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High-Flying Holdens Hit New Auction Highs

It is common to hear the term ‘two speed economy’ uttered when comparing personal earnings or the trade deficit, but not when considering car auctions held a few suburbs apart on the same day in the same city.

Burns & Co in the Melbourne suburb of Bayswater and Donington Auctions, 40 minutes away in Cheltenham both fielded diverse selections of vehicles, with something to suit the budget of almost any collector. Winning bids on the day across both salerooms ranged from $2100 to more than $200,000.

A Bargain! This Monaro sold for $82,750 - Image Burns and Co

Doningtons also offered a selection of historic number plates, one of which topped its list of realised prices with a thumping $363,000.

Burns’ catalogue was top heavy with quality Holdens, including several cars being sold to finalise an Estate matter. These were offered with no reserve, not that some people bidding seemed too bothered by what they might spend.

Donington offered a selection of high-end vehicles as well; some petrol engined and others designed for horsepower of the four-legged variety. Despite some remarkable histories, none of the horse-drawn carriages offered on behalf of a Sydney-based collector found buyers.

The best result from the vintage era came via a 1924 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost with significant history that reached a hammer price of $195,000.

This 1924 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost sold for $195,000 - Image Donington's Auctions

Comparing similar cars from different sales isn’t often possible but Burns and Donington both offered 1969 Daimler V8-250 saloons in similar condition with quite differing results. A bid of $19,000 succeeded in buying the Burns car, where $16,500 wasn’t enough for the Donington example.

Ford products were overshadowed at Burns’ sale and almost absent from Donington’s, although a Burns bidder did snare a nicely presented 1948 model pickup at only $33,500, while a very scarce TE50 Tickford Falcon made $28,500.

Both auctions offered and sold nice XK150 Jaguar Fixed Head Coupes; the 3.4-litre Donington car making $62,000 while Burns pushed their scarce XK150S 3.8-litre past $100,000.

Donington's sold this Jaguar XK150 - Image Donington's Auctions

Attractive cars with winning bids but which made less than they might in more encouraging times included an early Buick Riviera in the brightest of reds ($38,000), and a factory-built VW Beetle Cabriolet knocked down to its new owner for only $15,000. Both were with Burns & Co.

Cars sparking interest over at Donington included a beautifully presented Austin-Healey ‘Bugeye’ Sprite that sold at a well-deserved $50,000, and a rare Jensen Interceptor SP which met vendor expectations with a $73,000 winning bid.

The Jensen Interceptor SP - Image Donington's Auctions

Sadly, for a lot of the Donington vendors, some scarce cars failed to get within a bull’s roar of their reserves and will by now be back in their respective garages or dealer showrooms.

A couple from this category that warrant mention are the elegant and incredibly scarce Lancia Flaminia 3C coupe that managed a miserable $75,000, and a 1966 Chevrolet Corvette with the top-spec 427/435 V8. It ended its run with a bid $1000 less than the Lancia’s.

Another rarity that failed to enchant was the two-door Isuzu Bellet GT-R; a competition-spec version of the coupe sold here in small numbers during the 1960s. It was a no sale at $41,000.

Better things were occurring a few suburbs away at Burns & Co’s big shed in Bayswater.

There's nothing like a VC HDT Commodore - Image Burns and Co

The first high-value Holden to sell was an HDT VC Commodore in Palais White. An older restoration, it had travelled around 7000km in 18 years. The VC was being sold via Burns’ New South Wales facility and would have shocked some online pundits with a $180,000 hammer price.

Later in the sale, less than half that amount bought a car that likely ranks as Bargain of the Day; a well restored two-door 308 V8 HQ Monaro GTS that had been mildly modified with a later automatic transmission and four-wheel disc brakes. For reasons best known to those who decided not to push this car past $100,000, it sold for just $82,750.

A solid result for the VN Group A SS at $160,000 - Image Burns and Co

Next of Burns’ featured Holdens was a Durif Red VN Group A SS showing an authentic125,000km. Its paint had been ceramic coated but the presentation was near enough to authentic to justify an eventual hammer price of $160,000.

Mingled with these high-value Holdens were others that may never generate the same money as an HSV but still provide their new owners with many enjoyable hours.

They included a very respectable FC Special sedan at $31,000 and an excellent EH Premier station wagon. Earlier this year it had been sold by Burns for more than $60,000, but a dour market saw it knocked down this time at $52,500.

Intermingled with the Holdens as Burns’ sale reached its conclusion was a very handsome 1934 Graham sedan, sitting on a set of wide but not ridiculous wheels. A peek under the bonnet showed why it needed uprated rubber (plus brakes and suspension) – in place of the original drab six-cylinder was a 350 cubic inch (5.7-litre) Chevrolet V8. The Graham sold for $57,000.

$300,000 secured this low KM Group A "Walkinshaw"

Finally, the sale’s star attraction was offered unreserved to an eager market and did not disappoint. With a documented 38,759km on its odo this was the second lowest kilometre HSV VL Group A ‘Walkinshaw’ ever sold by Burns & Co, with the other car showing 1300km and making more than $300,000.

At the conclusion of a feverish bidding duel the VL achieved a hammer price of $227,000, which is perhaps $30,000 below its true potential.

Once the 9.9 percent Burns & Co Buyers Premium was added the final price fell just a few dollars short of $250,000.

Top 10 Classic Car Sales at Melbourne’s August 25 Auctions

(Hammer prices ONLY. Buyer premiums apply.)

1. Jag XK150 3.4 FHC 1959 $62,000 (Donington)

2. Jensen Interceptor SP 1972 $73,000 (Donington)

3. Chevrolet Camaro 2 SS 2019 $82,500 (Burns & Co)

4. Holden HQ Monaro GTS two-door 1972 $82,750 (Burns & Co)

5. Jaguar XK150S FHC 1960 $105,000 (Burns & Co)

6. Holden LH Torana SLR5000 1975 $105,500 (Burns & Co)

7. HSV VN Group A 1990 $160,000 (Burns & Co)

8. HDT VC 308 Auto 1981 $180,000 (Burns & Co)

9. Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost 1924 $195,000 (Donington)

10. HSV VL SS Group A 1988 $227,000 (Burns & Co)