Did the Tom McMullen Deuce & Jack Calori's 36 three window sell Saturday?

Don,......

Not to question you in any way,.... But I was up close and personal with that Roadster and it did in fact have a steel body........ and somewhere I have pictures of the car before it was assembled,...... 100% Henry Ford steel.

Sorry

 

Guys i think we are missing the boat here. It does not make any difference if we think that to much money was paid for either car. the people that brought the cars got what they wanted. In the fall of 1960 as a teenager driving a parts truck making $.75 an hour there was a used car lot on Jensen Dr. in Houston Tx. that had a black primered full fender 5 window with a small block chevy for $250.00 and i could not buy it. I have worked my entire life to have some of the things that i could not buy back then . I now own 2 nice 5 windows and to this day i still want that car that i could not have back then. I am sure that somewhere along the way the new owners saw those cars and said some day i will own that car. Cars like that stick in your mine like an old girlfriend. I still remember the picture of the cop and the parchute. I am so glad that dreams do come true.

 

Don was referring to the glass clone Tom built after he sold the original car. HRP

 

I really don't want to tick anyone off here,.... But Yes I know what car he's talking about with the full independent suspension and Moser DOHC SBC.... That clone was in fact STEEL..... The last clone was the Glass one,... the one that was built as a very close clone ,..... and He drove the snot out of it. But if anybody has the Spet. 1976 Issue of Street Rodder..... you might be able to prove me wrong..........

But this car was steel......

 

so...which one was this???

 

Well said!

 

That's the original that this thread is about in the late sixties or early seventies.

 

32dude above has hit the nail on the head. A longing for something once unobtainable.

It is 2012 not 1965 or 1995. Prices are relative to the time they sell. Love it or hate it the McMullen roadster has been coveted for 50 years. Those young kids that bought the mag in 1963 for 50¢ are retiring and have the means to acquire the things they most desired when they were young. Be thankful historic cars like this have survived and are preserved for future generations, those high prices people seem to love to bitch about insure that historic cars aren't molested.

Don't forget the Chrisman bros. coupe sold in 2008 for $660,000 then again at Monterey 2010 for $485,000 , that is an expensive ornament that you can't drive. The first L88 Corvette, a 1967 convertible sold for $1.25 million in 2010. The 1963 Shelby Cobra DragonSnake sold for $875,000. Ermie Immerso Orange Twist '32 was bought by the Petersen Museum for $522,625. That leads me to guess the Petersen Museum was who bought the McMullen roadster. Time will tell who was the buyer.

 

I was there all weekend with a friend who sold a car so I think about 13% of the final price is a good guess. This may be a special case but in general the seller pays about 7% and the buyer pays about 6% of the final sales price. The seller's commission seems to be negotiable if the auction stalls close to the reserve. As you get close to the reserve they will work will the seller by lowering their commission in order to get the reserve lifted. So probably about $91,000. So the buyer paid $742,000 and the seller probably received about $651,000

 

I can tell you for a fact that it was NOT the Peterson who bought it. Even though I would have loved to see them get it. In fact they weren't even bidding.

 

What I want to know if that 57 150 two door sedan is still available. Jay

 

Ok, thanks!

 

THANK YOU, I knew I wasn't nuts and was sure it was steel when i sat in it when I worked for McMullen in the late 70's

 

wondering what it looked like by the time Brizio got ahold of it and how many of the parts on it now are original to the car as it was on the cover of HOTROD?

 

I find it funny that there is so much interest in the Mcmullen 32 and not so much in the Calori 36 IMHO the 36 is by far a much nicer car it has the most mods done to it an is far more useful as a driver if for no other reason then the fairweather drive ability of a roof

Now dont get me wrong the 32 is stage setting when it comes to hot rods but it is still kinda plane as hot rods go

 

Entertaining thread. Just remember gents . . . you can't take it with you. So, if you have 10 million in the bank, what would you do with it? (Please don't answer)

 

If you think $700,000 is steep according to the magazine ad Harms Way posted, Tom was asking $30 million!

I know... Tom didn't know his M from his K.

Mick

 

The money paid for the car is not steep if you can afford to pay for it

There only two kinda cars in this world affords an cant affords

 

Don, You got me thinking, not to harp on the plague thing. I was an Early '70's member of the San Luis Roadsters and was part of Invitation Only meets with the LA Roadster club. I don't think it's fair that you speak for the entire LA Club on this matter. I was in the San Luis Club in 1970. Anyway that's a long time and people change their ideas and perspectives can become not so rigid. The LA Roadsters are about public relations. No disrespect, but your way of thinking is a PR disaster. A lot of people have respect for the LA Roadster Club, so I'm just saying. JMO

 

I would have to agree. IMHO, I would think that the plaque follows the car. No denying that cars like the McMullen roadster helped to make the LA Roadster club even more popular.

In the end, ultimately it is the club's rules and they decide what happens to the membership status once a member leaves the organization/club.

For something like this car though, I would say there should be some "pull" granted in helping the new owner get their foot in the door with membership if they should choose to join.

Just my two cents.

 

Do you actually enjoy a car of this caliber?--as a car, not an art piece, investment, or a display

would you ever drive it, actually put your foot into it?

 

If I had the money to buy it, I'd drive that car till hell froze over. Then, I'd use the exhaust to warm my hands. I'm not a big deuce fan, but I'd like that one. Not only for the history, but because it's bad ass.

 

I tell you all right now the owner of the 32 and the 36 will drive both of them an the 32 will be going back to the track just like it was in the 60's

The car will be getting a moden parachute & till a period one can be found to show the car with

 

Ver Cool Car , But...Wow $700K!
Money can buy anything...Even memberships...But who cares about money anyways?....just wanna pop those chute's!

T

 

I think a lot of people are missing the point. The car's an work of art like the great painters of the past; Michelangelo, Picasso. What did their paintings sell for 100's of years ago. Yes, there are cars built better, but not the original. You haven't seen anything yet. It may not hang on a wall, but give it another 20 or 30 years and see where it's at. If you can't respect the art piece for what it is, then you probably don't have the money to buy it in the first place. The Smithsonian have for years now, recognize automobile art, Just like a piece of canvas. And finally, whoever wanted this car wanted it badly. While there are people that have money here on the HAMB and have more than one car, this is real money and it makes a statement. Congratulations to the new owner. You've got a prize piece of artwork in hot rod history, and I for one, am happy for you! And for you HAMBers who say it's not an art piece, for 700K you would be wrong! Drive it or not, art is what it is.

 

Its not a piece of art!! Its a '32 that McMullen ran on the street, El Mirage and God knows where else. He didn't build it to do nothing with it but look at it. It was built to be used. Lets hope and pray the new owner drives the shit out of it and when it breaks he fixes it and gets right back out there.

 

If I had money and was able to buy at that auction? The Jack Calori coupe would be in my garage? Not a fan of the roadster.

 

Along with photos I remember some lines from books & magazines, that is one of them. Thanks for saving me hours of looking through old magazines to find it. That SECOND car has been here in Connecticut for a good 15 years now. Bob

 

after all these who knows if it is even the same car.as for that L.A. Roadster tag,You think a guy who paid 700k for that car gives a shit what there rule about tags is.