January Auction Preview: Gooding and Company and RM Auctions

Our final preview at the January collector car auctions will focus on the activities at Gooding and Company’s and RM Auctions’ camps. You already know about 1953 VIN #5 crossing the block at RM, but they’ve also got an early Pilot 1954 in addition to an original Monaco Orange 1969 L88 Coupe up for grabs at Gooding and Company.

RM and Gooding only have a total of 9 Corvettes combined on their dockets, but what they lack in quantity, they make up for in quality.

The highlight of the Corvette portion of the Gooding catalog is easily Lot 038, an unrestored 1969 L88 Coupe. The matching numbers car has less than 18,000 miles on it and is the oonly unrestored Monaco Orange L88 known to exist. Provenance includes the Tank Sticker, Protecto-Plate, and the Original Bill of Sale. Show awards include Bloomington Gold SURVIVOR®, BENCHMARK® and Hall of Fame in addition to NCRS Top Flight status. This car very similar to the black L88 that sold at Mecum Dallas year for $562,500. The Gooding and Co. estimate that this car will sell between $450k and $550k. We agree with that estimate.

Joining the L88 on Gooding’s auction block are a 1966 427 Coupe, a nice ’67 small block coupe, and a fantastic NCRS 4 Star Bowtie 1963 340hp convertible.

The Gooding and Company Scottsdale auction takes place Friday January 20th and Saturday January 21st at the Scottsdale Fashion Square. Car sales begin at 11am Eastern each day.

Over at RM, they’ve assembled a solid contingent of 5 early Corvettes. Since you already know about 1953 VIN #5, we’ll take a look a couple of others from the RM catalog. First up is lot 259, a 1955 Pilot Line car. This Gypsy Red roadster was the 9th to come off the line in that year and has been in numerous publications. Accolades for the meticulously restored car include Bloomington Gold Certification, NCRS Top Flight, and Triple Crown awards. It was selected for the 1990 Bloomington Special Collection and has only amassed 260 miles on the odometer since its restoration. RM has hung a $150,000 – $250,000 estimate on it. It’s a stunning low-mile car, but we think it’ll go for closer to $150k that $250k.

Lot 247 is a 1967 Corvette roadster with the thumping L71 435hp powerplant between the front fenders. The car was expertly restored by Kevin Mackay’s Corvette Repair and has gone on to claim NCRS Top Flight, Bloomington Gold, Gold Spinner, and Triple Crown awards. Options include a teak steering wheel and a 4 speed transmission. The tank sticker shows that this car was born just as we see it today. RM thinks it’ll bring somewhere between $225k and $300k. We think they’re a little strong on this one and that the high bid will be in the $175-$200k. Either way, it’s still well outside our budget.

The remaining cars on RM’s docket are a Panama Yellow 1958, a Pennant Blue 1954 with a Bubble Top, and the aforementioned 1953 VIN #005.

RM Auctions’ January Arizona event takes place January 19th and 20th at the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa. Sales begin at 7pm Eastern on the 19th and at noon Eastern on the 20th.

As we mentioned earlier, RM and Gooding don’t have the volume of Corvettes that the other houses do, but the highest priced sales of the month could still very possibly come from either of them.

Sources:
RM Auctions and Gooding and Co

Related:
1953 Corvette VIN #005 Heading to RM Auction in Arizona
January Corvette Auction Preview: Barrett-Jackson
CorvetteBlogger’s Guide to the January Auctions