- FordMuscle - https://www.fordmuscle.com -

Lots Of Fords Hit The Auction Block At Mecum Kissimmee

Over 3,000 cars were up for auction just a short ride from your author’s abode at the Mecum Auction in Kissimmee, Florida. The event started on January 6 and ran through January 15 and we stopped in on Friday the 13th to try our luck at finding some cool Blue Oval hardware.

We found a lot of great Fords up for sale at the Mecum Auction in Kissimmee, Florida.

“It’s the best car show you can go to,” my dad said earlier in the month. He was telling me I needed to check out the auction action.

Your scribe has been to a few car shows and auctions in his day, I might be a bit jaded, but I decided to take his advice and check out the nearby proceedings to see what kind of Fords were up for sale. As it turns out, there were a huge number of Fords on the block ranging from rare classics to the latest Ford Performance machines.

As I traversed the giant Osceola Heritage Park, I dodged rain between tents and electric scooters propelling people who knew these cars from their youth while taking in the scents of unburned fuel from cars starting up to move into position. I had to say it was pretty great car show that gives you perspective on just how much these machines meant the generations that grew up with them.

We expected to see plenty of vintage hardware at the Mecum event, but one of the first cars that caught our eye was a 2015 Mustang built by Antidote Motorsports for the SEMA show. A Whipple-boosted Coyote that puts down 762 ponies to the rear wheels is the highlight of this ride. The car’s owner was looking to get $70,000 but the car is crossed the block without selling, so it might still be available.

Besides the usual single-car auctions, this year’s Kissimmee event featured a double shot of rare vintage race cars courtesy of two large collections for sale.

“Drag racing enthusiasts have lots to look forward to at Mecum Auctions’ Kissimmee 2017 classic and collector-car auction,” said Mecum before the event. “Some of the most significant early muscle cars and vintage drag cars ever publicly offered—hailing from the collections of Don Fezell and Jackie and Gary Runyon—will make their mark by crossing the auction block among the headlining vehicles of more than 3,000 cars at the world’s largest collector-car auction in the Sunshine State…”

The former owner of this Tangerine-hued 1965 Mustang is in his ’80s and just wasn’t up to driving a six-speed ’Stang with over 600 rear-wheel horsepower, so he decided to let it go. Someone scored a deal when the restomod sold for $42,000. It was stripped down to the frame and reborn with a custom frame, a 418-cube small-block, a Tremec six-speed, a Moser 9-inch, and more.

It was pretty awesome to be in the presence of all the vintage racing iron and modern muscle. Beyond the cars, however, there was even a good deal of automotive memorabilia up for sale as well.

In all, it was definitely worth the trip and if you want to see what the Mecum Auctions are all about, the Wisconsin-based company hosts them all over the country. The next stop on the Mecum tour is in Las Vegas on January 25 and you can peep the full schedule here.

Until then, keep reading to see some of the great cars we spotted in Kissimmee…

Your scribe has always had a soft spot for T-top Foxes. The ’83 GT was never a favorite, but this one was so clean it was magnetic. It only had 10,000 original miles on the clock and still wore the original Michelin TRX metric tires. It brought in a bit more than it was worth new when it sold for $15,000.

We love the concept of swapping a powerhouse engine into a lightweight chassis and this 1963 ½ Falcon Sprint took that idea to the limit with a 700-horsepower Cammer! That’s right this restomod features a 427 SOHC engine built by Barillaro Speed Emporium in Knoxville, Tennessee and topped by a pair of Holley cars and an MSD ignition. It was definitely a hit at Mecum as it sold for a whopping $130,000.

As a small child, your author used to get up at the crack of dawn on Saturday mornings to catch re-runs of the classic Batman series starring Adam West. One of the stars of the show as the Batmobile its rocket thrust. This isn’t the real one, but a ’79 Lincoln Continental turned into a replica of the TV car. Powered by a 460 big-block and equipped with the requisite Batphone, Batscanner and Batram, the replica sold for $100,000.

We came across not one, but two Pilot Production 2012 Boss 302s up for sale in Kissimmee. These pre-production models are built for testing prior to the official Job 1 start to make sure the cars a ready to build. The Laguna Seca in the foreground is the first of five PP Bosses built, while the standard white Boss behind it is the second of 12 PP Bosses built. To make them all the more rare, both cars bear the signatures of Bud Moore, Dave Pericak and Steve Ling. All this wasn’t enough for the two cars to bring in the $65,000 and $55,000 they were expected to command, so there’s still hope for you to expand your collection.

The marketing on this one definitely caught our attention. This Daytona Coupe is a Factory Five replica powered by a 427-inch FE topped by Edelbrock heads and tamed by Haltec fuel injection. The engine is backed by an old-school Doug Nash five-speed, which definitely makes for a visceral driving experience. It was definitely a draw at Mecum as it dropped the gavel at $73,000.

 

Regular readers may recall that we clued you in that one of each Cobra R was up for bid in Kissimmee. Surprisingly only one of the cars sold and it isn’t the one we haven’t driven yet. The seller was looking to get $60,000 for the ’93 Cobra R and $55,000 for the 2000 R-model, but both were still available when we last checked. The 351-powered ’95 Cobra in the middle did sell for a reasonable $35,000, which is less than the sticker price. Plus it only has 1,900 original miles, so it’s practically new.

The last-gen Ford GT was a supercar you could drive everyday. Since they have been out of production, these cars have remained coveted, which ensures they retain a lot of value. This Speed Yellow example is one of only 75 painted in this color in 2006 and it only has 2,560 miles on the odo, so it’s practically brand new. Featuring all the options, it sold for $280,000 or about $120,000 more than it did new.

While the classics were definitely commanding princely sums, the modern classics flexed also some muscle in Kissimmee. This 890-mile 2016 Shelby GT350R is optioned up with the $7,500 electronics package which adds air conditioning, navigation and Sync to Ford Performance’s racy production ’Stang. We witnessed some prospective buyers sampling the active exhaust while an onlooker said “Ford really has it figured out.” Yes they do and this rare R sold for an impressive $102,500.

Photo gallery

VIEW FULL GALLERY >