If you follow the classic car hobby, you’ve undoubtedly heard about the Lambrecht Chevrolet auction that took place in 2013. It was the liquidation of long-time Chevrolet dealer Ray P. Lambrecht whos Nebraska dealership was in business for fifty years. There were several vehicles with less than ten original miles and this 1964 Chevrolet C10 Pickup was one of them. It is being re-sold at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale in mid-January 2019 and can be found here on Barrett-Jackson.com. If you want to see what the truck looked like before it was cleaned up, check out a photo of the exterior here.
Here is the truck in one of the auction photos. It was one of several “new” vehicles auctioned during a multi-day event on the weekend of September 28th, 2013. You can still find numerous articles and links about the sale online.
The engine is a straight six that has been cleaned up and is said to be running after a little TLC. You can see what the engine looked like when it was purchased here.
The interior looks brand new because it is. The windshield was broken sometime before it was sold in 2013 and that may have contributed to some of the dirt and debris that was inside the cab. I’m sure it took a ton of work, but the interior looks pretty good now.
You can see a photo from the 2013 auction which shows the wound to the roof here. Overall, this truck is in pretty good shape for having sat for decades. It’s too bad it has a few dings here and there, but this is still essentially a new truck. You can see more photos and bidding results from the auctioneer’s website here on vanderbrinkauctions.com. Scrolling through the docket on Barrett-Jackson, it appears this isn’t the only truck from the Lambrecht auction crossing the block in January. Will you be bidding on one of these awesome time capsules?
It amazes me every time I see a car or truck that was put out in a field when new from Lambrecht Chevy. Chevrolet dealer Ray P. Lambrecht must have been a terrible businessman.
In many respects, Mr. Lambrecht had no idea what he was doing. Row after row of new, unsold inventory rotting in the wind on a dirt lot makes anyone shudder. It ruined many of the cars that were sold, with the exception of the few cars he had stored inside. The rows of `59 Bel Airs/Impalas he had, that had been scavenged of parts by thieves made me almost cry. On a couple of them, the window stickers literally died up & fell off of the glass! They were found laying on the rear floor of the cars.
Yeah, terrible businessman, number one dealer in the state, sold so many brand new Chevrolet pickups and cars he could afford to buy a brand new one now and again, and just throw it in the field to get his new car sales bonus that was worth much more than the price of a new car. Why else do you think he did it? Oh plus he sold the lot of them for about 50 times the value he paid new.
I wish I was half as bad.
The Lambrecht auction will go down in history as the blunder of the century. What these people paid for these clunkers made no sense, to me anyway. I believe this truck sold for $27,000 BEFORE it was cleaned up. I wonder if the divorce rate spiked after this sale.
It will go for a helluva lot more than that at Barrett Jackson. Trucks were hot ticket items last year. And the ones like this, completely original and in great shape were at a premium.
I bought this truck at BJ auction 2019, paid $18k. Had two just like it when I farmed, and drove a 63 C10 to high school. Great home for it in Kennewick WA.
HoA- You get enough overweight old guys with money burning a hole in their pocket and not much of a playing field left to compete on…………and throw a bunch of iron in front of ’em..and its like ringing the bell for Pavlov’s dog. Any TV auction you want to name makes my point. It’s left to guys like us to exercise some good judgement while getting a good laugh. The truck looks pretty good now..I’d want to drive it , not pass it around as successive owners try to recapture their ill considered investment. IMHO
With MANY a buyer, now residing in the back seat of the car they bought–their new home! LOL
I’d have to disagree with you, Howard. Leaving those cars and trucks out in the elements wasn’t good but the family ended up doing very well and most of those vehicles found a good home. I wanted to go to that sale in the worst way. I fantasized buying the Cameo. It would’ve made a great 60th birthday present. Of course I would have still needed a big box full of money…
You can disagree with me, that’s cool. I’m out of the loop, and never made $100K+/year to support such silliness and apparently, the attendees of this sale DID have 5 figures of disposable cash to spend on these things. Many had little children with them. IDK, when my kids were small, I didn’t have $20,000 to pi$$ away on some hulk of a vehicle, nor the wife that tolerate such foolishness, especially when she’s been hounding you for that new bathroom. I’d have to say, at those prices, it excluded the folks that really could have had fun with this stuff. I’m not crying for the family, give them away for a grand each. They were considered junk for so many years or they would have been better taken care of. This whole sale just shook up my soda and obviously, still does. Nothing more than good ol’ American greed, at it’s finest, and these folks suckered right into it..
