PREVIEW - BURNS & CO. NOVEMBER AUCTION - JUST CARS

PREVIEW - Burns & Co. November auction

Burns & Co’s final Classic Car Auction for 2021 is another big one, with 60 high-desirable classic, collectable and competition cars consigned, along with motorcycles, number plates, collectables and memorabilia.

The auction event officially opens from 12 Noon on Sunday, 7 November, at Burns & Co’s Melbourne auction rooms in Bayswater, but registered bidders can lodge pre-bids now.

For auction details, pre-auction inspection times, how to register for bidding and the full auction catalogue, click HERE.

The auction will be webcast live from 12 Noon on Sunday, 7 November, when bidding proper opens.

Several of the high-profile lots from this auction have already attracted strong interest, including high five- and low six-figure pre-bid sums. Part of the reason for this is Burns & Co’s low buyer’s premium of just 9.9 per cent on vehicles.

While there are many highlights to choose from amongst the vehicles consigned, here are a few of the standouts.

1977 Holden LX Torana A9X – genuine GMP&A car, restored to race spec

The value of genuine GMP&A (General Motors Parts & Accessories) Toranas built for racing has already been proven in recent years. As such, this example should sell strongly.

One of just 33 specially-prepared and race-spec A9X Torana hatchback shells built by GM-H in 1977, this example was originally owned by the Gown-Hindhaugh team (Norm Gown and Bruce Hindhaugh), making its competition debut in the 1977 Hang Ten 400 at Sandown.

Across the 1977, ’78 and ’79 ATCC seasons, this car was driven mostly by Garth Wigston, although Bruce Hindhaugh, Wayne Negus, Bruce Gowans and Charlie O’Brien also spent time behind the wheel.

Coincidentally, this car finished its career with Gown-Hindhaugh at the 1979 Hang Ten 400, after which it was sold to John Higgins, who retained the roll cage and most of the Torana’s race-spec mechanicals, but converted it into a road car.

Higgins kept the car registered until 2000, when he sold it to Mick Cameron, who retained road reg for a brief period before spending three years restoring the car back to its 1977 ATCC specification and Gown-Hindhaugh ‘Roadways’ livery.

Campaigned in Historic Group C & A racing since, this genuine GMP&A Torana A9X comes to auction with full provenance and a CAMS CoD.

At time of writing, pre-bidding on this car was already over $250,000.

See more on this car HERE.

2000 Holden VX Supercar – multiple Supercar and Bathurst entrant

Built for Imrie Motorsport (IMS) from a Holden Motorsport VT Commodore shell in 2000, this former V8 Supercar wears Europcar livery from the 2001 V8 Supercars season and runs a Gibson Motorsport-prepared 620hp 5.0-litre Chev V8 and Hollinger 6-speed gearbox.

While Mike Imrie himself raced the car in period, it was also campaigned by Tomas Mezera, Greg Ritter, Wayne Wakefield, Tony Ricciardo, Rodney Crick and Peter Gazzard, to name a few. The latter two paired up to race the car at the 2000 Bathurst 1000, finishing in 27th place.

When Peter Brock became involved with IMS in 2001, he test drove the car – now upgraded to VX appearance - while his stepson James Brock drove it alongside Steve Owen at that year’s Queensland 500 and Bathurst 1000.

After Bathurst, Tomas Mezera drove the car at several V8 Supercars rounds in Australia and New Zealand. In 2002, this Commodore returned to Bathurst for a third time with Christian D’Agostin and David Krause.

The car has been campaigned in the Konica and Kumho series’ and more recently, was one of the original entrants in 5-litre Touring Car Association heritage demonstration events.

Still eligible for various racing categories, this ex-V8 Supercars Commodore is in race-ready trim and comes with a full complement of spares and pit equipment, including air jacks, a rattle gun, spare lights, spare brake pads, a fuel churn, two sets of wheels and even Europcar pit and garage banners.

See more on this car HERE.

2008 FPV GT Cobra – No. 342, low kms, garaged from new.

A revival of a famous name – and famous livery – in Ford history, the FPV Cobra unveiled in 2007 paid tribute to Ford’s XC Falcon Cobra hardtop from 1978.

Limited to 400 sedans and 100 utes, the modern Cobra was more than just a cosmetic pack on the FPV GT: the 5.4-litre ‘Boss 290’ V8 was upgraded to 302kW and 540Nm, while the R-Spec suspension that had first appeared on the 40th Anniversary GT was standard on the sedan.

Like this car, all FPV Cobras were finished in Winter White with dual blue stripes, blue lower body stripes with Cobra callouts, ‘Boss 302’ callouts on the bonnet bulge and XC-style Cobra snake badges on the front guards. Completing the exterior spec were 19-inch wheels that were unique to the Cobra, finished in white with machined faces.

Inside, black leather seats featured the Cobra coiled snake logo on the uprights and a numbered plaque was added to the transmission tunnel.

The Cobra consigned is No.342 of 400 and shows only 10,554km on the odometer. Fitted with the more desirable 6-speed manual (a 6-speed auto was optional) and described as hard to fault cosmetically - inside and out – this car comes with books, brochures and full rego history.

See more on this car HERE.

1966 Ford Mustang fastback – 347 Stroker upgrade, dual fuel, 4-speed auto

Looking stock on the outside, this classic ’66 Mustang boasts a number of upgrades under the skin, including a 347 Stroker V8 - on dual fuel with GT40 alloy heads - producing 450hp (335kW).

This is matched to a Ford 4-speed automatic overdrive transmission and a Ford 8.8-inch diff.

Other upgrades and modifications include boosted Kelsey Hayes brakes, racing mirrors, a bonnet scoop and pins, flip-up fuel cap and billet accessories.

