The top-selling car was a 1972 Plymouth 'Cuda with a 318 CID V8.
You know your car collection is really more of a car hoard when you need an auction company to come in to help you sell off your vehicles, but there are worse problems to have, right? That was the case with Coyote Johnson and his muscle car collection, which was auctioned off over the weekend by VanDerBrink Auctions for a total of $1.282 million.
The collection was mostly comprised of muscle and performance cars spanning from a 1955 Chevy to a 2000 Pontiac Trans Am with conditions ranging from stripped-down shells to cars that appear to be ready to show. The top seller of the auction was the orange 1972 Plymouth 'Cuda 318 (at the top of the page) that went for $40,000, and the next highest-priced car was a 1970 Chevelle SS454 Tribute that hammered for $35,000.
Rounding out the top five were a 1968 Dodge Charger ($30,500), 1978 Pontiac Trans Am ($30,500) and a 1964 Chevrolet Malibu SS ($30,000). The fact that a '68 Charger and '78 Trans Am went for the same price shows how strong the market is for these Pontiacs. For what it's worth, the Charger was a great deal at that price, and some other good bargains included a B5 Blue '69 Road Runner for $19,000, a '76 Camaro LT for $12,000 and the running and driving '73 Challenger barn find – shown above – for $10,250.
According to the auction house, Coyote has been collecting cars since he was 16, and his first car was a green and white 1969 Plymouth Road Runner, which isn't part of the fire sale – nor is his father's '57 Chevy. The story continues that he would buy the cars, drive them for a while and then park them; being in the construction business, he eventually built buildings around the cars to keep them protected and away from prying eyes. The vehicles were never shown to the public, and the listing says that he didn't even tell some family members about the collection. Check out the video below showing a walk-through of the collection.
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This auction took place at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds in Red Oak, Iowa on Saturday, September 14, and everything was sold at no reserve (with the exception of several project vehicles). The proceeds from the food sales during the auction and auction preview were donated to local charities, too.
