Not that anyone was keeping score, but
the crusher contracted to provide cleanup after the sale defeated the
preservationists at the Lende Collection Auction held Nov. 2 in
Walum, N.D. The sale, presented by VanDerBrink Auctions, offered 122
vehicles, including four vintage tractors. Unfortunately, 66 of
those, or 54 percent, received no offer greater than the opening $325
crush bid and were relegated to be squashed.
After the sale, a visibly frustrated
Yvette VanDerBrink, head of VanDerBrink Auctions, speculated that
much of the reluctance by bidders to make offers on the vehicles
stemmed from pre-sale rumors that the three Lende brothers were not
in agreement on which brother actually owned the vehicles being
auctioned, and that sales might be invalidated due to this family
infighting. The three brothers’ collection involves a former
salvage operation, and the 122 vehicles in the auction were only a
small portion of this overall collection.
After the first 11 vehicles auctioned
received no bids exceeding crush rate, VanDerBrink temporarily halted
the auction to assure the gathered bidders that she had secured a
court order mandating that all sales of the 122 vehicles would be
legal and binding.
The top five sales reflected continued
bidder reluctance, with a 1959 Chevrolet Impala Nomad station wagon,
in No. 4 condition being the top seller at $2,400. It was followed by
a ’59 Chevy Bel Air four-door sedan at $1,150, ’57 Ford Country
Sedan station wagon at $1,050, ’63 Chevy C10 longbox pickup at $825
and ’64 Chevy Biscayne station wagon at $600.
Two noteworthy bargains were both in
No. 4 condition: a 1967 Chevy Chevelle 300 four-door sedan,
six-cylinder-powered, that sold for $330, and a ’61 Ford Fairlane
four-door sedan, V-8 powered, that sold for $350.
Among noteworthy vehicles not receiving
bids and sent to the crusher were a foursome of 1959 Plymouths: Fury,
Belvedere and Savoy four-door sedans and a Plaza two-door sedan —
all loaded with donor-quality parts; a rust-free ’59 Studebaker
Lark two-door sedan; complete ’55 Nash Ambassador Super four-door
sedan; complete ’58 Opel Rekord two-door sedan; and a trio of ’66
Ford F-100 pickups, each also containing many donor-quality parts.
The auction also included the sale of a
select number of parts, including prewar headlamps and body panels
and postwar hubcaps.
photo credit: © 2013 oldcarsweekly.com
text credit: © 2013 Ron Kowalvo/Old Cars Weeklu
