As much as I have been enjoying working on all these new car reviews lately, I still need to look at old cars once in a while. But since it just snowed here in Kansas City, it’s not likely that we’ll be going to any car shows any time soon. Luckily, there are places like the KC Auto Display in Lenexa where you can go check out old cars no matter the weather. So that’s just what we did recently. Most of these cars are for sale; some of them are just being stored. But there are some really interesting things hiding in this industrial, warehouse-style building.
This ’55 Pontiac Chieftain had a lot of eye appeal. The colors were a big part of that—Avalon Yellow over black. It also had some black Torque-Thrust style wheels, which weren’t necessarily period-correct, but they looked cool. The interior was redone in sort of the original pattern, but the fabric had been replaced with some modern tweed-like stuff. This car wasn’t perfect—there were some bodywork and paint issues—but it still had a great overall look. $19,900 was what they wanted to send it home with you.
The nicest car award easily went to this Flame Red ’57 T-Bird. They had it off the ground on a little lift, which may have been to keep people away from it, but also allowed you to see the undercarriage. And it was nice under there. I can’t remember the last time I saw one of these Baby Birds in this kind of restored condition. It was actually in a different league than most of the cars that you would expect to see in the KC Auto Display. Understandably, the price tag was also in a different league than most of the things in the KC Auto Display--$79,900. They’re playing in the Bigs with this one. But as slick as this car is, I suppose it’s worth that kind of money as much as anything.
They had two ’69 Camaro SS convertibles. One was an Indy Pace Car, and the other was this Daytona Yellow car with black houndstooth interior. It’s hard not to like this one, especially with a 375-hp, 396-c.i. big block under the chrome-vented hood. The only thing it appeared to me missing was factory air-conditioning to really make it desirable. Of course, for $49,900, someone better think it’s really desirable anyway. And who needs air conditioning when you can drive around with the top down?
Not all of their Camaros were as appealing, however. This ’85 Z28 was, well, it was unique. Someone had gone crazy with a Captain America theme, with Captain America stuff airbrushed all over the place and a flood of red, white, and blue paint and vinyl upholstery. The work was surprisingly nice on this thing, and I can’t imagine how much money someone spent to build it. But still, $14,900 is big bucks for something that I would be embarrassed to be seen in. I guess it’s a love it or hate it kind of thing, though. Someone out there is looking for this car.
They had two ‘50s Oldsmobiles. I guess the star was a black and red ’57 Rocket 88 two-door hardtop with the rare J2 tri-power engine option. I got the impression that it was a fairly rough car before someone restored it, though. This ’55 Holiday 88 four-door hardtop seemed like it was in better condition. The seats were reupholstered in more modern material, but it still had that gorgeous original dashboard. Someone had put a set of fake Olds spinner wheel covers on it. Those would be the first thing to find the trash can if I bought this car. Not that it matters—I don’t have $14,900 to spend on it anyway.
As you can see in the pictures, there were several neat cars to look at during our visit.
Check out the slideshow below, or
click this link for a nicer version.
And for more information about the KC Classic Auto Display, click
http://www.kcclassicauto.com/.
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