And look for the GRM crew on the grounds soon–although exactly which date will be contingent upon the jury duty notice I recently received....
Photography Courtesy Mecum
The first car that I’m checking out? This Electron Blue 2000 Honda Civic Si. Why? My wife and I bought one brand-new.
Same car, same color. It eventually got some Comptech goodies.
It dutifully served as my wife’s daily for 15 years. She’s still a little bitter that we sold it. Why’d I do such a terrible thing? I felt she should drive a car featuring modern safety equipment: ABS, stability control, side airbags. Plus a few plastic bits were starting to get brittle. She’s since driven a 2014 Civic Si.
Will we ever have another wishbone Civic? If I could buy one car from our past, it would be an EBP 2000 Civic Si.
1990 Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z 1LE
But it’s an automatic? Yes, but hear me out. The third-generation Camaro’s 1LE competition package could be had with either a 5.0 or 5.7-liter V8.
The catch: The larger engine only came paired with the automatic. If you wanted a five-speed stick, you got the 5.0.
So who bought the 1LE with the automatic? Autocrossers. Go back a few decades, and this was the pairing you ran at the pointy end of the F Stock field.
1963 Ferrari 250GT/L Lusso Coupe
Why is there a multi-million-dollar car on my list? Did my ship finally come in?
Hear me out.
It costs $150 to attend a top-flight concours like The Amelia.
A one-day ticket for Mecum cost $30–although I see that you could have saved 25% by buying a ticket before the gates opened.
So, even for 30 bucks, you can see some of the same cars that you would see at The Amelia–like this 1963 Ferrari 250GT/L Lusso Coupe.
Why am I singling out this car? I’d call this one of the most beautiful cars ever built–or maybe an F40 or a Daytona Coupe. And I see that those two cars are on the docket, too.
Another Honda? Yep–and another car from my past. In 1989, during the summer after my first year of college, I (finally) had enough money to purchase a car: a 1982 Honda Accord sedan.
Mine was blue over blue. My friend Steve had a gray-on-gray one.
Those Accords were pretty much standard issue at my school. If not a used Accord, then you drove an Escort or a Corolla. A kid in my history class had an M3, but that was an outlier–he once gave me a ride back to my dorm, though.
My Accord had a five-speed while this one has an automatic, but I still need to check it out. It’s also an ’83 so, IIRC, the velour seats have a slightly different weave. Mine did have those bumper overriders, too, though. Fortunately, it didn’t have the chrome fender trim.
1974 Pontiac Trans Am Super Duty Coupe
Weren’t we just discussing “Cannonball,” the David Carradine action flick? Oh yeah, we were.
[Death Race 2000 and Cannonball: Show me a better double feature]
Well guess what? One of the Trans Ams said to be used in the filming will cross the auction Mecum block. I admit, I was a little shocked to come across the listing.
And even without the movie tie-in, this is a cool one: A 1974 Pontiac Trans Am Super Duty with the numbers-matching 455 and four-speed manual. Is this the best year for a Trans Am? In my opinion, it’s up there: pre-wrap-around rear window with the big engine.
Would I leave it a little bitched up? You betcha.
Mecum only got $25,300 for the Death Race 2000 Frankenstein car a few years ago, so I’m wondering if the Trans Am will represent a similar deal.
And look for the GRM crew on the grounds soon–although exactly which date will be contingent upon the jury duty notice I recently received....
I should note that our 2000 Si didn’t have the wing. I believe that was a dealer-optional piece, right?
The IROC is only acceptable if you wear cut-off jean shorts, cut-off flannel shirt with most of the buttons down, and sport a ridiculous mullet.
In reply to z31maniac :
I’ll even grow a mustache.
In reply to David S. Wallens :
Yep, the wing was an option along with the fog lights (not installed on the auction car).
My blue 2000 Si was the first car I ever bought with my own money. It was so new when I picked it up that the front lip was wrapped in plastic in the back seat.
With the Comptech intake and header and the Mugen exhaust it was the best sounding car I've ever owned.
If it hadn't been stolen and totaled I might still own it today.
I believe the T/A pictured is a '73 unless they did some Hollywood on it to backdate it.
Edit: they did!
Let me know where you set up. I'm here. I worked for Mecum for 5 days before the auction, helping park cars. Now I'm a customer, selling 2 cars and maybe buying something. I looked at that Accord today, I love it!!
Do you think the Blue Civic Si is memories from the past and might not be the same if you bought it?
In reply to Datsun240ZGuy :
I hear what you’re saying but in this case, I don’t think so. I have a lot of stick time in wishbone Hondas.
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