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WORTHOFMUSGLEAt the Mecum Spring Classic, an amazing2l-car collection of

the hottest musclecars went up for auction

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AS HE ROAMS THE RED CARpET ON IHE AUCTTON Bt.Ccr OF qt5 f.JAMf traKr Spnp.i,3 Cla,;s,rc i1./ri\! jr 1r,r itrbraNapor ls.

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EXcITEMENT As THE BTDDTNG FoR A coNV€RTrBlE l -56 454 Cnrvrur cRAcKs r i r r S4$CI S00 saRnrrp.

Cleorly, these oren't the heody doys of ore from the Dove Christenholz collection. oll ore top-of-theline elite musclecors, the2006, when home equity l ines of credii Christenholz is well known in the hobby, models ihot moke enthusiosts drool.extended os for os the eye could see, ond hoving spenl some l0 yeors putting together After lhe lost cor in the collection wossellers could nome their prices. Looking ot the 2lcor collection thot is being sold on this sold, the winning bids totoled $4,917 ,000the dollors being bid ond occepted, prices doy. His gool wos to ossemble o colleclion (o figure thot doesn't include the buyers'ore definitely down from their middecode focusing on oll the highest-horsepower,/ premiums, which odd five percent to thepeoks. Butotthis porficulor moment, while lorgestenginemusclecorsfromtheBigThree finol price. All prices l isted in this orticledodging TVcomeros ond coioling reluctont monufocturers. He sought out the foslest ore the finol bid prices). Plus, Christenholzbidders, it 's Dono Mecum's time to shine. ond the rorest, including ZL1 Comoros, sold

.l50 signs from his collection of deoler

I t 's heodl iner f ime. Right now he's in the Yenko Chevrolets, Stoge I Buicks, LS6 memorobi l io, pushing the tofol wel l postmiddle of sell ing o storquolity collection of Chevys, Boss 429 Muslongs ond Mopor $5 mill ion.musclecors, ond some big money is coming Hemi convertibles. The cors ore of vorying Whot does $5 mill ion dollors worth ofout of hiding. quolity - some unrestored, some older muscle look l ike? Follow olong os we breok

The cors thot ore cousing the excitemenl reslorotions, some concours perfect - but down the soles.

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2 lt didn'l take long lor the heavy hitters toarr ive; the second car l rom lhe col lecl iont0 g0 up lor sale was arguably the mosldesirable. This unreslored, LeMans Blue1969 C0P0 ZL1 427 Camaro RS sold lot$800,000. This lormer member of lhe 0l isChandler col lect ion is one ol only two ZLlsbui l t wi lh lhe BS package, and shows only7.700 actual mi les on the odometer. Thissale included lwo engines - the warrantyreplacemenl engine lhal came in the carupon del ivery (and is st i l l in the car) , andthe or ig inal engine instal led at lhe factory,

recent ly localed and rebui l l .

3 Another former par l o l lhe 0l is Chandlercol lecl ion, th is Ebony Elack 1970 0lds 442convert ib le wi th W-30 455 and aulomat icwas of fered al no reserve. l t sold lor$80,000. (Mecum photo)

4 This Boss 429 Muslang, an unreslored carwith 35.000 mi les on i t , sold lor $275.000.Car was wel l -documenled, wi th bui ld sheet.Boss 429 0wner 's Supplement, warranlycard and dealer invoice. (Mecum photo)

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ilUSCLEGAR ETIIIUSIASI

5 Big-block Bancheros are so few in number, and so rarely come upl0r sale, that it is dif l icult lo lrack values. This Ranchero 500 with429SCJ. Shaker hnod seoop, 4-speed, and Madi report t0 back it up,sold for $65.000. One mild devialion from original included a switchfrom the original red bench seat t0 white Comfortweave buckets.

6 0ne ol the jewels of the Chrisienholz collection was this unrestored1970 SS454 LS6 Chevelle convertible. Well-known in the hobby asthe "Ful ler car, " f u l ly documented and wi lh only 10,000 mi les on lheclock, it is one of lhe primary relerences lor correct LS6 resloralion.The car sold for a cool hal f mi l l ion dol lars.

Z An LS6 454 in an El Camino SS is a rare s ight. This Cor lezSi lver example, wi th automal ic t ransmission, had bui ld sheetdocumentalion and sold lor $75,000. Not bad for a recenlly reslored450hp mrrscletruek.

