Car collector chronicles 02 15 by Dave Yaros

Car Collector Chronicles ®

Volume VIII, Issue 2

Exploring:

• Car Collecting Today

High RPMs

• Classic Rides • Reports From the Field • Oldsmobile (1897-2004) • Cadillac (1902- ) • Allanté (1987-1993)

• Corvair (1960-1969)

◄ = Clickable Link

IN THIS ISSUE: High RPMs

GDY Nets On the Web

Scottsdale Spectacle 2

Ron Pratte, Car Collector

Pics That Caught My Eye CCC® Forum EMail:

All the AZ auction hubbub is over. I admit to having watched some of it. This month I, and fellow ol’ ride owners, have a few comments on the doings in AZ. I have resolved, not in the sense of a New Year Resoltuion, but more as a determination, to put some miles on my rides this year. The opportunities to do so are manifest with all the car activity taking place in WI in 2015. First on the list is a car show judge training in Chicago come February. I may attend? I should also attend the Chicago Auto Show, if for nothing else than to get a handle on the current market

February Automotive Milestones 1-1898 Travelers issues 1st auto insurance policy 2-1923 Gas mixed with Tetraethyl lead (TEL) sold for 1st time in U.S.

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OldsD88@gmail.com ◄

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3-1948 1st Cad with tailfins 4-1922 Ford acquires Lincoln from Henry Leland 4-1941 76-year-old R. E. Olds received his last automobile patent for an internal combustion engine design 5-1952 1st "Don't Walk" sign installed in New York City 5-1970 AMC acquires Kaiser-Jeep Corp. 6-1954 Mercedes 300 SL "Gullwing" debuts at NYC Int'l Auto Show 8-1936 GM founder Wm. Durant filed for bankruptcy 9-1909 Indy Motor Speedway incorporated with Carl G. Fisher as president 11-1932 Ford announces new V-8 engine 12-1898 1st fatal car crash happened in Great Britain 15-1902 Olds runs its 1st national auto ad in Saturday Evening Post 16-1852 Studebaker founded 17-1911 First self-starter installed in a Cadillac 19-1954 Ford T-bird born in

prototype form 22-1923 1,000,000th Chevy 23-1893 Rudolf Diesel received German patent for diesel engine 24-1909 Hudson Motor Car Co. incorporated 24-1968 AMC debuts AMX 28-1932 Last Ford Model A

- Stay warm & read a car pub!

GDYNets® on the Web Find GDYNets on the web:

Behind the Block Factoids

February 2015

CCC® -THE FORUM ◄-A web site to discuss the newsletter, the hobby and our cars. Car Collector Chronicles ◄ Saved 62 ◄-Our 1962 Olds convertible, Ransom Eli Olds and things Oldsmobile related web site. The Gray Lady ◄-1955 Cadillac Coupé de Ville web site.

SAVED 62: A website devoted

to our 1962 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 convertible. The site also has a lot of information on Oldsmobile cars and the company founder, Ransom Eli Olds.

THE GRAY LADY: This website features our 1955 Cadillac Coupé de Ville, lots of Caddy information and an extensive repair library.

DAVE’S DEN: ◄-A site devoted to a myriad of interests. Foremost is extensive information on the “Steel City” of Gary, IN. There are also offerings on steel making, U.S. Steel-Gary Works, U.S. Marine Corps, M14 assault rifle, of course Oldsmobile, and the tragic story of the murder of Gary, IN Police Lt. George Yaros.

Car Collector Chronicles

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Scottsdale Spectacle

“The excesses which make up the annual Arizona auto auction scene epitomize the ostentatiousness represented by the title of … the novel “The Ugly American’ .”

