Bring a Trailer week spotlights cars with storied ownership histories
This week's Bring a Trailer auction roundup highlights a run of vehicles whose value rests largely on who owned them, from a former Reggie Jackson Ferrari to a 1968 Camaro Funny Car built by a champion drag racer.
A former Reggie Jackson Ferrari, a Hall of Fame slugger's old 1963 250 GT Lusso, leads this week's Bring a Trailer roundup, which is organized around a single idea: provenance. Across the listings, the cars draw their appeal as much from their past owners and the racing or wartime stories attached to them as from their mechanical specifications.
The Lusso is the headline lot. Jackson, the baseball Hall of Famer and muscle car collector, owned the car for about a decade. It was refurbished by Grand Prix Motors in La Jolla, California, and repainted green with a tobacco leather interior. The car is scheduled to be displayed at Retromobile New York, held November 19 through 22 at the Javits Center, giving buyers and enthusiasts a chance to see it in person before the sale closes.
Several other lots carry similarly specific histories. A 1951 Porsche 356 Pre-A split-window coupe is only the second split-window 356 to sell on Bring a Trailer in 16 years. It was built during the first full year of Reutter body production, and its details reflect the model's early evolution: the two-piece windshield was dropped by 1952, and wood door trim disappeared by 1953. Collectors tend to track such changes closely, which is why a car from this narrow production window draws attention.
The racing entries reach further back into the sport's history. A 1968 Chevrolet Camaro AA/FC Funny Car was owned by Dick Harrell, an NHRA and AHRA champion and builder. Harrell bought the car used from Jim Kirby and won the 1968 King of Kansas City event with it. He died in a 1971 crash in Ontario, and the car sat parked for three decades before being restored in the early 2000s. It retains its fiberglass body. Another racer, a Dreyer sprint car built by Floyd "Pop" Dreyer, a prolific sprint car builder, was set up for vintage racing by a prior owner and carries a flathead engine.
A 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 429 drag car offers a different kind of story. It was raced by Carl Tasca and fitted with a NASCAR 429 engine sourced through Petty Enterprises. Its equipment includes dual Holley four-barrels and a Weiand tunnel-ram intake, and it carries Kar Kraft number 2124. The car was later campaigned by Henry Austin. A 2012 Falcon F7, one of only six built, is also in the roundup; the listed example is the second sold on Bring a Trailer. It is powered by a naturally aspirated 7.0-liter LS7 and paired with a six-speed manual transaxle.
Not every lot is a finished machine. A 1958 Lloyd LS 600 Alexander Kombi, an air-cooled flat-twin economy wagon, was sold as a project, though a collection of spare parts comes with it. A 1942-era Kalamazoo Coaches Pony Cruiser, the "Catastrophe Unit," is a wartime requisitioned ambulance conversion that was stored for a long period after its 1950s retirement. Its medical equipment remains largely intact, offering a rare look at a vehicle whose original purpose is still visible. Also in the mix is a 1990 Ford F-150 Concept Sport Truck built by Roush, one of two made as Roush Racing promotional trucks. It wears Mark Martin's number 6 livery and runs a 5.8-liter Windsor V8 with a five-speed manual.
Rounding out the roundup is a 1933 Lagonda 3-Litre tourer. The car began life as a saloon, and a touring body was added in the 1980s. Its inline-six was overhauled in the late 2000s after the car was used in vintage racing. Taken together, the lots show how Bring a Trailer's weekly selection leans on documented history, with former owners, racing records and production details shaping how each car is presented to buyers.
Source: bringatrailer.com
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