If you live on the other side of the pond, you probably already know about the Anglia Auctions. The auction house has been auctioning cars at the Cattlemarket in Hardwick for the past 20 years. While they have modern car auctions weekly, they only have five classic car auctions each years. Well Ricky M tipped us off to their upcoming classic auction on April 4th and they have a number of barn finds and survivors set to hit the block that weekend. Ricky pointed out several Minis that are extremely low mileage, one has only seen 18 miles since new, but I noticed the plethora of other barn finds. You can find the full auction catalog here on AngliaAuctions.com. Special thanks to Ricky for this tip!
Since the Minis were the initial cars that caught my attention we will cover those first. Both were built in ’89 and were obviously owned by the same collector. In an attempt to keep the Mini fresh and interesting over its 40 year production run, there were a number of special editions built. These two are 30th Anniversary specials and have special accents, unique interior, and an anniversary book by Rob Golding. The black example (which can be viewed here) has seen just 18 miles since new, while the red one (find it here) has seen a scant 137 miles. These cars weren’t even driven enough to fully break them in! While its great to see such low mileage example, I wonder if they were properly maintained and stored. A car can have zero miles, but if it hasn’t been serviced and stored correctly it could be in worse condition than a car that’s seen regularly service and 100k miles.
The next car to grab my attention isn’t a barn find, but is just such a cool car I couldn’t help but point it out. Yesterday we featured one of the few Jowett Jupiters that was ever built. That one, which you can find here, wasn’t in the best of shape. The one you see here is a great example of what that car could look like! It is an older restoration, but still looks fantastic. These cars really are quite incredible machines, with a boxer four, alloy body, and slick body, it’s no wonder they did so well at Le Mans. You can view the auction preview here.
While there aren’t any American built cars being offered at this auction, there is one car that follows the American formula for speed. With a Ford V8 crammed under the hood, this Sunbeam Tiger is about as close to a Cobra as you can get without breaking the bank. It appears to have been in this barn for at least the past 20 years and is likely going to need work. It has been verified by the Sunbeam Tiger Club as being the real deal and there is documentation to prove the 75k miles are original. You can take a closer look at this Tiger here.
There are so many great finds at this auction, that I’d love to talk about each one but I will limit myself to just one more. This 1958 Jaguar XK150 is in my opinion, one of the best looking cars being offered. It has been in storage for the past 40 years! It has never been restored and is claimed to be original, although it was repainted in red at some point and been gone through to make it drivable. I love the leather interior and wouldn’t mind getting to just sit behind the wheel and take in all the sights and smells! Check out the auction preview here. So if you could have any car from this auction lot, which would you take? One of the Jags, a low mileage Mini, maybe the Jowett, or how about one of the British Fords? Let us know in the comments below!
What’s wrong with these pics? Oh, I know – they reversed the negatives when doing the layout; almost all are cattywampass! As a Tiger owner, that Mk I Tiger is most interesting; getting it to the good-old US of A would be a challenge. Question, why didn’t they apply a little elbow grease and clean the crap off the car?
As you browse the beautiful cars, remember……1.50 multiplier gives you U.S. Dollar!
WHAT?? you open the story with a picture of a MK11 Cortina Crayford convertible and no mention of her in the article….
I was going to talk about the Cortina, but I decided I had better stop or I would have ended up writing about every one of the cars. There is a link to it though at the bottom of the post, so that you can take a look at it! Sorry to tease you like that!
Josh
I’m going down to do this so I’ll take some photos and send you a brief write-up if you like. I love these lower-end auctions as they’re always full of really interesting people and it’s all done in a very low-key British way, as you might imagine!
There’s none of the Barrett-Jackson showmanship or salespeople encouraging (or essentially shaming) people into bidding higher – just some people stood around in Barber jackets, wellies, jeans and flat caps nodding at the auctioneer from time to time. A modest “well done old chap” and some polite applause usually accompanies the end of an auction sale, rather than wolf-whistling and hollers!
There’s one car we particularly want for the business and one that, if it stays within its estimate, I’m taking home for myself.
Some thoughts:
I think all the Alfas will beat their estimates. They are hugely popular in Europe and Japan at the moment and I could see a dealer buying all of those, unless there’s a private enthusiast in the house.