Point taken, Howard. I never made that kind of money either. It bothered me to see the ridiculous prices too because there was no way I could ever afford something like that. The point I was making was that I was glad to see the vehicles actually go somewhere and be put to good use. I’ve been to lots of auctions in years gone by and there’s a lot of adrenaline flowing, thus the buyer’s remorse. Myself, I’ve bought very few things at auction because of the stupidity, and the fact that money is hard to come by…
Howard, the cars and trucks were sold at market value (by definition) to people who wanted them, and could afford to pay for them. The fact that you apparently can’t afford to play at that level does not make it greed or silliness, it doesn’t make the cars junk, and it doesn’t make everyone at the auctions suckers. Nobody owes it to you to make vintage cars available to you or anyone else at low prices just because you think you could “have fun playing with them”.
I understand the “market” passed me by a long time ago. Ok, I apologize, the cars here weren’t junk, and obviously, not all attendees are suckers, it’s just, it’s tough seeing vehicles we grew up with the 1st time around, and could be had for pennies on the dollar here, they just aren’t $27,000 dollars( or more) worth of vehicle. Spending $27g’s on this, and wanting double in return, has to be greed. They have a ’64 Chevy pickup with 9 miles on it, and if you want it, you’ll pay dearly for it. It’s not so much that I can’t afford it, which is true, I just don’t want ’64 Chevy pickup, that to me, in it’s field condition, was worth maybe $1,000 bucks. It’s still a pickup from the early ’60’s, and the fact it still has floors, was about the only thing going for it. Bamboozling people into thinking this truck is worth 5 figures, you’re right, isn’t for me.
You have no clue what you’re talking about. Who ever paid $27k will double their money. Meanwhile, you just lost 20% in your IRA
I think most of us can appreciate the fact that this truck still has floors and rocker panels is indeed a very good thing to have going for it. If those were the only criteria, examples can still be found in places like Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, etc. With some diligent searching, maybe even close to the $1000 threshold.
But of course, that’s not all it has going for it. It has an excellent all-original interior, appears to have original paint, drivetrain and so on. With some caveat, it has never been apart, never had substandard work done to it, no poorly executed modifications. It’s the best of the best, and this complete package is what so many people are willing to pay so much extra for.
How many people who would voluntarily and gladly pay $40k for it would it take to convince you of the fact that no one is being bamboozled?
You found a $1400.00 gold coin laying in the street in front of your house. Assuming you’ve made a reasonable effort to find the rightful owner and cannot, the coin is now yours to do with as you please.
The local coin dealer thinks you should sell it to him for $50. After all, you just got it for free. Are you being “greedy” if you insist you want at least $1000? Is that unfair when you know it’s worth at least $1400?
No one found this truck in the street. Someone paid very good money for it, as an investment. If there are one or more people willing to pay considerably more for it, how can that be wrong?
Good points, but you are talking about $1,400 and I’m talking $27,000. You speak as if there’s no difference in these amounts. To be clear, it’s not the best of the best, that would be a truck with 9 miles on it, sealed in a bag. Rest assured, it will come apart, and may already have been haphazardly got running, and it’s not even shiny. I think, this sale showed, people came with a pocket full of money, beaming with pride and come heck or high water, they are going to leave with one. Out bid me, will ya’, I’ll show you, my wad is bigger than your wad,mentality. Clearly cost was not an object for some. That’s just hard to swallow, as most struggle just to pay their bills every month. I knew someone that did make the trip, and when he saw the condition and the prices, he turned right around and came back. Like geomechs says, it is nice these vehicles are going to a good home, supposedly,( although most of these will surely be flipped) and not to sound redundant, but at $27,000 dollars, it excludes the very people who would love to have this, but can’t justify 2 years worth of Social Security to get one. And the real kicker, it sends a false message that this is actually an acceptable price, and now every ’64 Chevy pickup is worth $27,000 dollars.
More good points. The problem with so many of these auctions is that they caused a spike in vehicle prices right across the board. When I started to watch the BJ auctions (must be 10 years now) there was a noticeable increase in prices across the entire spectrum. Suddenly the wretched remains of a ‘39 Ford Tonner in ND that was a gift at $500 suddenly had an extra 0 tacked on. Now, most people looked at this as a bubble and prices have started to come down but there are some stubborn holdouts.
