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

Exactly. Well, except for wishing him well. He's kinda dead.

 

He means the new owner.

 

I agree with you 100 percent. It's a nice car, Iconic, but paying nearly 3/4 of a million dollars is overkill. On the other hand, I wish it was me collecting the money.

 

i liked the version of it with th blown FE ford in it.

 

YES! The new owner. Tom is looking over all this and smiling. Bob

 

Hahaha thanks.

 

700k I think he paid for the plaque. Maybe he can become an Associate Member. After all, the car helped build the club's reputation. I don't think the LA Roadster Club would mind one bit. The car's a tribute of what was and should be left as is. JMHO

 

I agree, wanting the plaque back is a lot of self glorifying elitist nonsense. IMO.

 

You guys bitch about the price the Mcmullen roadster bought.
You bitch about the owner and you bitch about the club plaque.
Don,t you think you should be just happy that the car survives and is restored.
You all sound like a bunch of 12 year old girls

 

Welcome to the club!

 

Could the car maybe remain an "honorary" member?

 

I think it's legal to clone your own car and/or change it as the styles change. The clone comment was a joke. I don't begrudge the money... None of my business. Actually it's a good thing if you like historic cars. The new owner can never change a thing without ruining his investment. (including the LA Roadsters tag. IMHO) The new owner is merely a caretaker. Nothing wrong with that but it's just not my bag. I want to show my vision of a hotrod not somebody elses.

 

Wow..I was way off! A few buddys and I were talking about this auction last week and we all predicted the money it would take to buy these two cars. I said I thought the raodster would go for 700-750K but I also thought the coupe would bring a cool million bucks. Shows how much I know.

 

On an earlier Mecum auction advertising this sale a spokesman said he thought that the roadster would reach 7 figures. It takes two to tango.

 

I'll bet more folks remember the McMullen roadster than remember the coupe. Anyone know of a 32 Roadster that has sold for more than $700,000.00? Just curious.

Fame = Fortune.

I wonder what the Eliminator Coupe would bring?

 

I think the $700K is in perspective. This car is an icon, wether you are a `32 roadster freak or not. Just look at what Ralph Whitworth had to give for some of his best of the best; at the height of the market. I wonder what Jorge Zargosa had in this animal when he had it restored? If I`d have that kind of disposable bucks ,I would have bought her too. Best of luck to the new owner,enjoy it!

 

Sorry Don,.. the second version was purchased as a unfinished, full fender, steel Deuce roadster project that already had the independent rear suspension, Tom built it as look at what he would have done to the car if he had of kept it. (sooo glad he sold it when he did,.. to save it from that fate).
It had the digital dash, credit card ignition system, and Mosher heads.

The third version that he still had and was enjoying quite a bit up until the time he and Dianna were killed in the plane crash was the Wescott body car.

 

Don,...

I really like you and and consider you a pal...
So I in no way want you to think this is the one-two punch and only my opinion,.... But When Frank Mack's Roadster went to California it didn't have the original RKAC, MHRA (Road Knights Auto Club) plaque on it...

But most of the old time Road Knights were so use to seeing it connected to our club with that plaque, the original one was given to Bruce Meyer for the car.... Bruce re-attached it to the car and it can still be seen on it today. It is part and parcel to the cars history and provenance,... These cars have reached celebrity status. And We feel honored and proud to still have this special car bring the Road Knights with it into Hot Rodding History, And not the other way around.

I cant speak for the LA Roadsters, But I personally would be proud to have the McMullen car forever linked to LA Roadsters by that twenty dollar chunk of aluminum. Again,... just my humble opinion.

 

Best thing on this entire thread. Aussiesteve for president!

It's interesting to me how much some people get tripped up on other's people money. $700k, $700.00 or $7 million...if you didn't buy it, what's the difference? Money isn't everything. I would have bought the damn thing if I could have swung it, but that's not my place in this world and I don't fault whomever stepped up to the plate and bid on the car to win it.

Sure you could build one exactly like it down to the nuts and bolts, that looked, drove, smelled and sounded the same...but it still wouldn't be this car. The guy that bought it surely realized this, and spent his money how he saw fit. Some things are worth more than the sum of their parts.

As an investment (yes that's what iconic hot rods are becoming), I'd say both cars were "well bought."

 

That was the owner that they were talking to. They asked him if he wanted to take the reserve off and he said yes.

 

I'm generally one to sort of stick up for big prices and well known icons. I'm sort of twisted up about this one. To me, the Calori 36 was way more important, significant, ground breaking, blah, blah, blah. For my money and perspective the pricing was reversed. In the end, McMullen or not, it was a Deuce hiboy. I roll that outcome into the same thing that wrinkles my knickers about the Hemi stuff. Having owned several of "Hamtramk's finest" over the years, over $2million for certain ones is just silly. I think the record is $2.7M. At the same time, I see that the custom remains a "wall flower" still to this day, regardless of it's pedigree. With the exception of the very few, customs almost NEVER hit the next galaxie in the auction game. Having a sincere inner fondness for them takes several facets, and perhaps exclusivity is one of em. Here was maybe the most important of a time, clearly famous, a car that could be the "poster child" of TJJ and the HAMB, and it didn't bring 1/2 of what was essentially a Deuce hiboy. I don't say this lightly, but I don't get it at all. Offer me the choice, I guess I'd be in the short line, the one for the coupe.

