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Admit it, you’ve thought about how much fun it would be to take $20,000 to a Mecum auction and come home with a new car. Knowing that $20,000 won’t buy you a COPO Camaro or Chevelle, you could still drive home in a nice hardtop Nova or Impala. Now, what if you could add an extra zero to that number, or how about two zeros? With that kind of money, you could buy any car that came across the auction block.
We’re going to take a look at five examples of classic Chevy muscle that stopped the show this year at the Mecum auction in Indianapolis. These are all rare, top-tier cars that have received the highest-quality restoration treatment possible. They are no-expense-spared restorations that demonstrate what can be done by true professionals and passionate enthusiasts.
On the docket for today’s close-up look are two Camaros, two Corvettes, and one Chevelle: auction lots S200, S154, F134, F218.1, and S147. If you want to get a refresher on what some of the coding means and the way the Mecum auctions function, take a look at this article from a few months back that details the entire process. For now, we are just going to focus on these five top-selling cars.
Top Seller – Lot S200, 1969 Yenko Camaro
This award-winning Camaro was the No. 1 selling piece of Chevrolet muscle that hit the auction block over the weekend of May 17 -21, 2016 in Indianapolis. The VIN is listed in the Yenko registry and is confirmed to be one of the greats. Sold from V.V. Cook Chevrolet in Louisville, Kentucky it includes both the COPO 9561 and COPO 9737 packages.
The COPO 9561 package includes, on top of the L72 engine, a cowl-induction hood, curved-neck four-core radiator, and a heavy-duty, high-performance suspension. The other package included in this car, the COPO 9737 Sports Car Conversion, added mandatory power disc brakes, a 13/16-inch front sway bar, BE-code special heavy-duty 4.10:1 Positraction rearend, 15×7-inch wheels, and a 140 mph speedometer.
This particular Yenko Camaro came in the gorgeous LeMans Blue with a standard black interior and features the Hurst shifter, Stewart Warner Tachometer, and signature Yenko headrest. The entire package includes the L72-code 427 cubic-inch 425 horsepower big-block V8 engine, 800 cfm Holley carburetor, Muncie M21 close-ratio four-speed manual transmission, and 12-bolt Positraction rearend. This Camaro is one mean car.
The bid was estimated to bring between $275,000 and $325,000, but the lucky winner got to drive this car home for the modest price of only $260,000. Let’s be honest, though, when we say “drive it home,” we know it will be riding in a cushy, enclosed trailer. It’s very unlikely you’ll run into this car outside of a private collection or museum.
Seller No. Two – Lot S154, 1969 Yenko Camaro
That’s right, we have not one, but two 1969 Camaros on this year’s top-seller list. This one is a little different, and it makes you wonder if the same person bought both of these cars to get a pair of nearly identical twins. This one was sold from Grossman Chevrolet in Minneapolis, Minnesota, roughly 700 miles from the Louisville-area dealer where the top seller originally drove off the lot.
The first and most obvious difference is the eye-popping Daytona Yellow paint job offset by a black vinyl top. The black Yenko stripes running down the side of this beauty really stand out, and paired with the black vinyl top, make for one good looking piece of Chevy muscle. Don’t be fooled, however, there are more than just looks that separate these two Camaros.
This is one of only 30 of the 1969 Yenko Camaros that came factory-equipped with an automatic transmission. The drivetrain on this badass bumblebee is almost the same as the LeMans Blue Camaro we just looked at, with the significant difference being the Turbo 400 transmission.
There are so many factors that come into play when two similar cars sell for different prices. – Sam Murtaugh, Mecum Auctions
This Yenko came fitted with D80 front and rear spoilers, rare Z21-style trim, black vinyl roof, and the original black interior. It was delivered from the factory with a column shifter and was converted by Yenko to use a Hurst Dual Gate floor shifter. It features optional power steering and rolls on Torque Thrust wheels with Yenko center caps. Adding to the car’s rarity is the fact it is one of six that are known to exist with this color combination and with automatic transmission.
We reached out to Sam Murtaugh, Mecum’s vice president of marketing and presentation about how these two similar cars can ultimately have such a large value disparity. “There are so many factors that come into play when two similar cars sell for different prices. Things like the color preference of the buyer, a car having a four-speed versus an automatic transmission, quantity of bidders on one car over another, etc.,” Murtaugh explained. “It’s not easy to pinpoint the exact reason why one car sells for more than another, and that’s actually the beauty of an auction.”
While the estimate was $300,000 to $350,000, the final sale price was $35,000 less at $225,000. While this is still nothing to scoff at, it makes you wonder why this rare beauty sold for less. Was the automatic transmission a detriment to the car’s bid-garnering capabilities? Maybe the buyer was waiting for lot S200, which was up for sale 46 lots later? Anything is possible.
