Last updated on 2015.03.19
The man of the weekend, Les Schuchardt, 87, watches the auction of his remarkable collection of 100-plus-year-old cars in Spearfish, South Dakota.
Overheard today at Les Schuchardt's big "Last Car Show" and auction here in Spearfish:
"Did you bring your checklist?"
"No, I brought Dad."
Dang. I knew I forgot something. I should have brought my dad to this auction. He'd have been in mechanical heaven for a few hours. Mom! Go get Dad and put him in front of the computer for a bit.
First, Dad, watch Aaron Williams auction off a 1907 Ford Model R Runabout for $55,000:
In the Mitakuye Oyasin ("We are all related") department, Aaron and I sang for Miss Edwards in the MHS choir twenty-some years ago. He now makes music for Yvette VanDerBrink in Hardwick, Minnesota.
Check out this car, Dad. It's a 1934 Ford Coupe. It has a rumble seat.
A guy in the crowd told me this car got Les Schuchardt started in collecting and restoring old cars.
The 1934 has a flathead V8. Dad, you'll need to tell me whether that's awesome or not. I just think it's cool that it's turquoise. Some lucky buyer decided that engine and that care are worth $62,000.
This red contraption is a 1900 Mobile Model 3 Steamer Runabout. Yes, it runs on steam.
There's the Steamer's differential, out in the open. Dad, you could tinker with a machine like this forever. This one sold for a mere $40,000.
A guy standing right beside me spent $1250 to acquire this reproduction George. M. Holley carburetor. He was lucky: some guy bidding by wire from New York bought what looked like an identical Holley carburetor a minute before for $2150.
Here's the full slideshow, Dad. Just click on the arrows to go back and forth between photos.
I got a great picture yesterday of a burgundy 1903 Model A with Les and Delores Schuchardt's modest monograms on the sides. Unless I missed something, that car drew the highest bid of the day, $103,000 from a buyer in England. Another Model A went for $101,000. The 1908 electric Mark LXX Victoria Phaeton Columbia went for $67,000. And that crazy 1912 truck tricked out à la Joad drew $13,500. Wow!
I took a quick parking lot sample, counting three rows of cars, maybe a sixth of those present around lunchtime:
| License Plate Locale | Number | Percentage of sample |
| South Dakota--Lawrence | 27 | 21.6% |
| South Dakota--Pennington | 15 | 12.0% |
| South Dakota--Meade | 9 | 7.2% |
| South Dakota--Butte | 7 | 5.6% |
| South Dakota--Minnehaha | 2 | 1.6% |
| South Dakota--Lawrence | 2 | 1.6% |
| South Dakota--Kingsbury | 2 | 1.6% |
| South Dakota--Stanley | 1 | 0.8% |
| South Dakota--Lake | 1 | 0.8% |
| South Dakota--Jerauld | 1 | 0.8% |
| South Dakota--Hughes | 1 | 0.8% |
| South Dakota--Haakon | 1 | 0.8% |
| South Dakota--Faulk | 1 | 0.8% |
| South Dakota--Corson | 1 | 0.8% |
| South Dakota--Charles Mix | 1 | 0.8% |
| South Dakota--Beadle | 1 | 0.8% |
| South Dakota (no county) | 9 | 7.2% |
| North Dakota | 11 | 8.8% |
| Minnesota | 9 | 7.2% |
| Montana | 6 | 4.8% |
| Wyoming | 6 | 4.8% |
| Iowa | 2 | 1.6% |
| Nevada | 1 | 0.8% |
| Nebraska | 1 | 0.8% |
| Kentucky | 1 | 0.8% |
| Indiana | 1 | 0.8% |
| Illinois | 1 | 0.8% |
| Colorado | 1 | 0.8% |
| Alberta | 1 | 0.8% |
| Texas | 1 | 0.8% |
| Wisconsin | 1 | 0.8% |
16 South Dakota counties (including someone from Lake! Who made that trip?), 13 other states, and 1 Alberta traveler. Over a third of the cars I counted were from out of state... but none appeared to belong to Jay Leno, who was reported to be coming to the sale.
I don't know if we'll find another auction with this many amazing cars out here any time soon, Dad. But if I see one, I'll give you a heads up.
Is there any way to get a list of sale prices?
Thanks Cory... Totally cool..
Someday decades from now when I'm done with them my car collection will bring a few hundred thousand dollars. But it's nothing like this.
Dad said he enjoyed reading and seeing pictures. He also said he should have been there. Thanks for posting this. He said he used to work on flathead motors. They were in all the Fords before 1954 so you know how old he is. The motors were also in Ford tractors.
Justin, VanDerBrink Auctions does have an auction results page, but I don't see numbers from yesterday's show up yet. A lot of folks were carrying inventory lists yesterday and assiduously recording every sale price. I didn't write down a lot of prices; I was having too much fun taking pictures. ;-)
Somewhat related. You'll get a kick out of this. While fishing in Yellowstone last week I see a jeep with South Dakota 43 plates pull into my hole. I'm like "Hey, they're from Madison, I might know who this is." I literally run up to the jeep, the people must think I'm crazy, some guy in waders and a 10 foot fly rod running at them.
To my dismay they inform me that they are from Madison only on paper, and in fact have never been there. I laughed when they said I've been the third person that approached them since they got their Dakota Address. They told me people must be friendly in Madison if so many strangers are willing to approach them like I did and they might actually visit their home on paper some day.
Hilarious, Mark! Thanks for that note!
Nice photos and coverage, Cory. Good to run into you Saturday.
That Ford Model AC sold to a gent from Essex, England. He bought it to run in a historic car rally, the London to Brighton run. Very cool.
Speaking of very cool, that's exactly what the Ford Flathead V8 is. Pretty much made Ford after the depression. Clyde Barrow famously wrote a letter to Henry Ford complimenting him on those Ford V8s, which he said allowed him to evade the authorities with ease time and again.
If you would like to see the results of the sale go to http://www.proxibid.com and search for vanderbrink auctions you will find results for all of her sales.
Thanks, and back at you, Adam! Thanks for your coverage of the auction in today's Black Hills Pioneer!