Now this truck. To me it’s a desirable truck that could be a lot of fun in addition to being useful. (9) miles means absolutely nothing to me other than it should go a long way before it needs a rebuild. That 9 miles would have a few zeros tacked on and still be going. Yes I would look after it, but I would USE it for what it was designed to do…
A 1964 longbed with a 6 cyl engine has “0” collectibilly. But like they say, “there’s an arse for every seat”
I totally disagree. Just like four door cars finally found appreciation, longbeds and in-line sixes have a sparkle for many buyers now too.
All true, gentlemen, these trucks all brought stupid money, and it could be that this one did sell for 27 large. If you consider you paid 20 for it, add buyers premium,,and sales tax, plus any other hokey@ss charges they added on, you will be there right quick. Will be fun to see what it brings at Me-cum or BJ. U guys think its worth that kind of dough???
Cheers
GPC
LOL! No!
I can understand the brand new examples at the original auction bringing high amounts. What I didn’t understand was the used cars that sat out in a field for 30 + 40 years getting huge amounts as well. A fair number of the cars we’re deteriorated to such a point that they were nothing but parts cars. Sounds like a bunch of auction Hysteria where people lost their shirts.
I heard a story on the whole Lambrecht deal that supposedly came from somebody who knew the situation. I read it on the internet, it must be true . . . The story I got was Lambrecht had an Army buddy who became a fleet buyer for a national company. The friend ran all his fleet purchases through Lambrecht even though the cars were delivered all over the country.
Chevrolet management wasn’t real happy about this, but they were still selling cars so they had to go along with it. But they forced Lambrecht to take a few cars, some unpopular, some stripped down base models, that he didn’t want with every fleet order. He was a small dealer in the middle of nowhere, so he couldn’t easily get rid of some of them.
The relationship between Lambrecht and Chevrolet apparently wasn’t good. At one point Chevrolet wanted a zero mile Corvair for a display and they knew Lambrecht had one. He was so mad at them he refused to sell it back to them at any price.
But he was making enough money off of the large fleet sales that he could afford to basically abandon the cars he didn’t want to deal with in the field. That whole thing still doesn’t make sense to me, even selling at a normal car auction at a loss would have been better at that time than letting them rot in that field. Eventually the family made good money out of it, but I’d bet that they would have been way better off selling the cars at a loss back in the day and investing the money. And if they had any idea in the 1960’s of making money in the future, abandoning them in that field wasn’t their best idea.
Joe. You may have read that here, on Barn Finds, from me no less!!!!!
https://barnfinds.com/revisiting-the-epic-lambrecht-chevrolet-auction/
The story I related in the post for the link was told to me in person sitting across the desk from the Chevy dealer in Nebraska City.
None of the story you quoted is true. The dealership was bought on contract from an Uncle. Ray sold many NE contracts and sold not alot above sticker. He kept old inventory I feel just being ornery. He kept all the trades to.make th2m buy a new GM Chevrolet. He didnt have good records. No army buddy. He did sell in volume. I spoke to Ray and his wife personally while working the auction. Ask..I will tell you.
Yvette VanDerBrink
VanDerBrink Auctions
After some reflection on an earlier posted issue of flipping and car buyers with endless disposable income, I’ve come to understand the gentleman’s anger. In many ways he is correct. From other comments on Hemmings and in Classic Car Magazine, a considerable number of readers lament on the old car hobby and hobbyist as becoming almost non-existent. They are right. Many car hobbyists love an old car and the pure joy that comes from tinkering with it and trying to bring it back to life. For most of us those days are gone, replaced by the car “collector”. Hagerty is always issuing the “top 10” collector cars or the “collector cars in decline” much like a stock brokers buy-sell advice. The collector usually does just that, collects cars, often many, many cars spending money most of us could only dream about. They rush to the auctions, both sellers and collectors hoping for the mega money deal to happen and they usually do with amounts being spent that I cannot even understand. I recall a TV personality that connived with the contractor in charge of a parking garage to get at an old, very valuable car in Manhattan. The case was so perverse, that the co-conspirator, the garage manager/contractor committed suicide days after the story came to light when the owners family discovered the fraud. Lots of money paid around quickly and a quiet settlement with the family. Nasty business but this is an example of terrible greed and that was a number of years ago. Sadly, it was not the only such case. It happens everyday.
