so I agree, it’s a beauty, and am especially enamored by the silver/white color combination.
but then I see a 55 and I think the 57 the tackiest line ruining refresh in automotive history.
+1
+2
Everyone calls it out as a 50s beauty but I think there are much more beautiful 50s American cars… like the ’57 Buick!
But then beauty (or the lack of it) is only skin deep; these ’57 were the best of the tri-fives in terms of build quality and performance, with the new 283 V8. From a driver’s vantage point, these had it all over the competition, which is precisely why they developed this outsized rep. They were exceptionally good cars.
It’s really because they were so good that they became iconic, and then their styling became part of that, and then everyone came to see them as such good looking cars.
If the ’57s had been mediocre cars, no one would think they were good looking.
As noted by others on this site, the tri-fives, and especially the 1957 version, are more remembered as they were better used cars than similar age Ford or Mopar models after a couple of years. The Ford was the sales leader, and the Mopar designs are usually considered the style leaders as new, but the build quality of the Mopars and Fords did not hold up as well as the Chevy did. As such, you saw more of them on the road for a longer period of time, and as an affordable used car starting around 1960, they were often the first cars of many in the Boomer demographic, thus their prolonged appeal.
I don’t dislike them at all, but really, I guess I am just bored of them at this point. I feel the same way about a lot of popular 60s and 70s models as well. Familiarity breeds contempt, and these were popular and thus familiar. I prefer unusual, but that is my taste. YMMV.
The appeal of the tri-fives started sooner than 1960. They were seen as the best performance car with massive potential from the day the first ’55 with its new V8 was released. Go find some old hot rod magazines from 1955: everyone was gushing over them, and those that could were buying them. A V8 Chevy sedan with the power pack and three-speed manual was the hot car in its time.
This only increased each year, especially in ’57 with the new 283, which was available with fuel injection. The Chevy was significantly smaller and lighter than the competition in ’57, and handled much better because of it. The ’57 earned its reputation from day one.
And because of that, folks were snapping up used ’55s and ’56s already in ’57. They saw that the Fords and Mopars were now much bigger and heavier, which is not at all a good thing form a performance POV.
And the ’57 Fords and Mopars got a bad rep for poor build quality almost instantly, which made the ’55s and ’56s that much more desirable yet. And that built up, as the Fords and Mopars were shunned as used cars. By 1960, this was all already well established.
My defense of the 57 styling reaching icon status for so long is that despite it being way busier than a 55-56, it still is far more subdued than most fin cars, including the forward look Mopars and 57 Fords. I mean it barely has tailfins in profile, they only protrude rearward, not upward or outward like most, and without the massive bel-air side trim accents, like on a 150 model pictured, they look downright tidy and subdued, where the front end ends up the most heavy handed styling feature. Those trim pieces very effectively trick the eye into thinking the fins are bigger than they are.
I imagine that’s also what partially kept them popular with hot rodders as well, Paul brings up the big point that they were mainly good cars with a higher survival rate and solid bones for speed upgrades, but they also looked way less like anachronistic relics next to a Chevelle or Roadrunner at a late 60s-70s stoplight than something like a 57 Savoy would, or even a 55-57 Pontiac. They simply aged better into the muscle car era.
+ 3 on the botched, heavy handed ’57 Chevy facelift.
I actually prefer the ’56, which seems to be the most unappreciated of the tri-fives. All the classic lines of the ’55 with the refreshed bits being tastefull and complimentary. Especially like the ’56 tailights.
That ’50 Chevrolet is amazing. Not because I like that particular car so much, but because it’s time capsule attribute. I can imagine my 28 year old father looking at it parked by his ’48 Vauxhall Velox. I’m always trying to picture the past.
Great note, Jon! Thank you!
Thank you for sharing the Safari. One of the first cars I remember is a similar one that my Dad drove. It was green with a white roof, and he parked it in front of the Ford dealer’s shop, in plain view of the sales floor, as his silent protest over a botched deal to buy a car where he worked. Needless to say, he didn’t work there much longer after it all went down, but the wagon stayed with the family for a while. I recall it being used to cart all 4 kids, a big bag of popcorn, and various other family members to the local drive in movie, with the coil of mosquito repellent smoldering on the dash.
Funny how much you recall when you look a a photo.
Glad I could jog some good memories for you!
Never owned any 50s car (and I have owned over 100 vehicles) nor ever rode in one. Came here in mid 70s old enough to drive. Not many 50s cars around. Did ride in a 1960 eldorado same jet styling.
If cars were women, I think I would marry the black Riviera but have an affair with the Christine Plymouth
LOL!