Barrett-Jackson 2009: The Corvettes

Corvettes have always been well represented at Barrett-Jackson, and with GM's Heritage Collection added to the list, there are plenty of interesting 'Vettes set to cross the auction block. Among the collection is a one-off 1997 Corvette Tiger Shark concept, a 1989 Corvette Snake Skinner that sold for $176,000 on Wednesday, and the very first ZR-1 built for 1992. If that particular ZR-1 doesn't suit your fancy, there are a few others available including a 1990 coupe and 1993 anniversary model, although they each have to be purchased with a corresponding 2009 model. Some other notable offerings include a C5 chassis display, a 750-horsepower Lingenfelter Corvette, and a beautiful 1967 coupe with a modern Z06 motor and transmission. Browse through the high-res gallery below and pick out your favorite. Note that the gallery is not a full list of the Corvettes at the auction, but does represent some of the better examples.

Very Collectible Trucks Offered at Barrett-Jackson, from GM Heritage Collection

This year’s Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction can be summed up in this way: GM Heritage Collection Customized Show Vehicles, GM Heritage Collection Production Milestone Vehicles, GM Heritage Collection Engineering Studies, GM Heritage Collection Historic Vehicles, GM Heritage Collection Racing and Support Vehicles, a Ford 4-AT-E Tri-Motor Airplane (yes, they are auctioning off a significant historical Airplane!), and the remaining cars left to be auctioned. After going over the inventory listing that Barrett-Jackson plans on offering over the week long extravaganza in Scottsdale, I was truly amazed at the number of slots the Heritage Collection occupies. There are over 250 vehicles from the collection that GM needs to sell off.

This isn’t the way for GM to get top dollar for any of them, so the following prime trucks should be available at rock bottom prices. However, the Barrett-Jackson organization seems to have the magic touch as far as getting the most money for the vehicles they offer, so who knows.

The top photo showcases a 1925 Chevrolet House Car, and is scheduled for the Tuesday Auction. This was built on the Chevrolet 1-Ton chassis. Before motor homes were available commercially, many campers produced in the early days were built around plans supplied to a carpenter or cabinet maker. It rides on a 125″ wheel bass with a 171cid/35hp 4 cylinder engine and 6 volt electrical system. The custom built wood body has oak with mahogany trim, maple floor and counter tops, dark blue mohair cushions, dark blue wool carpet, dark blue roller shades with blue and white gingham curtains, a sink with hand pump water faucet using 5 gallon oak barrel for water storage, a commode with removable bucket for waste, auto flip down front step, interior 6 volt electrical lights and kerosene lamps, interior kerosene heater, single burner kerosene stove, and toll fee payment door. This is a piece that deserves preserving.

The next image is that of a 1916 GMC 1 ton Stake Bed Truck. This truck includes a 4 cylinder engine producing 33 horsepower. These had shaft drive and worm drive. There is very little information about this particular truck, but again, it’s worth preserving for future generations.

Continuing on, here is another significant GMC. It is a 1948 GMC Firetruck, and utilizes the first post-war styled body for GMC. According to the listing, GMC offered 347 different body and chassis models. This particular fire truck was part of the Pontiac, Michigan GMC Truck Plant Fire Brigade. This should find a home, and will be very interesting to see what the final bid price will be.

SUVs became quite popular in the mid 80’s right up to this past summer. This next truck is actually part of the foundation for their success. It is a 1978 GMC Suburban, featuring a body style introduced in 1973. This GMC Suburban has tri-tone stripes on its exterior and the custom interior of the super-graphics era of American Design. How can you not love a truck from the 70’s?

Any history about GMC Trucks would not be complete without a couple of real performance trucks. And at this auction, there are two such examples. The first is a 1991 GMC Syclone PPG Pace Truck, that saw track usage at many venues and is a great example of the now legendary first super truck. The second truck is equally as impressive and it’s a 1993 GMC Typhoon. This one-year-only GMC Typhoon represented a highwater mark for high performance compact sport utility trucks. With its conservatively rated 280hp blown and intercooled V6 and AWD, the Typhoon could easily cover a 1/4 mile in under 14.3 seconds and accelerate from 0-60 in less than 6.0 seconds with little effort and with its specially tuned suspension. it handled as well as it looked. Classy and comfortable, this polite street brawler is the last one built.

It’s Truck Day (from the GM Heritage Collection) at Barrett-Jackson

These are some of the tacky trucks that will be auctioned off for the GM Heritage Center. Most of them will be available on Tuesday, January 13, with a sprinkling available during the rest of the event right up through Sunday January 18th. Most of the trucks illustrated are one-off custom jobs, with wild paint, jacked up, or lowered, non production wheels, and questionable taste.

Many were commissioned for SEMA, or were done as a cooperative venture. All I know is that these trucks are all pretty wild, and I will be surprised if Barrett Jackson doesn’t get top dollar for each of them. So without further ado, here are some of the contestants:

You will notice that the top image is a “Tonka” truck, but i never realized that this was a 1999 Chevrolet Silverado. It still looks good, if a little garish. However, the next truck actually tosses good taste right out the window. It is a 2007 Chevrolet 3500 Silvarado titled “Country Music”. The use of chrome, and the rather tasteless decals can easily be removed. There is few details as to who commissioned it, or what it was used for.

Here is a current generation Silverado, done up to look like a roadside assistance vehicle. There is almost every piece of gingerbread hung on this thing, so much so that there will be a lot of reconstructive surgery to bring it back to something useful.

Speaking of show trucks, this one is made up to proclaim the advantages in using E85. Remember the Live Green, Go Yellow campaign GM used to showcase their Flex Fuel vehicles? Here’s what’s left of that experiment.

How about this one? A collaborative effort between GM and the Orange County Chopper team inspired this one-of-a-kind chromed, slammed and flat out sinister looking Silverado. Powered by a LS7 7.0 Liter/505hp Gen IV V8 with GM Performance Rockers. It also features custom OCC inspired wheels/tires, chopper-like “Big & Littles” that are 22″ x 9″ on the front and 20″ x 16″ rear. The bed also features a custom engine rack with four H & L Performance 124cid engines, a twin chopper “fuel tank” bed, OCC tribal flames on grille/tailgate and Billet OSRC mirrors. Isn’t this show canceled yet?

The next truck is actually kind of cool, as it’s a re-interpretation of the classic K5 2 door full size Blazer. This special was built off a chopped 2000 Tahoe, and has an open-air rear cargo bed with removable carbon-fiber top and 180-degree rearward opening rear doors. It actually looks production ready!

I’m a sucker for the really big trucks, and I will leave you with this image. It’s a 2003 GMC C7500 Topkick Crew Cab, including an aluminum Rollback Car Carrier. It’s truly a good looking recovery vehicle.