My appearance at the 2023 edition of the Mecum Harrisburg collector car auction marks the 6th time I have made the trek. Mecum’s reputation is up there with Barrett-Jackson as an auction company that sells comparatively affordable classics, compared to the “catalog” auction companies like RM Sotheby’s and Gooding. Nothing against those outfits, in fact, I’m a fanboy of RM especially after they sold my BMW Isetta for me. But Mecum at least dangles the possibility of a “good deal” for the hobbyist.

If you want to read my prior posts, which can be entertaining when you see what some cars have sold for, here are the links:

Mecum Harrisburg 2015

Mecum Harrisburg 2016

Mecum Harrisburg 2017

Mecum Harrisburg 2018

Mecum Harrisburg 2022

Harrisburg is only a 2+ hour drive from my home, and it’s smack in between Hershey and Carlisle, the two east coast locations with which every old car fanatic is familiar. In years past I’ve made the Mecum Harrisburg visit a multi-day affair, but I’ve observed that the most fun happens on Day One. Prices quickly escalate on subsequent days. To the credit of Mr. Dana Mecum and his staff, their Harrisburg event has grown substantially. In prior years it was a 3-day auction, Thursday through Saturday. This year, Day One was Wednesday, but still ended on Saturday, for a total of 4 days. They try to run about 250-275 cars a day, so in round numbers, figure that they auctioned around 1,000 cars.

Part of the growth is that this PA location is Mecum’s only event in the Northeast. The next closest locale for them is Indianapolis. Yet the Day One crowd looked smaller than in previous years. A lot has changed since their 2014 inaugural event in Harrisburg, still in the PA Farm Show Complex. One of the biggest changes is the eruption of successful online auctions, most notably Bring A Trailer. But there’s nothing like kicking the tires with real shoes. Several cars which looked great in photos on Mecum’s website showed serious battle scars when examined up close and personal.

Below are highlights of some of the cars which caught my attention, mostly cars which sold on Wednesday, the day we were there. Indicated prices are HAMMER prices. All sold lots incur a 10% buyer’s premium, included in the prices shown on Mecum’s website, which is why my listed prices are lower. (Auction companies love to do that, as it inflates the appearance of how much they raked in.)

Richard’s Car Blog is the only online auction reporting site which arranges sold cars in price order, to give the reader some sense of what a particular amount of money will buy. And may I point out yet again, for all those who continue to moan that “there’s nothing affordable in the hobby anymore!”: the first seven cars listed below hammered at $15,000 or under. That is NOT to say that all were good deals. Some were decidedly not; in some cases, spending $5,000 to $10,000 more would get you the better deal. But there are still some very good starter collector cars available to those willing to be open-minded about make and model.

F190.1 1984 Ford Mustang SVO, 2.3L inline turbo 4, 5-speed manual, dark red, grey cloth interior. First year of the Mustang SVO, which was made only 3 years (’84-’86). Very worn paint, other exterior trim show excess wear. Interior relatively clean by comparison.

SOLD FOR $7,000. Condition is everything sometimes. Compare to W218 below, another SVO, which sold for almost 3 times this sale price and would be the smarter purchase.

W25, 1983 Buick Riviera convertible, white, burgundy top and interior, 5.0L V8, odo shows 59k, decent shape overall, few Riviera convertibles built (sign claims only 1,750 of them in 1983). Aftermarket wood steering wheel detracts.

SOLD FOR $8,500. I know a club member who has one and he loves his. This was one of the first cars across the block on Wednesday, which may have affected the price. I’ve also seen Riv coupes of this generation sell for near this number, so I’d mark this as well bought.

W133 1964 Ford Thunderbird hardtop, color possibly “rose beige”, matching interior, black vinyl roof with landau bars, 390 V8, automatic, Orange plug wires and aftermarket carb don’t “fit” the car.

SOLD FOR $10,000. This was one that looked decent on my home PC – until my in-person inspection quickly turned up a thick bead of silicone squeezed into the junction of the windshield and vinyl roof. Fixing that in a proper way will be pricey.

W136 1965 Ford Thunderbird, white, black interior, 390 V8, automatic, LF wheel cover is off the wheel and sitting behind the driver’s seat. Clean, straight looking car, but nothing extraordinary.

SOLD FOR $11,500. For an additional $1,500, this was the better deal compared to W133 above. This could be a good starter collector car.

W237 1983 Datsun 280ZX, 2.8L straight 6, 5-speed manual. Tacky two-tone silver and blue straight from the early ‘80s. Blue interior with shiny silver leather seats, ditto. Covered headlights and T-tops complete the look. Sign claims 78k miles.

SOLD FOR $11,500. If you can ignore the colors (or perhaps if you like them), this is actually a lot of car for the money. These 2^nd gen Z-cars, while lacking the purity of the 1^st gen, still are fun drivers and decent GT cars if not out-and-out sports cars. Given how earlier and later Z-car prices are climbing, I’m predicting that these will see a slow but steady appreciation.

W93 1955 Chrysler New Yorker, blue & white outside, blue & white inside. Sign on car claims 64k miles. Hemi V8 engine, 331 cubic inches, automatic, power steering, brakes, and windows.

SOLD FOR $12,000. This was an odd presentation. The outside looked mostly original, with what might have been a much older repaint. The inside was recently redone, but with non-original materials and patterns. Price seemed high based on body style and condition. Any attempt to fully restore it would have you upside-down.

W120.1 1966 Ford Mustang hardtop, inline 6, automatic, light blue with two-tone blue interior, dealer or aftermarket A/C, few options other than that.