Owners of similar cars instantly think their barn or field vehicle is automatically worth “auction” status value and thus eliminating the old car hobbyist as a purchaser. Old cars are no longer an affordable hobby. It is at times, a cut-throat competition for the “rarest”, for the “concours” ready, or they have gobs of disposable income to make them concours vehicles. Enter the flipper. Yes, he or she is absolutely entitled to find and purchase a bargain car, wash it, wax it, do the minimum and then peddle it for as high a price as the market will bear. Folks do the same with homes. It is why people today look at a home purchase as “how much money can I make on this deal in a few years” and then affordability diminishes. Few look at a home purchase today solely for the fact that it will become their home. This is all, as I had mentioned, a function of greed and perhaps of necessity to make ends meet in a world where the rich are always get richer. Can one blame a guy for trying to make ends meet by selling an old car find at a good profit? Most folks don’t earn a living wage with full benefits and a pension as our parents did. I see both sides.
This is our reality but the hope is that the true hobbyist will prevail. Old car ownership is fast becoming a rich mans’ game, but hopefully we all will find our dream car at a bargain price to enjoy and love (on Barn Finds). My two cents.
I believe the line between hobbyist/collector and opportunist is blurred for some buyers….that truly, is what has sullied the ability of the average person to acquire what should otherwise be affordable. Like any commodity, speculation has skewed automotive values such that ‘fringe’ vehicles are the only truly affordable ones now for many in the hobby…hence the popularity and value of what we see on Barn Finds.
Always wondered if the buyer of this 63 Greenbriar Panel-auction #124, was bidding by phone.
It had a bunged up side door. It was used to store firewood, which rotted the entire floor to swiss cheese status. Mileage was 25 or less and still on MSO.
Sold for $19,000.00
Nope, they were there. I talked with them. It went to GA. Atlanta maybe.
Thing I remember most, was the whole floor was filled with dung.
There was no phone bidding. Online or in person.
I think the Orange ’64 in the article was sold for $17,500.00 as it was before the Green and white ’72 which sold for $11,000.00 ??
http://www.vanderbrinkauctions.com/app/uploads/Lambrecht_Auction_Results.pdf
At least the pictures bring back the memories of the farm trucks in New Mexico. When we got new pickups in 1962 they seemed like a huge and amazing leap into the future. Who would ever have imagined that anyone would be willing, even eager, to pay so much money for one in that future?
I always wonder how all of the post complaining about regular guys being price out of the hobby on some posts and others where the same people whine about a clean restorable car being over priced at $1500. Sure you can’t buy the 15,000 mile SS Camaro, but you can buy the 90,000 mile 1963 Catalina
Lots of great insight on whats been happening. I want to mention that the Lambrecht auction was an absurd example of the premium paid for low mileage and originality. Condition? Collectability? Who cares, they have almost no miles,and they are all original!!!!!! I don’t think the dirt,the damage, the rust etc were original, but that’s just me (and I hope most if not all of you).
So now you bought one of these treasures, what are your options? Drive it? That would add mileage and subtract value. Clean it and sell it for more? There maybe another sucker who will pay through the nose.
Maybe you could park it in a field for a few more decades, after all that worked for Lambrecht maybe it could work for you.
I might just un-mute the sound on the TV as this one crosses the block.
’66 Chevy trucks are not rare. Over one million made. They’re all over craigslist and lots of other places. Easy to find even now, more than five decades later.
This is surely one of the nicest originals in existence. Others are willing to pay lots more for it than most of the rest of us, whether we can afford it or not. Deal with it.
It’s heartbreaking to listen to so much whining about the hobby being dead and priced out of the reach of the common man (or whatever). It’s all wrong-headed BS.
Too many people apparently bitter that they can’t buy it themselves for cheap. And as if they had some kind of handle on how much money is too much for someone else to pay for it.
It has no collector value because it’s a common long bed 6-cylinder? Good luck convincing the people who are about to bid mid five figures for it.
If anything, it’s a sign that the hobby is in very good shape, rather than the opposite.
Do you want a 1966 Chevy truck? There are plenty to choose from. You want the best original there is? Somebody will pay a bundle for it. That’s not a bad thing.
I agree the prices of many collector cars have gone through the roof and are unaffordable for the average working stiff, but there are many less”collectable” cars in good “Driver” condition that can be bought at very reasonable prices.I will just enjoy cars mainstream collectors don’t consider that ” valuable”,such as : 1960 Imperial,1965 Marlin,1939 Buick,and 1948 Studebaker, I purchased these running , driving cars for less than $5,000 each.Here is a picture of my 1965 Marlin,we put 5,000 miles on it going to 15 different car shows.