Every year in January the car auction houses host a gala for lovers of classic rides. And every year it becomes more and more of a show. The excesses which make up the annual Arizona auto auction scene epitomize the ostentatiousness represented by the title of William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick’s 1958 novel The Ugly American. Before we crunch the numbers, do let me get this off my chest. I watched some of BJ on The Discovery Channel. I became, and still am, infuriated, not with B-J, but with The Discovery Channel. The modus operandi there was to cover two cars at best crossing the block, then cut to commercials. The plural has to be emphasized in the previous sentence as we are talking 8-to-10 commercials at a time before going back and showing a couple more cars being hammered. Thankfully, for me, I was able to record the coverage and make ample use of the FF button! Hagerty Weekly News, 19 Jan 2015 sent out a summary of results. I do not vouch for the numbers. I say this as I found another site with conflicting figures. Here is what Hagerty said. Natch, the big winner in AZ was Barrett-Jackson. It sold 63% of all the cars sold by all Scottsdale auction houses. That amounted to 1,599 of 1,617 cars offered at B-J being sold. A 99% sell rate “ain’t too shaggy.” A cool $131.9 Million passed through B-J’s bank account; 45% of all AZ revenues realized. The $292.8 Million paid by AZ buyers represents an increase of 18% over 2014 revenues. While the average price of all cars sold was $115,729, that figure pales in comparison to the top sellers. Surprisingly, B-J was not the leader in terms of either the top sale price or the highest number of million + dollars cars hammered. RM Auctions gets the nod for the most expensive ride, a 1964 Ferrari 250 LM Coupe which sold for a mere $9,625,000! B-J was way behind (#6 on the list) with the $4 Million Dollar sale of Ron Pratte’s Futurliner. When it comes to million dollar plus sales, here is who did what: RM Auctions sold 17 cars for over a million, followed by Gooding with 11, Barrett-Jackson with 9, Bonham’s with 4, and Russo & Steele with one. With but a few exceptions, the Top 10 sales consisted of Ferrari cars. In fact, 2015 proved to be a very good year for marques with names ending in “I”. For those who like tables, Classic Car Auctions ◄ summarized the AZ auction results as follows: Auction Tot Earnings Cars Cars Sell-thru Avg $1Million + House ($ million) Offered Sold % Price Sales __ B-J 132 1617 1611 99% 82,518 9 RM 64 127 114 89% 558,775 17 Gooding 52 126 114 91% 451,900 11 Bonham 25 84 73 87% 340,058 4 Russo & Steele 17.2 661 414 63% 41,612 1 __________________________________________________________________________ 290.2 2,615 2,326 89% 42

It is next to impossible to discuss the AZ auctions without mentioning Ron Pratte. He sold a GM Futurliner for $4 Million. The proceeds of that sale he donated to charity. He also sold the 1954 Pontiac Bonneville Special for $3 Million. With respect to both of these vehicles he may have broke even in terms of purchase price vs. sale price. He also was the owner and seller of Howard Hughes’ 1953 Buick Roadmaster. Hughes, being paranoid, had an extensive air filtration system installed on the car, along with a 24V system so that he could jump start his airplanes. Pratte bought the car in 2005 for $1.65 Million. The 2015 $110,000 hammer price included the buyer’s 10% commission. OUCH! All tolled, Pratte’s 140 car collection sold for $35 Million.

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Car Collector Chronicles

Ron Pratte, Car Collector

So, who is Ron Pratte? As the man abhors the limelight, it is not easy to find information about him. Pratte is 67 years young. He lives in AZ. At the ripe age of 20, prior to making it big, he found himself wearing a flak jacket and Army fatigues. Young Mr. Pratte was a U.S. Army grunt with the 1st Air Cavalry. He served in Nam in 1968. During that year his unit took part in the Battle of Hue. Having secured the ancient capital, the 1st Air Cav was next called upon to help in the relief of the Marines at Khe Sanh in Operation Pegasus. With that task accomplished the outfit next waged Operation Delaware, which resulted in the capture of the A Shau Valley. Another member of the 1st Air Cavalry at this time was Max Cleland. Cleland, the Director of the VA under President Carter, was a triple amputee due to wounds received in the battle for the A Shau Valley in May of 1968. Having endured the horrors of war, it is understandable how and why Ron Pratte is such an ardent supporter of the Armed Forces Foundation. For this I and my fellow vets thank you, Ron! I can state that his projected net worth is in the area of $350 Million. He made his money in the construction industry. He formed Pratte Development Co. and transformed it into one of the largest wood framing and concrete foundation businesses in the country. The company concentrated on the building of single-family homes in AZ and NV. Pratte was so astute a business man that, even though he was riding high financially, he saw the bubble was about to burst. To avoid the consequences inherent in the coming housing crash he sold his enterprise to Pulte Homes while the housing boom was at its peak. He began collecting cars in 2003. His wealth is such that no automobile was beyond his rich, if he so desired. Consequently, his collection included a lot of both first and last off the production line vehicles. His collection was/is not limited to cars. For example, at B-J he also sold off more than 1,600 pieces of automobilia. These items alone netted 4.9 Million Dollars. The top dog among them was a 1930’s Harley-Davidson neon porcelain sign. It sold for $86,250. In addition to cars, Pratte is an admirer of vintage air planes. He keeps them at Stellar Airpark in Chandler, where he has a residence. Stellar is a private airpark which he renovated at no cost to the owner association. The airpark is developed around the concept of being able to live with one’s airplane. You may land your aircraft and taxi home. Of course, for Ron Pratte it is not a matter of living with one airplane. He has many. In his plane collection one will find a Super Corsair, a Ford Tri-motor, Bell 47, Beech 18, and a P-51. Ron Pratte claims a reason for selling his cars now is so that he may focus his time and attention to the enjoyment of flying his airplanes. I have not mentioned a wife, children or family because, I just don’t know, and have found nothing. As I said, the man enjoys his privacy. The car collecting world will indeed miss Pratte’s presence and influence. He was in the hobby because of his love for the cars, not for money, fame or attention. His conservatorship has helped to preserve automobile manufacturing history. For that all fans of ol’ rides are indebted to him. We owe him a huge thanks!