SOLD FOR $14,000. The only reason this car drew me in was its very high quality cosmetic condition. It’s unusual to see this much love and money poured into a six-banger. It’s equally unusual to see the small engine kept, as often it gets pulled in favor of a non-original V8. If you were in the market for a good-looking first gen Mustang and were not concerned with the ponies, this was your car. I doubt you could find another well-restored Mustang of this generation for a price near this.

W147 1961 Pontiac Bonneville bubble-top coupe, red, tri-tone red interior, 389 V8, automatic, 8-lug wheels. Looks like it’s all there, but most paint is faded away, and rust is bursting out like teenage acne from all the lower sheetmetal.

SOLD FOR $15,000. When Bill Mitchell took the styling reins from Harley Earl at GM in 1959, the changes were dramatic and almost immediate. Gone were the excesses of the ‘50s, replaced by smooth, clean, downsized shapes. The ’61 Pontiacs have always stood out for me as Exhibit A of that change, especially the 2-door bubble tops like this one. This was expensive for a project, but will be amazing if restored correctly. However, will take bucks to make it right.

W82 1982 Toyota Supra, blue metallic, blue and grey cloth upholstery, 2.8L inline 6, 5-speed manual, sign claims 49k miles, believed to be “P” package car based on large fender flares and even larger rear wing.

SOLD FOR $17,000. The first-gen Supras looked very much like the Celica on which they were based. This car, a 2^nd gen, was given a more unique styling treatment. I remember these well when they were new and we thought they were hot. Prices for 2^nd (and 3^rd) gen Supras were reasonable until very recently; check BaT to verify the escalation in sale prices. Based on what I’ve seen online, this was about right, maybe even a little light.

S34 1967 Buick Special, gold, black vinyl roof, black interior with bench seat, 340 V8, auto on column, factory A/C. Online photos look stunning, in person less so. However, overall cosmetic condition is strong.

SOLD FOR $17,500. I liked this car, spurred on no doubt by my ownership of a ’66 Buick Sportwagon in the same color combo. Note that this car is a ‘Special’ and is NOT a ‘Skylark’. I think finding a GM intermediate in this condition at this price makes this a good deal.

W218 1985 Ford Mustang SVO, claim to fame is the reported 10k original miles, but it looks it. Dark red, grey leather interior, 2.3L inline-4 turbo, 5-speed manual. “Late ’85” with the aerodynamic headlights and greater power output.

SOLD FOR $19,000. If I ever were to get a Fox body, the SVO would be my first choice. When new, these sold for more than the V8-powered GTs. Their lighter 4-cylinder engines made them better handling cars. My price guide puts SVOs between $10k and $20k, and very clean ones have sold on BaT for very high teens, so this one, as a 10k mile survivor, was worth the winning bid.

T19 1987 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe, 2.3L inline 4, 5-speed manual, sign claims 32k original miles, dark red, grey cloth interior.

SOLD FOR $21,500. These are Fox body platform cars, but larger than their Mustang brethren. This one sold for a bit of a premium, probably because of condition and the rarity of the 5-speed. Nice car.

W232 1986 Porsche 928, metallic beige, beige leather interior, 5.0L V8, automatic, odo stated to read 80k miles. Sign on car claims original paint.

SOLD FOR $22,000. It doesn’t seem that long ago when nice 928s were sub-$10k cars, but no one wanted them. Prices took off around the start of Covid and may have cooled a bit since. This car was straight but nothing special other than being the only 928 here. Interior seemed better than many other 928s, which tend to show cracked dashes and seat upholstery. Mileage is on the low side; many 928s at auction show well over 100k on the clock. At this price I’d give slight advantage to the seller. Hope the new owner plans to drive it and not just stare at it.

W189.1 1967 Oldsmobile 98 convertible, gold, tan top, tan interior, 425 V8, automatic. A huge boat of a car, it was in gorgeous condition and looked great in these colors.

SOLD FOR $28,000. Expensive? Not for condition. I would bet that a Chevy from the same year would sell for more; this Olds is arguably the better-looking car.

S82.1 1983 Datsun 280ZX, dark grey metallic, silver leather, 2.8L inline 6, 5-speed manual, sign claims under 60k original miles. Factory A/C, T-tops, sign claims car kept in climate-controlled garage.

SOLD FOR $31,000. Condition was great; the car looked like a 5-year-old well-kept used car. Compare this selling price with W237, the other 280ZX in this report: colors and condition brought almost triple the money.

T109 1969 Volvo 1800S, blue with brown interior, 2.0L inline 4, 4-speed manual with electric overdrive.

SOLD FOR $32,500. While the car was spotless, something looked off to me, and that was the color, or perhaps the colors. I’m clearly not an 1800 expert, but I cannot recall seeing this exact shade of blue on a Volvo before. Same with the brown interior, at least not on a ’69. The trunk panels appeared non-original as well. Even some engine compartment detailing wasn’t what I’d call factory correct. Would love to hear comments from some of the Volvo faithful.

F175.1 1969 Jaguar E-type roadster, Series II car, red, tan top and interior, 4.2L inline-6, sign on car claims 5-speed manual. Clean, straight XKE.

SOLD FOR $82,000. These used to be the “affordable” E-Types, after the Series I cars. But “affordable” is a relative term here. Roadsters still bring much more than the coupes. Buyer’s premium brought the price to over $90k; sale price was about the going rate for a Series II roadster, possibly a bit of a steal for the buyer.

All photographs copyright © 2023 Richard A. Reina. Photos may not be copied or reproduced without express written permission.