Joe Cheeks, owner of Automania and a career Mecum seller told us, “Things can be going really well, and all of a sudden a car comes through that takes the air out of the room, and you never know what you are going to get. Sometimes, a car will get a lot more attention than you expect, and other times, a lot less.”
Seller No. 3 – Lot F134, 1963 Corvette Z06
Coming from the Joe McMurrey collection, this 1963 Z06 Corvette is one of only 199 Z06 cars produced that year. It features an L84-code fuel-injected 327 small-block with 360 horsepower, and a Muncie M-20 four-speed manual transmission.
This Z06 received a nut-and-bolt restoration treatment and has been meticulously cared for since its completion. The restoration process maintained the original Riverside Red exterior and black interior. Special options include power windows and an AM/FM Delco radio.
As with all Z06 cars, this ’63 Sting Ray includes the heavy-duty finned brakes with special backing plates and cooling fins, as well as the heavy-duty suspension, shocks, springs, and a sway bar. The Z06 was designed to bring Chevrolet to the top of GT competition and level the playing field with automakers like Ferrari. The description on the Mecum 
website includes a quote from Arkus-Duntov, the engineer behind the design of Sting Ray, detailing high hopes of the Z06, “We will be the very top dog, better than Ferrari in this type of competition.”
The price tag for this one of 199 red Corvette was estimated to bring between $225,000 and $300,000. The auction brought the bid close, but it didn’t quite reach the low end, and the car went home with a new owner for the impressive price of $210,000. It didn’t quite pull the same price as either of the Yenko Camaros, but it was still more than what most can afford to spend on one car.
Seller No. 4 – Lot F218.1, 1967 Corvette Restomod
This car goes against the grain of what we have seen so far. This 1967 Corvette restomod is presented with a modern, 600 horsepower LS3 engine, six-speed manual transmission, and all-wheel disc brakes.
The car is set on a custom-built tube chassis that combines the latest C7 suspension with QA1 coilover shock absorbers, power rack-and-pinion steering, and C7 Z06 four-wheel disc brakes with an electronic parking brake. The Mecum website describes the car as having “C6-style Spyder alloy wheels and low-profile red-stripe tires that continue the ‘modern classic’ vibe that repeats inside the sharp red interior, which offers a Billet Specialties steering wheel on a Flaming River tilt steering column, Vintage Air A/C, power windows, and custom-upholstered power seats.”
Beyond the obviously-custom features, there are a few subtleties the average auto enthusiast might not notice. Just looking at the pictures, did you pick out the custom, flush-mounted windshield? How about the rear split window design of the ’63 Corvette on the back of this ’67? These small changes to the exterior offer a more personalized look that demonstrates the quality of the build’s craftsmanship.
This car happened to check all the right boxes, and the resulting price made that pretty clear. – Sam Murtaugh, Mecum Auctions
While this car did not exceed all expectations, it is the first one we’ve looked at so far that breaks through the expected floor, but lands near the bottom end at $205,000. This restomod was built to drive as much as it is to show, so let’s hope that the new owner puts it to use on the open road.
Seller No. 5 – Lot S147, 1970 COPO Chevelle LS6
As the only Chevelle to make this Top 5 list, it isn’t hard to see why this awesome, Hugger Orange Chevy was able to stand proud flanked by two Yenko Camaros and two unique Corvettes. This 1970 LS6 Chevelle SS COPO Chevelle was built for performance but is rare for a different reason than the super-high-performance Camaros that topped the list — it has the entire factory drivetrain still bolted to its frame.
The 450 horsepower 454 engine is followed up with a Turbo 400 automatic transmission and a 3.31 gear ratio in the Positraction-filled rearend. Also included is the SS package is the blacked-out grille and rear bumper insert, SS badges, heavy-duty suspension, special gauges, and SS wheels with Firestone Wide Oval tires.
It’s actually the unique Hugger Orange paint scheme that makes this Chevelle a rare find. This is one of only five known ’70 Chevelle SS cars to be dressed in Hugger Orange paint with white stripes and the stunning Parchment-on-black interior. Finished with the cowl-induction hood and Soft-Ray tinted windshield, this car was known for looks as much as it was for speed.
Like the other cars we’ve seen here, this car was treated to a full restoration to like-new condition and has been authenticated by Rick Nelson of Muscle Car Restoration and Design, Inc.
The estimate for this beautiful car was set between $200,000 and $225,000. I’m sure the lucky buyer that landed the final bid was pleased to purchase this car for $50,000 less than the bottom-end sticker price, walking away with a one-in-five Chevelle for only $150,000.
The Dream
For most of us, watching the Mecum auction is all about dreaming and imagining that you have a seven-figure check we talked about at the beginning. If you did, which one of these cars would you have taken home? What would consider to be your dream find at a Mecum auction? Detail it for us. Tell us the exact specs of your dream car from a Mecum auction. Leave it in the comments section of this article, we’d love to hear about it.