I'm all about well-healed types paying big bucks for our stuff. Credibility doesn't grow on trees, it's earned. It may have taken decades to get the dirty t-shirt criminal stigma off of our cars, but it's obviously worth the wait. Last thought on the 36, it won Pebble Beach. That may not mean much to some, but it sure does to me. Maybe the Deuce's history is lost to this old bastard. I saw it here and there in mags over the years but it never "moved me" like the 36 almost always has. Several other variants of 36 3Ws have too, and the last one by Cole, well, what more can be said of it. Just rambling thoughts on the outcome...

 

Now,... My Opinion on the McMullen Roadster.......
(As if anyone would care)

I just ran across a box full of one of my sons old Baseball Cards from the 90's There must be hundreds of them..... But against one dog eared, barely readable and disintegrating Micky Mantle card,.... they are practically worthless...... Why would that be ?.... My Sons cards are in much superior condition, made of the same or better material,.... better printing process and inks.... Obviously much more superior then the falling apart piece of cardboard. What gives the Micky Mantle card far grater mass appeal and value ?????.

Because it is, what it is !

Or take a piece of canvas that has a starving artist painting on it,... with the cutting edge of newest, latest and greatest advances in technology that will last for centuries.... And try to buy a Miro, Picasso, or even a Rembrant for the same amount....... Ain't gonn'a happen..... You might even really like the starving artist painting ten times better than those old masters paintings.... But the old masters are the old masters, Like it or not, The McMullen Roadster "has been there and has done that" going back to Don Hudson and the golden era of Hot Rods.... Anybody that is anybody that is building Hot Rods, have seen it and it made an impact on them.

I personally have loved that car from the first time I laid eyes on it, and still do to this day. I know there is a big trend to "dis" some of the old time favorites to show how cool or traditional you are.... But I think we need to give credit where credit is due.... And I would say The Tom McMullen Roadster is probably the most recognizable Hot Rod on the planet in company with The Graffiti Coupe or the California Kid,....

You might not care at all for the last three cars mentioned (or hate them for that matter) ,.... Big deal !,... you probably could give a crap about the Micky Mantle Baseball card or the Rembrant..... Who cares ?.... There are those that will pony up the cash for all those items in a NY second !,.... and walk right past mine or your car without giving it a second look or thought.

I chewed a LOT of really crappy bubble gum back in the 60's to get this card !

 

At the very least when a car we remember for years is sold for 7ooK you won't have to worry about some tastless goon wrecking it, like for instance the Kookie car...Hope the new Gee has fun with it.

 

I get everything you're saying, and frankly have my whole career surrounding that very thought process. I guess in a sense I'm in the same make of boat you are, but I'm in a different body of water. I think the 36 has also "been there and done that", did it earlier, and as a matter of taste (as if anyone cares of mine), looks better. I wouldn't diss that Deuce one iota. I get what it is, but I guess i didn't or don't get that it's "that much" of it.

For the record, a topic like this feels good. There's more to our world than engines and bodies and wrenches and torches. The intangibles are just as interesting to me, hopefully to many others as well, and not just this singular topic of prices/history. Just sayin...

 

I think Mr Bass hit the nail on the head with his statement about this issue. But I for one sure hope George got the roadster as he will drive it for everyone to see and not stick it away to never be seen on the road.

 

I worked for Tom and everything said about him is true and more.
However the 32 went for the right amount. Yup its a 32 hiboy but its legacy is so much larger than the sum of the parts. Certainly some of it was related to Tom's self promotion but it also factually was something different for its time. Go back to 63 and see how many cars like that were running around. That would be pretty much zero. It was audacious and over the top and lucky....Tom threw everything at it and hit a perfect combination along the way.
Frankly I'm just happy its still around and has been restored.
I got to have a superb hour once with Tom...he walked out in to the warehouse and I told him I had something to show him ...a few minutes later we were sitting on chopper seats in the warehouse at AEE Choppers. I had shared my copy of Hot Rod with his car on the cover with him. He told me a lot of stories about the car and it was one of the few times I saw him kind of quiet and reflective. I just wish I'd have been smart enough to get him to autograph it.

 

Kind of lost interest when they started walking around with "pet" jungle cats etc. But that particular car certainly deserves it's place.

 

the cats were a lot of fun.....but you had to be careful with them. At one point they got kept in our over flow warehouse and we would let them run around in there. I had more than one pair of Levi's with holes in them from Spoke and Cibie (the mountain lions). they got frozen chicken parts most of the time to eat but now and then they got live chicks...now that was over the top let me tell ya!

 

Your right,... The Calori Coupe has been around for a very long time,... What I was getting to on the Roadster is that it did the car shows, rod runs, drag racing, dry lakes racing,.... we were bombarded with tech articles back in the day that centered around this Roadster.. every change is well documented it was very involved in all aspects of hot rodding and racing.... Like the "Utilitarian Hot Rod" Thread I started some time ago.

This is in no way to take anything away from the Calori Coupe as I am a fan as well......

To put this into perspective,... The McMullen Roadster was magnificently restored probably far beyond the lever of finish it ever enjoyed before.... And we all know the Graffiti coupe is a flaming turd in condition, not terribly, or necessarily visually pleasing,... and at best a movie prop with a history that was lost to time.....

If we had seen the McMullen Roadster roll across the auction stage and grab 700 large,...... I would guess (again this is only my guess) If the Graffiti Coupe rolled up right after it... that 700 large would look like a pretty darn good deal.......

There are in my opinion far nicer Deuce 5/W Coupes, Roadsters, and 1936 Custom Coupes here on the HAMB,.... But it all proves 3 points.

1. You can't buy or put an exact price on History.

2. You can't control mass appeal

And my favorite......

3. MONEY DON'T COME WITH INSTRUCTIONS !.... (And some people like to prove it )

 

so, I wonder what Mecum's take was?????