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Sport and Specialty Open House 2021!

Sport and Specialty Open House 2021!

by | Jul 23, 2021

Sport and Specialty Open House 2021

Reserve Saturday August 21 for the third annual Sport and Specialty Open House and Car Show. Bring any marque, model, or year of car, but get there. Daily drivers welcome! Bring a friend, take a drive, and see what we’re working on and finishing up. We expect many of the usual suspects with their really cool cars to be there so come out and let’s catch up!!

  • FUN AWARDS
  • FOOD and BEVERAGE AVAILABLE!
  • KIDS WELCOME (under adult supervision)

Punch in our address to your favorite mapping app and be here between 11-3 on Saturday, August 21.
9169 Forest Preserve Road
Durand, IL 61024
Shop Phone: (815) 629-2717

 

Meanwhile, check out some pix from our previous events. As you’ll see, it’s a great time.

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The 2017 Austin-Healey Conclave

The 2017 Austin-Healey Conclave

by | Jul 11, 2017 |

A quick wrap up from my trip to the 2017 Austin-Healey Conclave - in short: another great event, organized this time by the Texas Austin Healey Clubs. A quick wrap up from my trip to the 2017 Austin-Healey Conclave - in short: another great...

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Sotheby’s Records $44.4M for Private Car Collection

Sotheby’s Records $44.4M for Private Car Collection

by | Oct 26, 2020

Sotheby’s Records $44.4M for Private Car Collection

Last year my Alfa racing partner John Wheeler called me to ask some questions about how collector car auctions worked, as he knew I followed them and have attended quite a few around the country. He and the firm he works for were hired to develop strategies to pay back creditors, and one of the strategies involved cars…a lot of cars.

In this case he was looking to liquidate more than 200 cars with the best return and least amount of cost possible. This was no barn-find-hoarding deal either, these were virtually all collector-grade vehicles. After attending the Scottsdale auctions early this year to better understand the process, he began working with RM Sotheby’s to hold a private auction event.

“The Elkhart Collection” auction was held last weekend and it turned out to be a very successful event. $44.4M successful:

BLENHEIM, Ontario (26 October 2020) – This past weekend, 23-24 October, RM Sotheby’s presented the exceptional Elkhart Collection in a live auction held in Elkhart, Indiana, grossing a total of $44,385,420 in sales. Featuring over 240 highly collectable cars and a wide selection of memorabilia offered almost entirely without reserve, the two-day auction.

I’ve been watching the comments regarding the crazy prices and the lack of bargains available. I went there looking for good deals, and indeed, there weren’t any steals. Memorabilia and equipment in some cases went over typical retail. People wanted to buy some stuff! While some were disappointed, personally, I thought it was great to see.

Over the past few years the overall auction results have been somewhat lackluster, with certain marques doing the heavy lifting at many auctions. This was a “No Reserve” auction which brought a distinct drama to the occasion. Sorry naysayers, but it was fun watching the needle move and the hammer fall. Watching cars not hit reserve and being unceremoniously shuffled offstage is quite a letdown.

The Brit marques were a bit off, but the specialty cars did well. For such an eclectic collection, there was a little something for everyone. One buyer I spoke with went home with a Mercedes Cabriolet with a modern driveline, the 427 Iso, and the Miura. He caught the fever and looked pretty happy with the results.

You can see all of the results on the RM Sotheby’s site, now updated, and, some pictures below from the auction by our site manager Bill Oakes. Next up, Scottsdale I hope. Interesting year, and an interesting auction.

Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction
Sotheby's Elkhart Collection Auction

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The 2017 Austin-Healey Conclave

The 2017 Austin-Healey Conclave

by | Jul 11, 2017 |

A quick wrap up from my trip to the 2017 Austin-Healey Conclave - in short: another great event, organized this time by the Texas Austin Healey Clubs. A quick wrap up from my trip to the 2017 Austin-Healey Conclave - in short: another great...

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Fuelfed’s Shop Visit on a Fine Summer Day

Fuelfed’s Shop Visit on a Fine Summer Day

by | Aug 30, 2020

Well, if variety is the spice of life, Saturday’s Fuelfed stop at Sport and Specialty for lunch was a real home run. Brian and Lorraine Hughes asked if I would entertain having their tour stop in for lunch on Saturday. I couldn’t say yes fast enough.

