Corvette Auction Preview: Mecum at Bloomington Gold

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Corvette Auction Preview: Mecum at Bloomington Gold

Article contributed by Steve Burns

The 39th rendition of the Bloomington Gold Corvette show takes place this week Thursday through Sunday (June 23rd – 26th) at the Pheasant Run Resort just west of Chicago. We’ve been doing the happy dance here all week as we get ready to head out to the show on Thursday morning. You already know about the return of the GoldTour, the Great Hall people, and Great Hall cars, as well as all the great topics that will be covered during the Cubic Knowledge seminars. Now it’s time to talk about the 400ish Corvettes that will be for sale at Mecum’s Bloomington Gold auction. Click past the jump to see some of the cars that will be crossing the block this weekend in St. Charles, IL.

As expected, the world’s largest all-Corvette auction has hundreds of cars available for bidding. Examples from all 6 generations will cross the block ranging from everyday drivers to immaculate show cars. All of our favorite options will be present including a L88, several fuelies, LT-1’s, 454’s, and 427’s. All these are in addition to the 23 black no reserve cars we told you about yesterday. Picking just a few cars to preview isn’t easy when you want to purchase them all so we’re going to split our preview up into 2 pieces this time. Here’s the first batch of cars we’d love to own.

Lot #S106 1957 Fuelie Roadster
This is the earliest fuel injected Corvette known to exist. 1957 VIN #10 was built in August of 1956 as part of a run of 20 pilot cars and carries Rochester fuel injection unit serial #3. Readers of Corvette Enthusiast magazine will remember this as a subject of a 6 part article while it was being restored at J & M Enterprises. The striking Cascade Green with Ivory interior car took home a Bloomington Gold Certificate in June of 2010. Historically significant cars like this are very difficult to price. After all there’s only one car that will ever be known as the first fuel injected Corvette. We can only guess where bidding will end on this gem, and we would gladly surrender a body part in order to own it. We’ll find out just how many appendages this car will cost us shortly after 3pm on Saturday.

Corvette Auction Preview: Mecum at Bloomington Gold Corvette Auction Preview: Mecum at Bloomington Gold Corvette Auction Preview: Mecum at Bloomington Gold

Lot #S88 1967 427/400, 4 speed, A/C Coupe
This highly optioned midyear was restored in 1993 by Bloomington Gold CEO David Burroughs to “… insane detail that differentiates this from any other Corvette.” The car is equipped with numerous options including the 400hp L68, 4 speed, A/C, power steering and brakes, as well as transistor ignition. We’re intrigued by this car and the description of how it was restored. One example given is how the painter was specially trained by Burroughs and how the paint was only lightly buffed out above the beltline in order to duplicate the assembly line process. Numerous other unique tidbits are mentioned in the auction listing. Normal L68 A/C coupes are pretty desirable for collectors and this one is surely no different given its option list, condition, and first-class restoration. The Bloomington Gold connection shouldn’t hurt it either. We expect lots of hands in the air when this one goes up for bids on Saturday around 2:30pm.

Corvette Auction Preview: Mecum at Bloomington Gold Corvette Auction Preview: Mecum at Bloomington Gold Corvette Auction Preview: Mecum at Bloomington Gold

Lot #S78 1968 L88 Coupe
The L88 of Corvette auctions just wouldn’t be complete without an actual L88 in it. This ’68 L88 coupe was sold new by Cochran Celli Chevrolet in Oakland, CA. The Lemans Blue car is equipped with: M22 4 speed, F41 suspension, TI, and off road exhaust. The car was modified early in its life and even won its class at the 1970 Oakland Roadster Show and also was featured in the January 1994 edition of Corvette Fever Magazine. It has since been restored back to its stock condition. Oh, and the factory rated 430hp motor has been dyno tested at 502hp. Just like the 2 cars above, this car will generate all sorts of excitement as it rolls across Mecum’s red carpet at 2:05 on Saturday.

Corvette Auction Preview: Mecum at Bloomington Gold Corvette Auction Preview: Mecum at Bloomington Gold Corvette Auction Preview: Mecum at Bloomington Gold

Mecum’s Bloomington Auction begins at 11am central time both Friday and Saturday. If you can’t make to this event, be sure to watch all the action live on Mecum’s website.

Stayed tuned to CorvetteBlogger as next up we’ll take a look at some super rare Corvettes built by Chevrolet that were intended for one thing – racing.

The 39th annual Bloomington Gold event runs from Thursday, June 23rd – Sunday, June 26th 2011 at the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, Il. (about an west of Chicago). For complete show information check out www.BloomingtonGold.com.


Source:
Mecum.com
Bloomington Gold

Related:
Black Corvette Collection To Be Sold At Mecum’s Bloomington Gold Auction
Bloomington Gold Announces the 10 Cars to be Inducted into the 2011 Great Hall
Bloomington Gold to Host Cubic Knowledge Training Seminars at 2011 Event
Bloomington Gold Announces 10 Inductees into the Great Hall
GoldTour Returns to Bloomington Gold Corvette Show

 



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