I Finally Bought Something

It should be no surprise that my wonderful wife and I are attending the Mecum auction in Glendale, Arizona. I have long talked about buying a car, preferably from one of my Ultimate Garages, at a major car auction.

I did buy something yesterday. Was it this 1965 Buick Riviera?

This car sold at The Bid Goes On desk for $33,000 all in. However, I did not buy it. Remember, as of now we have no room at the inn. I bought something much smaller and much less expensive.

This was one of the first half-dozen or so lots of what Mecum calls Road Art; Barrett-Jackson calls items like this Automobilia. I wrote about my interest in this piece awhile ago.

When bidding started on these lots I thought it would not be possible for me to buy it at my self-imposed spending limit. The first few items sold for many multiples of that amount. However, when one lot sold for next to nothing I realized I might have a chance.

Sure enough, I bought the piece at my limit, not one dollar less nor one dollar more. The actual amount is not important and I realize that the Flying A sign attached to the neon sign is not original. The bottom photo was taken at home after we returned.

What really impressed me was the effort a Mecum employee made to uncrate the sign and to carry it out to our car. Before I had a chance to give him a tip, he was running back to State Farm Stadium from the parking lot. The sign fit comfortably in the trunk of our Cadillac ATS.

People who should know have suggested that my renewed interest in all things automotive stems from an attempt to connect with my father. Although that’s literally impossible since he’s been dead for almost 30 years, these people think I am still trying to forge a bond. My father, the literal definition of a Holocaust survivor, was an automobile mechanic and operated two service stations–one of which was a Flying A station–when such places fixed cars in addition to selling gasoline.

As always we enjoyed ourselves at Day One of the auction. It is also nice to be able to attend and then to sleep in your own bed at the end of the day.

#IFinallyBoughtSomething

#FlyingA

#somanycarsjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

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Sitting This One Out

Yes, today is “Super Saturday” at the current Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. However, one of my chronic medical conditions kept me awake virtually the entire night and I am in no shape to contend with the long day and the large throng of people.

My wonderful wife is attending today with her father. Since the bidders badge is in my name and has my picture on it, they can’t buy any cars, especially since they didn’t take it with them. Speaking of the bidders badge:

Speaking of Automobilia:

This sign sold today, all in, for $146,050. I wouldn’t spend that much money on a sign unless I were orders of magnitude wealthier. By the way, the sign is 24 feet wide and 7 feet tall.

Mecum calls these items “Road Art.” One lot consigned for their auction here in mid-March is very interesting to me, but of course I cannot capture the photo from the Mecum website. It is a Flying A Gasoline single-sided tin neon sign. It has the classic red background with white lettering, similar to this:

See the source image

The sign Mecum is selling is about 30 inches high and 30-36 inches wide. One slide shows the sign against a virtual tape measure, but the lot description is non-existent.

Flying A items, original and reproduction, are not as rare as one might think. I don’t know the exact date, but the Flying A brand disappeared in the 1960s. It is, however, quite popular with collectors even for those whose father didn’t run a Flying A station.

Tomorrow I will probably publish some more photos from the auction. We may or may not attend although I really enjoyed the more low-key atmosphere of the last day of the Scottsdale auction in 2019. Anyway, here a few pics:

This is probably the only type of C1 Corvette I would own. It’s a 1961 so it has the more modern rear deck and less gaudy front grille, but retains the chromed cove so the car could have a two-tone paint job like this one. It’s also a restomod with an automatic transmission.

Hope you’re enjoying your Saturday and thanks for reading.

#SittingThisOneOut

#FlyingA

#somanycarsjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

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Thoughts Of My Father

A few days ago while watching TV I asked my wonderful wife if she thought my obsession with cars was an attempt to connect with my father. A connection is actually not possible as he has been dead for over a quarter century. He was an automobile mechanic and ran/owned two gas/service stations (not at the same time). Anyway, my wonderful wife honestly replied that she simply couldn’t answer my question. She never met my father.

I sometimes wonder what he would think of my life. He disapproved of my interest in sports and he did not appreciate my achievement of creating a baseball career basically out of thin air. He wanted me to attend a service academy, like the Naval Academy. Anyone who knows me well knows that would have been a disaster. At times, I can be one of the least disciplined people in the world and I almost always chafe at the thought of other people telling me what to do.

I wonder what he would have thought about my wonderful wife (who, eerily, shares the same less than common first name as his second wife), about our house, and most of all, about our cars. What would he have thought about a supercharged V-8 that produces 650 HP in a car with Bluetooth and front and rear cameras? I really have no idea and, of course, I never will.

See the source image

The top picture is from theoldmotor.com and the bottom is from Pinterest. My father ran a Flying A station and later owned and operated an American station. I admit I receive a little thrill every time I put gas in my Z06 at the local BP because the premium grade fuel is still called Amoco Premium. As another salute to my father here is another picture of a car with the same year, make and model as the one in which I “grew up.”

See the source image

From 2040-cars.com a picture of a 1956 Buick Century.

#ThoughtsOfMyFather

#FlyingA

#AmericanGasoline

#1956BuickCentury

#somanycarsjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

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