As a new sponsor, this was a perfect opportunity to show their community how great our shop is, as well as get to fill our lot with a huge variety of European sports cars. From Aston Martins to TRWs and Bentleys, not to mention the many Porsches models from a variety of years.

The S & S crew all showed up to answer questions and help entertain the visitors. Plus, we were able to source a bunch of picnic tables, and everyone had room to enjoy the great weather and cool cars. Bill Oakes had his camera in hand and took all of these great photos.

I think we all needed this short getaway and glad that we were able to partner with Fuelfed and their great membership! See you all soon!

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The 2017 Austin-Healey Conclave

The 2017 Austin-Healey Conclave

by | Jul 11, 2017 |

A quick wrap up from my trip to the 2017 Austin-Healey Conclave - in short: another great event, organized this time by the Texas Austin Healey Clubs. A quick wrap up from my trip to the 2017 Austin-Healey Conclave - in short: another great...

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The Restorer’s Healey – John’s 1967 BJ8

The Restorer’s Healey – John’s 1967 BJ8

by | Aug 27, 2020

Regular followers know that the white-over-blue 1967 Austin Healey BJ8 that shows up on social media is one of my favorite cars. I purchased the car from my customer and friend Tony Grau and his family as an uncompleted project.

We had previously assembled and painted the crusty body and made it straight and pretty, but the remainder of the car was unassembled. My goal was to have a largely original car with a few modifications to make it a bit more road friendly in today’s environment. I wanted a gold quality build with my own choices.

I also wanted a little stiffer chassis with minimal scuttle shake. The car already had an upgraded Kilmartin chassis, so I simply decided to use the Panasport style wheels with a slightly tuned rear suspension. The new springs can be a little hard and create a taller ride-height than I like, so we removed a leaf and I was very happy with the results.

I chose the addition of the blue coves (not actual Lobella blue) because I only saw black and red as alternatives. I simply went through my stash of paint chips until I found one I liked. It also matched the leather interior and cloth top colors I wanted to use. I think I got the colors right.

I wanted a reasonably stock drivetrain, so I built a stock BJ8 spec engine because they run well when set up properly, but I had never tried a five speed conversion. My trans and OD were in pretty rough condition and would have needed a ton of work so we rebuilt a used Toyota trans which looked really good, at a fraction of the cost. On top of it, I really like the gear ratios better.

So take a look at the video and keep following our progress. Look for me at the next car show, come over and say hi. Thanks!!

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The 2017 Austin-Healey Conclave

The 2017 Austin-Healey Conclave

by | Jul 11, 2017 |

A quick wrap up from my trip to the 2017 Austin-Healey Conclave - in short: another great event, organized this time by the Texas Austin Healey Clubs. A quick wrap up from my trip to the 2017 Austin-Healey Conclave - in short: another great...

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Your Virtual Tour Guide

Your Virtual Tour Guide

by | Aug 3, 2020

Your Virtual Tour Guide

For some reason, I just love giving tours of Sport and Specialty. I gave many plant and home office tours during my years in corporate sales, but touring plants, warehouses and administrative offices just wasn’t as much fun as showing people how you blow up cars and put them back together.

I also love hosting out annual Open House and car show. The guys even like doing it. They get to show off their work to friends and customers, and let their families see what they do all week. We often tend to work in a vacuum up here, and few things can make your efforts worthwhile than watching and hearing people admire and praise your work.

Unfortunately, we had to put the brakes on our 2020 Open House this year as state and local regs strictly limit the number of attendees, and social distancing, etc. make it almost impossible to enforce. Plus, if someone were to become ill at our event I would feel awful.

While postponed, my annual tour is now available in virtual form. It’s an impromptu tour that we started last year. A more formal scripted one is being developed, but this one is still kind of fun. Take a look and feel free to reach out with any questions!

Next year I’ll give the tours in person and make sure we have plenty of Portillo’s Italian beef and sausage available. Thanks for watching!

Read More of My Blog Posts

The 2017 Austin-Healey Conclave

The 2017 Austin-Healey Conclave

by | Jul 11, 2017 |

A quick wrap up from my trip to the 2017 Austin-Healey Conclave - in short: another great event, organized this time by the Texas Austin Healey Clubs. A quick wrap up from my trip to the 2017 Austin-Healey Conclave - in short: another great...

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