“He served in Nam in 1968. … [H]is unit took part in the Battle of Hue, the relief of the Marines at Khe Sanh in Operation Pegasus (and) Operation Delaware which resulted in the capture of the A Shau Valley.”

Car Collector Chronicles

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Behind the Block

There is quite a lot that goes on at the auctions which may not be noticed by distant or casual observers. It is interesting to hear from those present in AZ, as well as from those who know and love old cars and like me do not have an abundance of surplus cash to throw around. For your reading pleasure I present some of those observations. A fellow Oldsmobile owner in attendance at B-J noted that with respect to the 442 cars none had documentation showing that they were in fact genuine 442 cars. On these cars he also noted the use of “hardware store phillips screws” to attach lower side moldings to the car and bumpers that were peeling like a bad sunburn! Oldsmobile cars were not alone in this regard. There were Cadillac-LaSalle Club members in the audience at B-J. In viewing one Caddy it was noted that in replacing the trunk pan the restorer simply eliminated the spare tire wheel well. Maybe he thought it wasn’t really necessary? This car also had an aftermarket AC unit installed and according to the consignor the engine connected to a 3-speed hydramatic transmission. A 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz was observed to be sporting the wrong air cleaner. On this car, whoever restored the engine bay had the wrong color on the engine and PS pulley, as well as an incorrect valve cover color and paint scheme. This vintage of Cadillac has vacuum winshield wipers. While the vacuum motor was present on the firewall, it had not a single vacuum line connected to it. Were they hoping no one would notice? The rear wheel wells painted red. Its inner fenders were painted the wrong color. Notwithstanding these deviations from the factory build, the B-J catalog descripion says the “higly detailed engine compartment is meticulously executed.” The B-J hype on a 1955 Woodill Wildfire is remarkable for its inaccuracy. The catalog description proclaims: Car Number 9961 is probably the last one of only seven or eight manufactured by Woody Woodill circa 1953-54. This red Wildfire was featured as the main car in the the racing movie ‘Johnny Dark,’ filmed in 1953 and released in 1954. Tony Curtis played the hero driver, and his girlfriend was Piper Laurie. The Wildfire was the co-star in another picure, ‘Written on the Wind,’ with Rock Hudson and Dorothy Malone. Includes a written statement dated July 19, 1980 that this was the only production Wildfire known to exist at the time. There are several ‘kit’ Wildfires that survive. You can identify which are kits because they are smooth in the back end with no trunk lid. In actual fact, serial number records from Wildfire indicate Car Nr. 9961 was sold on April 15, 1955. The movie “Johnny Dark” was filmed in late 1953 and early 1954. Car Nr. 9961 did not exist when the movie was made! These same records also show the car in question is in fact a kit car, not a production vehicle. The accuracy of B-J’s representations on Lot 1046 appear to leave just a bit to be disired, I would say? At B-J when the hammer drops, the sale is not necessarily final. At least that was the case with several cars crossing the block this year. Nevermind that reopening the bidding violates the terms of the auction and may be in violation of AZ law. If no one complains or sues, B-J is free to do as it will. Another interersting observation involved the sale of the Futurliner. While Ron Pratte gave the sales proceeds to the Armed Forces Foundation, B-J did not see fit to donate its buyer commission. It held fast and required the buyer to pay it a tidy $400,000 for the privilege of buying the Furturliner at B-J Scottsdale! Now that is what I call a real showing of class on the part of B-J?

Factoids

Oldsmobile and Tucker were cut from the same cloth. A 1941 Oldsmobile served as a buck for fabrication of the Tucker "Tin Goose." As each part of the new Tucker body was finished the original part from the Olds was junked. So when they got through about the only parts that remained from the original body were the roof, which had been completely reshaped, and door handles, window mechanisms, locks and hardware – parts that were the same whether they came from another automobile or from the manufacturer’s bins. The term freeze plugs is a misnomer. The intended purpose of the holes on the side of engine blocks is to support the inner sand cores during casting and to remove the sand after casting. The proper term for the devices that fill these holes is "core plugs." It is doubtful the engineers that designed these engines were concerned about blocks cracking because someone left water in them during freezing weather. They were aware of the existence of ethylene glycol, as well as its intended function.

Car Collector Chronicles

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Pics That Caught My Eye

Pretty Sharp. Do like the use of the Edsel grille.

A 1937 Oldsmobile

– Ok, I’ve had my say for the month. Now it’s your turn! I invite/encourage submission of your comments, opinions and article contributions. I also ask that you please help spread the word about our publication. Everything sent shall indeed be reviewed by me. Submissions should be sent to CCC® at OldsD88@gmail.com. –– Now that you have finished reading this month’s issue of the newsletter, if so inclined, like CCC® on Facebook® by going here ______________________________________

-- RESTORE 'EM, AND DRIVE 'EM! COMING NEXT ISSUE: • TBD