Inside, there are some modern and custom touches, including engine-turned dash trim, white-face gauges, steering column-mounted auxiliary gauges, a flat-bottom steering wheel, transmission lock and Mustang-branded seat belts and floor mats.

Finished in bold red, this Mustang fastback shows 23,423 miles on the odometer (presumably completed after the engine upgrade) and, while not in concours spec, is very tidy inside and out.

Described as a Sunday driver or club car, as well as a fantastic investment opportunity, pre-bidding on this Mustang was sitting at $51,000 at time of writing.

See more on this car HERE.

1970 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray – 350 V8, body mods, RHD conversion

Combining classic American style with various upgrades, this third-generation Corvette Stingray convertible is also safer and more practical for Aussie road use, as it’s been converted to right-hand drive.

A matching-numbers car with a 350 V8 and 4-speed manual, this Corvette was imported to Australia in 2007, with the RHD conversion done soon after.

Side exit exhausts, bonnet stripes and different side gills have been added, while the wheelarches have been widened significantly to take broader wheels and tyres.

Inside, the aforementioned RHD conversion features an Ididit steering column and wheel, while other interior touches include refurbished seats, a padded centre console top, Alpine stereo, billet pedals and bowtie-shaped rear view mirror.

With 39,129 miles on the odometer, this modified Corvette Stingray convertible is described as possibly the only 1970 model currently on the market in Australia.

See more on this car HERE.

1965 Ford XP Falcon panel van – rare body style, standard drivetrain

The XP Series was the last of the low-roof ‘sedan delivery’ Falcon panel vans produced by Ford Australia. From the XR Series onwards, the high-roof body was the norm, and while more practical, lacked a bit of style.

That’s made XP Falcon panel vans desirable, but survivors are few and far between – even moreso in this condition.

Finished in metallic blue with a white roof and silver wheels, this restored example has had a few small tweaks made, but is largely stock. That includes under the bonnet, where a 170ci ‘Pursuit’ six-cylinder engine is matched to a 3-speed manual transmission.

In the load area, there’s a full-length rubber mat and full-length headliner. The cabin features a bench seat and door cards in grey vinyl, while the floor coverings have been upgraded to carpet. The dash and instrumentation appear stock, and being a bench seat, there’s a column-shift for the 3-speed manual.

Described as tidy underneath, with an excellent body, great paint and 52,402 miles on the odometer, this is an outstanding example of a model and body style rarely seen these days.

Great as a club car or a practical attention-getter for a small business, this restored XP panel van is not to be missed.

For more details on this car, click HERE.

Holden FJ Special Sedan – repainted body, mostly original

While the year of this FJ sedan is unlisted, the body number suggests it’s from early in what would be a run of nearly 170,000 units produced between 1953 and 1956.

While it has been modified for safer use on the roads, with motorcycle-style indicators added, many of this car’s original elements remain, including the 6-volt electrics, drum brakes and 132ci six-cylinder ‘grey motor’.

Finished in cream with a tan interior, this Special Sedan has been with the same family since it was three months old and being a resident of the Mallee in northern Victoria, has a remarkable body. Despite this, the car was stripped to bare metal and the front passenger floor section replaced before a full-body respray in 1993.

The exterior chrome is original and everything inside, excluding the headlining, is original, too.
While a retrim of the front and rear seats may be a consideration for the next owner, this FJ would make for a great club car in its current spec.

For more on this clean and tidy FJ Special Sedan, click HERE.

1979 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am – rare paint colour, loaded with factory options

This car shows that not all late-1970s Firebird Trans Ams are Bandit replicas.

Finished in rare Solar Gold paint with a matching gold interior in cloth and vinyl, this Firebird Trans Am runs a bunch of factory options, too, including air conditioning, cruise control, power windows, power door locks, additional sound insulation, front and rear floor mats, tinted glass, tilt steering wheel, bodyside mouldings and the iconic ‘screaming chicken’ bonnet decal.

The W72 ‘Performance Package’ option means this Firebird is equipped with the 6.6-litre (400ci) Big Block V8, which had been discontinued in 1978 but found its way into a few 1979 Firebird Trans Ams like this one.

Producing only 220hp (164kW) thanks to anti-pollution gear, most 6.6 V8s were matched to a four-speed manual, but this one’s connected to a three-speed automatic. Picking the W72 option meant the WS6 ‘Suspension Package’ was included, too, comprising suspension upgrades and a sharper steering ratio for improved handling, as well as ‘snowflake’ alloys. Optional four-wheel disc brakes are also fitted to this car.

One of the most original examples of a 1979 Firebird Trans Am you’re likely to encounter, this one shows just 35,426 miles and still includes the factory stickers, original Space Saver spare tyre and original purchase invoice, along with other documentation confirming its provenance.

For more details on this car, click HERE.

1977 Triumph Stag – Australian-delivered, 2-owner history

One of the more controversial cars in the history of the British motor industry, the Stag was a great car let down by an underdeveloped engine.

That engine was a 3.0-litre OHC V8 with alloy heads on an iron block, but head gasket failures and cooling system inadequacies damned the Stag for decades afterward, despite the problems largely being addressed during the car’s production life that ran from 1970 to 1977.

The engine on this example is the original Triumph V8, but has been reconditioned, with the factory Borg Warner 3-speed automatic overhauled, too. As part of this drivetrain refurbishment by Victorian-based specialists, which was completed in the early 1990s, modifications have been made to improve performance – but how far above the factory 145hp/166lb/ft (108kW/225Nm) is unknown.

From the final year of production, this Inca Yellow Stag with a black interior was Australian-delivered and has had only two owners. In the second and current owner’s possession for almost 30 years, most of that time has been spent in storage, but the car has been taken out to race meetings and car shows, covering 25,000kms in the process.