Technically speaking, Mecum Auctions made its debut in Kansas City in 1990. But the company apparently was so busy selling collector cars that it never got around to celebrating its 25th anniversary in the Midwestern hub.
Thus the upcoming sale, scheduled for March 16-17 at the Kansas City Convention Center on the Missouri side of the river, will include 25th anniversary festivities, the company has announced.
Mecum expects to parade 700 collector cars across the auction block. Among them will be a 1968 Shelby GT350 Ford Mustang convertible that is one of only two so equipped. Mecum checked with the Shelby club registrar to verify that the car, which remains in “highly original condition” is one of only 404 convertible for the 1968 model year, one of only 15 produced for 1968 with specific paint and trim codes and one of only two with the same original equipment and options, which include an extra cooling package, visibility group, tilt-away steering column, power disc brakes and power steering, interior decor group, and more.
The car originally was sold in Milwaukee to the A.O. Smith company, founded in 1874 to make bicycle and baby carriage parts. The company would focus on producing steel frames for all sorts of vehicles, including those for Peerless, Cadillac and Ford. It later produced glass-lined tanks for breweries, water heaters, electric motors and other products.
Among other featured vehicles on the auction docket are:
• a 1940 Ford Deluxe convertible with a 24-stud 239cid flathead V8.
• An unrestored, 31,000-mile 1970 Pontiac Trans Am with a 400cid V8 and 4-speed manual transmission.
• A 1966 “mostly original” Ford Mustang convertible.
• A 1,898-mile 2005 Ford GT that is one of only 26 in Quicksilver with side stripe.
• A 1 of 81 1972 Buick GS Stage 1 convertibles believed to be the only one equipped with an engine block heater.
• A 1967 Buick GS convertible available after 38 years as part of the Marvin Richer collection.
• A 1957 Chevrolet Corvette purchased new in California but driven home to northern Illinois and part of the Richer collection for nearly 30 years.
To see the full auction docket, visit the Mecum Auctions website.
It’s one of 15, to be honest.