Im happy there are guys out there who see these as worth gobs of their money. I do not. But I love to watch it. Its not much different than boutique coffee. I can afford six bucks for a cup of coffee but I wont spend it. To others, they either have more money than they could spend or they fail to consider their monetary needs in the future. The result is the same; different standards for spending one’s money and a complete lack of understanding by the other as to how it could possibly be rationalized. If there werent guys like this, I wouldnt ever get to see cool cars drive by or at a car show. I just climb in my farm truck and drive home happy I spent that money on an education or a tractor.
If someone paid 27,000 dollars for this truck has got to be insane.so that means my 1949 chevy coupe thats restored could fetch 100,000 easy. Crazy!!!! People are out of there minds today thanks to these car programs on tv.
The fact that these cars and trucks are bringing so much money just means the market is expanding. The fact that four-door door cars are becoming collectible proves this. As the usual models get priced beyond the reach of the average enthusiast they will find something else to collect. Ten years ago, nobody wanted Pintos or Vegas, but they are on here now. The 1980s full-size sedans I drove as beaters when our sons were young are now becoming collectible. The market changes.
Too bad this isn’t a pre-’64. I prefer the ’60-’63, with the wraparound windshield and different dash. I had a ’61 Apache 10 with a 283. It was a solid, reliable truck that I had a lot of fun with. This thing will be a trailer queen from now on, which is sad.
Hi Ken. The older versions are my favorites too. I especially love the the ‘60-‘61 Eyebrow hoods. My dad had a ‘61 with a 235/3spd, and of all the trucks he had, the eyebrow was the most memorable. I would love to find another one.
FWIW, I believe most of these trucks had the four speed with the Granny gear; These trucks were spec’ed out to have these and somehow they never sold. That was the story I got when reading about the Lamprecht auction. I would have liked to go but I knew the prices to be astronomical. $500 yard sticks? Sunglasses? I started watching the auction; It looked like pandemonium and the Lovely Yvette lost control pretty early on. Probably will never see another like this with the low mileage cars. Even with low mileage a lot of these needed full resto, like brakes, anything made out of rubber, wood in the bed rotten away, etc. Good luck to the new owner. I can hear the whine of the tranny and sound of the stovebolt from here!!
Cheers
GPC
Never lost control- we had control the whole time- went very smooth- It was on TV.
If I can shoot my mouth off one more time- I wonder if any of the buyers got caught up in the Auction Fever heat of the moment and just kept bidding. I do know there was a lot of buyers remorse, and Yvette had to put some of the cars up for a second time due to nonpayment. So it goes in the auction business these days. Used to be a buyer at an auction had enough integrity to pay up at the end, buyers remorse or not. That, and handshake deals, are few and far between today, sorry to say.
We had 1 buyer that bought 14 vehicles. The wire was sent n cancelled. A trucker was sent with money n stole it. Both parties turned over to Feds and 19 lots were resold I line only. Dont you just love all the mistakes information.. just ask me. I ran the show.
It is the internet , you know. Thanks for chiming in!
This site is getting to be why I deleted FB over a year ago. Its about people griping back and forth to be on top with their opinions. Who cares, this is about old cars and trucks ……and I love them all…..but most of the time I skip the comments cause it takes me back to elementary school.
This is Yvette VanDerBrink, I orchestrated the Lambrecht Chevrolet Auction. It was wild. I can still remember walking into the grove with the trucks and the dealership. I spent thousands of hours going through the cars and trucks and making sure things went great. The truck mentioned I believe was lot 41L. It was a wonderful time and I had a lot of fun with the auction. For all results http://www.vanderbrinkauctions.com. The trucks varied from 10-40,000. each. This truck sold for $18,375.00 with premium- It was very rough. But was never titled. We titled it for the 1st time. I”d be happy to tell the story. There’s a lot that people don’t know and think they do. Like 55 cars were in Kansas and were almost stolen from the family. WE got them back and sold with their sisters. Lots of work and stories. It was a huge labor of love for the car hobby! I grew up with it and love saving the old stuff. I”ll either be there or watching.
Yvette VanDerBrink
We run into a lot of sales like this-
Thanks for your comments, Yvette. One of a kind sale for sure. Keep ’em coming!!
Cheers
Gaspumpchas
A few Lam’s already came up at auction and we re sold at a loss.
Wow lots of comments, the Lambrecht auction was a landmark event. Speaking for myself, as a car and truck enthusiast, I have a very poor opinion of Lambrecht. He could have easily hired some neighbor kids to at least clean the trash and debris off of the vehicles sitting outside and prevent them from becoming rust buckets. The dirt and trash alone going into the cowl vents rusted away that entire area. Lambrecht didn’t give a damn about any of those vehicles.