Old cars come to the office for the Spring Adesa Classic

My wife and son were in town last weekend to visit during our transition from Kansas City to Nashville for my new job. Saturday morning, I asked them if they wanted to check out my office at the Adesa Nashville Auction on our way out to look at some houses. Of course, I had no idea that they were having a classic car auction at that very time. No idea at all. I hadn’t noticed all the old cars showing up during the week, or the signs and posters that were hanging all over. And I really don’t know where those three visitor passes came from that were in my pocket. It was a complete surprise. But while we were there, I figured I had better take a few pictures. Good thing I happened to have my camera.

Onward and upward

I’ve said this before, but I really appreciate everyone who checks out this website, reads the stories, and follows along with what I’m doing here.  I’ve met tons of great people around Kansas City at car shows, races, and other events because of this place, and I wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything.

But because of that, the announcement I’m about to make is bittersweet.  I am moving away from Kansas City.  Starting April 1, I will be the Senior Remarketing Specialist for General Motors at the Adesa Auto Auction in Nashville, Tenn. 

Adesa Corvette and Specialty Car Sale is a well-kept Kansas City secret

Here’s one you might not have known about.  Adesa has a huge auction house in Belton, Mo.  Normally, they sell late-model cars for manufacturers and rental companies to dealers.  That’s where a lot of the cars that you see on the used lot of the local new car dealer come from.  But a couple of times a year they have a Corvette and Specialty Car Sale.  It is still only open to dealers, but in this case they have an interesting mix of classic and special interest cars.  It is hard to find information for, because they don’t publish it on their website.  But my dad works out there, however, which is why I can share some of it with you.

Replenishing the car show population at the Adesa Corvette and Specialty Car Sale

Car shows are great, but do you ever wonder where people get all those old cars?  Sometimes they pick them up at a classic car auction, like the Corvette and Specialty Car Sale that was recently held at the Adesa Kansas City Auction in Belton, Mo.  Normally, this sprawling facility is used to sell late model factory and rental cars to dealers, but once or twice a year they open it up to this exciting event.

Adesa Corvette and Specialty Sale brings big-time collector cars to a big-time auction

Everybody knows when the big Mecum classic car auctions come to Bartle Hall, but that's not the only place in Kansas City where people bid on their favorite collectable cars.  The Adesa Auto Auction in Belton holds their Corvette and Specialty Car Sale a couple of times a year, and sellers and buyers from all over the country get together to swap a little vintage metal.

Adesa Auction's Fall Corvette and Specialty Car Sale gives you a real-world perspective into the old car hobby

“I’mana eighteen, eighteen, eighteen; lookin’ for eighteen-five. Eighteen-five. Come up and look at this car. Sixty-two-thousand actual miles. Pay attention, folks, you’ll never see another one like this. I have eighteen. Lookin’ for eighteen-five. Eighteen-five. Eighteen-five going once. Eighteen-five going twice. It’s gonna’ take closer to nineteen to buy this car. Roll it on through.”

Nice day, nice cars at the April Adesa Corvette and Specialty Car Sale

One thing's for sure--when the temperature goes up, the crowds go up at events like the Adesa Corvette and Specialty Car Sale, which was held on Thursday and Friday in the sprawling Belton, Mo. location.

And the cars weren't bad, either. Thursday is the Corvette only sale, and there were plenty of nice examples of the featured marque on hand. The oldest one that I saw was a nice Fawn Beige '62, and my favorite was a pretty red '67, but all generations of America's Sorts Car were well represented.

Now Friday is when you got to see some variety. You name it; they had it. Everything from hot rods to Ferraris were there for you to climb in, dream about, and (if you're one of the lucky ones) drive home in.

The Ararat Shrine Swap Meet was full of bargains and bargain-hunters. That's a pretty good combination

Piles of crap. Some guys got it. Other guys want it.

Back in the old days, if you wanted that special part for your old car project, you couldn't just plug it in on eBay and expect it to be sitting on your front porch in three-to-five days. You had to search for it. You looked in junk yards. You watched for old cars at the side of the road. And you went to the swap meet.

Well, this past weekend, that last time-tested tradition was alive and well in Lee's Summit, as the Ararat Shrine Swap Meet took place at the old marshalling yard at the vacated Adesa Auction facility.

Adesa Corvette and Specialty Car Auction was the perfect cure for the stuck in the office blues

Usually my day consists of sitting behind a computer screen in a cubicle doing research, entering data, answering e-mails, and taking phone calls. Day in. Day out. I do it on Monday. I do it on Tuesday. I do it on Wednesday. I'm sure you can see where this is going. Sometimes the biggest excitement of the day is when I have to get up and go to the can.

But then sometimes, something cool comes up, and I get to see daylight for an hour or two! When my dad called and asked if I wanted to go to the collector car auction at the big Adesa facility in Belton on Thursday, I couldn't get out of there fast enough. I think I might have even knocked some of the cubicle walls over.