Mecum Glendale 2024 Top 10 Corvettes
Mecum’s Glendale 2024 Auction finished up and overall it was a strong showing for both the auction company and the collector car market as a whole. The Top Ten sales are displayed on Mecum‘s website, but we wanted to dig deeper and instead take a look at the Top Ten Corvettes to sell at Mecum’s Glendale Auction in 2024.
Built from 1987 through 1969, the L88 Corvette is an iconic sports car that embodies the spirit of the Corvette perhaps better than any other model offered throughout the seven decades of Corvette production. The L88 option equipped the Corvette with a 427 cubic inch V8 that was originally designed for use on the race track. Chevrolet claimed an output of 430 horsepower, though the real number was likely closer to 550.
Chevrolet only built 20 examples of the Corvette equipped with the L88 option package for its first year of production and the one sold by Mecum in Glendale is the only example known to have left the factory in Gunfire Yellow. The car benefits from a very thorough 10-year restoration and is well-documented to be a matching-numbers car.
The sale included the car’s original owner’s manual, a tank sticker, original sales contract, and the original title. It should be noted that due to the car still being on its original title, the new owner would need to surrender the original one to title it in their name for use in public.
This was surprising to see sell for $1,815,000 as we were thinking the low-end on this car should have been above $1.9 million so for that reason this was well-bought.
Sold for $1,815,000
The second generation of the Chevrolet Corvette, also known as the Sting Ray, was introduced in 1963 to much acclaim. It was the first time the Corvette was available as a coupe and the only year that offered the split-window design. Although the split-window style is quite popular these days, owners of the car when it was new weren’t afraid to remove the center pillar and replace it with a full-width rear windshield.
The Z06 option package was also offered for the first year in 1963 and added nearly 50% onto the base price of the Corvette. The car sold by Mecum in Glendale is one of just 63 examples equipped with the Z06 package as well as the N06 fuel tank. It’s a matching-numbers car and is equipped with a four-speed manual transmission along with a heavy duty suspension and 4.56 Positraction differential.
Although this didn’t set a record for a ’63 Corvette Z06, $346,500 is still a solid price at the moment so this was well-sold, all things considered.
Sold for $346,500
This 1965 Chevrolet Corvette is finished in Tuxedo Black with black interior and is equipped with the fuel-injected 327 cubic inch V8 engine that produced 375 horsepower. It features a Muncie M20 four-speed manual transmission as well as four-wheel power disc brakes.
1965 was the final year of production for the L84 engine option, a selection made for just 771 Corvettes that year. The thing that makes this example really stand out is the rare N03 Big Tank option that featured a 36 gallon fuel tank – only 41 Big Tank examples were built for that year.
Overall this car was well-sold considering the usual value of a 1965 Chevrolet Corvette with the L84 engine.
Sold for $247,500
Now we have something a little different. This is a very tricked out custom car with a C7 chassis and a 6.2L LS3 V8 that generates 791 horsepower – probably a good thing it has that newer chassis as the original C2 wasn’t designed with that much power in mind! It’s equipped with a five-speed manual transmission by Tremec that is uprated for 1,000 horsepower and 950 lb-ft of torque – just in case the supercharger isn’t giving enough performance, there’s a bit of ceiling left there.
The custom Corvette stuns in metallic white paint with a Gunmetal Gray center stripe over the Saddle-colored interior. It’s equipped with Vintage Air and rides on American Racing chrome wheels. Customs are difficult to put a specific value on, but considering the work that went into this example we’d venture to say this was well-bought.
Sold for $247,500
This is the 215th example of the 300 Chevrolet Corvettes built for 1953. It, like all the other ’53 model year Corvettes, is powered by a 235 cubic inch Blue Flame Six engine. It delivers power through a Powerglide automatic transmission and presents well in Polo White with a Sportsman Red interior.
It’s a well-documented car with ownership traced as far back as 1976. It won the Junior Class 30 at the 1996 AACA show in Florida when it was entered by the same owner who had it restored in 1981. Interestingly, the car went to Hawaii in 2002 which is where it remained until it was sold in Glendale by Mecum.
As this is an older restoration it would have shocked us to see it bring an extremely high price so while we can’t say it was well-sold art $231,000, it did go for a price that both the seller and new owner should be quite happy to see.
Sold for $231,000
This 1965 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible is equipped with the L78 396 cubic inch V8, the first of the big-block engines in any Corvette. It’s rated at 425 horsepower and generates 415 lb-ft of torque and is the car’s original engine. It’s also equipped with a four-speed manual transmission and side exhaust.
This car has won multiple Top Flight awards and is extremely well-documented with a Pennsylvania title confirming its odometer reading of 32,778 miles to be accurate. It benefits from a frame-off restoration that was completed in 2015 and received the Duntov Mark of Excellence, one of the highest honors awarded by the NCRS.
Its selling price of $220,000 is fairly strong and was certainly helped by its original Protect-O-Plate and very flashy Nassau Blue paint over the Bright Blue interior so we have to call this one well-sold.
Sold for $220,000
1967 was the final year of production for the second generation Corvette and the C2 went out with a bang. This example, finished in Marina Blue with a Bright Blue interior is powered by a 427 cubic inch V8 that produces 435 horsepower, paired with a four-speed manual transmission.
It benefits from a restoration that was completed in 2022 and includes its original tank sticker and Protect-O-Plate that show it to be a matching-numbers car. Ownership history is known back to 1981 and this car received a National NCRS Top Flight Award. Its price of $214,500 isn’t quite high enough to call it well-sold, but the seller should still be happy with the money for this excellent Corvette.
Sold for $214,500
This ’63 Chevrolet Corvette Split Window Coupe is powered by its matching-numbers 327 cubic inch V8 that’s paired with a four-speed manual transmission. It presents nicely in Saddle paint with a Saddle interior thanks to a rotisserie restoration that was completed in 2018.
It includes the original trim tag and features power windows and power brakes. Particularly notable is that this is one of only 278 examples equipped with factory air conditioning, making it much more enjoyable to drive in the hotter months and therefore more desirable to many collectors. Selling for $203,500, it’s difficult to call this anything other than well-sold.
Sold for $203,500
This 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe is equipped with its original L71-code 427 cubic inch V8 that produces 435 horsepower and is paired with its original, numbers-matching M21 four-speed manual transmission. It underwent a body-off restoration that used lacquer to restore the paint to NCRS standards.
It’s also equipped with the F41 suspension and 4.11 Positraction rear end, not to mention that it’s one of the 267 that were built with the J56 HD brakes, making it quite rare. A partial tank sticker is still affixed to its fuel tank that helps confirm the originality of the car. It won a Top Flight award in 2007 and includes an owner’s manual.
Considering the values we’ve seen for other ’67 Corvettes in recent years this was quite well-sold at $198,000.
Sold for $198,000
Powered by a small-block 265 cubic inch V8 engine that produces 195 horsepower and paired with a Powerglide automatic transmission, the 1955 Chevrolet Corvette was on its way to becoming the muscle car that became so popular in the 1960s. Chevrolet built just under 700 examples of the Corvette in 1955 and this is one of just 15 finished in Corvette Copper, the rarest color for that year.
It’s definitely not the sort of sports car one would get when looking at the third year of production for the C2, but it was a sign of things to come as Chevrolet became more and more invested in the Corvette brand. Mecum sold this car for $181,500 which is just under the high-end of prices we’ve seen in recent years, no doubt helped by the rare color and overall condition of this car. Put simply, this was well-sold.
Sold for $181,500