8 A Yenko Chevrolet pedigree sl i l l has lhe power to al t racl b igmoney, and this one altracled telephone bidders in addil ion to thellnor brryers This 1967 Camaro was one of the earliest cars t0 getthe Yenkn l reatment. wi fh i ts stock 396 replaced by a 427. ThisTuxedo Elack car was bil led as unrestored except lor one repainl,and showed 25.000 mi les. When the aucl ioneer 's gavel bangeddown for lhe l inal l ime, i l had sold for $480,000.

9 The seeond 1970 W-30 442 convert ib le in the Chr istenholzcol lecl ion, a lso an automat ic l ransmission car, was ol lered al noreserve. lt sold for $55,000, which turned oul to be the lowesl pricefor any of lhe cars in the colleclion.

lO lf you're assembling a collection ol musclecars with lhe largestengines and highesl horsepower ratings, you've golla have a 1970Buick GSX Slage 1 in the group. This 4-speed example, a national showwinner, was also offered al n0 reserve and sold for $162,500.

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I lTalk aboul high impact - this Sublime 1970 Dodge Coronet R/Iconvertible was one ol only lwo such built wilh the 426 Hemi V-8.A high-end resloration on a 12,000-mile car, it came wilh a buildsheet, original seller's invoice, and Galen Govier reporl. Eyeball-straining Mopar sold lor $385,000.

12 Another heavy-hitter Gamaro, this 1969 C0P0 has the aluminumZL-1 427 hooked to a 4-speed. l t is number 57 ol lhe 69 ZL-1Camaros buill lhal year. lt sold for $480,000.

13 Fire Red 1970 Buick GS Stage 1 convertible was a looker, andwent across the block with no reserve. Final bid was $115.000.(Mecum pholo)

Documentation is crucial withthese cars, since they are relativelyeasy to clone, and this one carnewith three burld sheets,l{ One of two 450hp LS6 Chevelle convertibles in lhe colleclion,lhis reslored Black Cheny example was equipped wilh a 4-speedlransmission. Documentation is crucialwith these cars, since theyare relal ively easy l0 clone, and lhis one came with three bui ldsheets. lt sold lor $280,000.

15 Black-on-black 1969 Road Runner wilh 440 6bbl and 4-soeedwas otfered al no reserve, and sold for $146,000.

16 One of the ullimale GT0s,lhis 1970 Ram Air lV Judge convediblein Palladium Silver has il all. Only 16 Ram Air lV converlibles werebuill, and lhis is one ol the 11 4-speed examples. The car sold fora healthy $360,000.

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1Z GT500KRs are 0ne ol the few musclecars that seem to beretaining value in lh is economy. Bi l led as an unreslored carexcept lor one repaint , th is convert ib le came wi lh the or ig inalTasca Ford inv0ice, or ig inal 0wners manual, dealer lo lderand Marl i repor l . l t sold lor $230,000.

l8 This 1969 Yenko Chevel le was anolher n0-reserveol fer ing. Car was documenled with bui ld sheel . Dig thoseTorq-Thrust wheels. Car was hammered sold at $150,000.(Mecum photo)

19 l t 's hard to put a value on resto-mod musclecars, and lh isone proved no except ion. This 1967 GT500 with 4-speed wasthe only no-sale ol the Chr istenholz ol fer ings, wi lh biddingmaxing out at $ ' t50,000. The Shelby had a bui l t 428 Pol icelnlerceptor wi th Edelbrock aluminum heads, a Gear Vendorsoverdr ive, custom exhausl , and "Eleanor" s ly le wheels.

2O Pretty Sapphire Blue 1966 GT350 Shelby was fresh froma restoral ion al Vintage l ronworks in Scottsdale, Ar iz0na.0l fered at n0 reserve. i t sold lor $137.500.

21 Beyond col lect ing s imply the musclecars themselves,Chr istenholz is also a col lector of dealer s ignage, and hadsome 150 examples lor sale. The large Pont iac Indianheadsign in the background sold lor $19,500, the Mercury s ign inlhe center of the photo sold for $14,000.

22The lasl car in the col lecl i0n was this Apol lo White 1970GSX Stage 1 wi lh aulomat ic. 0f fered al n0 reserve, i t soldfor $75.000. I

TUSGTEGAR EXIIIUSIASI