All of the Austins are superb, but I think the motorhome will struggle to make its estimate. It might be rare but it has no cache – it’s no VW splitty. I’d love that pickup but my wife would kill me!
The Daimler is woefully overpriced; nice as it is, it won’t make that.
The Citroen Maserati is, again, something I’d love to have in the garage but you’d need deep pockets and a serious understanding of the engineering to get that back into good shape.
The ’85 Ford Capri is priced right – they are really going up in value at the moment but the modified one may struggle for a buyer. We all know that originality is the key and a modified car is someone’s personal dream – it’s unlikely to appeal to someone else at $6000-$10000.
I’m stunned at how cheap the XJSs are valued and that XK150 is easily going to go above its valuation. Easily!
The Morris 10 is what I’m going down there for, but the Mercedes estate will be mine if it stays at roughly the estimate. They aren’t as in demand as the W123 but they’re going up. You can buy this for $1500, drive it for five years and not lose a penny on it.
Neil, please take some photos and do a write up! I wish I could go myself, but that isn’t going to happen.
Let us know how the Morris 10 and Mercedes auctions go! Good luck! Hopefully you are able to walk away with both of them. I will keep an eye out for your write up and photos!
Thanks,
Josh
Neil is right, the Merc wagon is one of the best buys at the estimated price.
If I had the finances, I’d go over and get the 1989 MG Maestro Turbo. Small, fast and very very rare.
Oh and if you’re wondering why there’s only a pic of the rear of the MG Maestro, well, the front end is even MORE unassuming than the rear! http://liveimages.carsales.com.au/carsales/car/private/cp4814533939031242692.jpg?height=290&aspect=centered&width=440
You’ve got a good eye for a modest investment I think – that MG will never lose money for it’s owner but I suspect you would pick it for its performance. You certainly didn’t pick it for its reliability!
If I had some lottery money to throw at this I’d come home with the Montreal and one of the P6s. And. erm.. most of those Austins!
Seriously, though, from a realistic point of view this is an interesting auction. We have lots of vehicles under-valued, in my opinion, and quite a few well over-valued. Most of these will be head-scratchers for the American readers but there is something there for everyone.
Do you have regular auctions like these in the States? Well looked after, older, maybe unrecognised cars for reasonable money?
I think that Mercedes wagon would be twice the price in the USA that it is in Europe but the converse applies. Over here, dime-a-dozen 50s and 60s US classics fetch three times what they cost to buy in their native environment!
Neil – I am of a certain age where the family car was a 1934 Morris 10/4 = CPB 264 – sold in Liverpool for 5 pounds in 1957 when we emigrated to Canada. I own a variety of British tin, some examples being in this auction. But the one Brit that does appeal is the Wolseley 14/56. Always admired the styling as a kid but felt the Morris equivalent with its less intrusive grille better styled. Anyway, good luck with your purchase!
Thanks for the well wishes! I don’t make a habit of buying at auction but the Anglia ones are always great fun and you can end up with a real bargain if you know what you’re doing. I don’t, so I take along an amazing chap who does. Most of us would know our way around ’50s to ’80s vehicles, until the electronics and plastic engine covers started appearing, but for me certainly (and I suspect for a lot of other people) properly old cars from the first few decades need someone skilled to assist:
Someone who can still roll a new wing from sheet steel, knows white metal work, can rebuild a wooden frame or wheel and is viewed with deep suspicion by anyone who still has a fear of witchcraft!
I would take home all of those at the auction for my own personal Leno garage apart from the modified cars. Oh, and those horrible junior-management 1980s rot-boxes from Renault and Rover. Absolutely nothing preservation-worthy in those affronts to automotive design in my opinion!
We need a four door, and I looked at some beautiful cars in the States when I was there earlier this year. I was so tempted, particularly by a stunning 1930 Pierce-Arrow, but had to put my business hat on and admit that the teeth-sucking coming from the end of the phone back to the UK was probably correct. Sigh. 50s and 60s American cars are not even remotely an issue here but once you start going further back in time than that it gets very time consuming to find and acquire spares.
If we manage to get the Morris, it will be an easy-to-maintain, affordable hire for a bridesmaid’s car – can’t go upstaging the bride by following in something more grandiose!