Our Trip to the Lambrecht Auto Auction, Pierce, Nebraska
We had to park 1/2 mile away. The two lane country road was full of people walking. Trams were brought in to move the 20,000 attendees. It was like the Children of Israel marching to the Promised Land. But instread of seeking Milk and Honey they were after the 500 antique cars and trucks parked in a local soybean field. The Lambrect vehicle auction offering of not only about 450 used cars but about 50 vehicles new but never sold. Of these 50, most had less than 5 miles on them.
That's why we are here. Within 2 days of learning of this auction two of my sons and I booked tickets for the trip. The auction of the century, 50 new cars and trucks from the 50's and 60's.
It had rained the night before so the field was muddy with puddles of water. We arrived about 9 am. The TV stations were set up, the History Channel was present. The auction was about to begin. There were so many people that getting close enough to bid would have been a real chore. If you really wanted to place a bid using the online bidding service may have been the only way.
We started looking. The cars and trucks were lined up in rows. The most popular one, the 1958 had a crowd around it. It would be later in the day before I could get close enough for pictures.
In the mean time I went over to look at the 64' Chevrolet Longbeds that were new unsold vehicles. There were about 15 of them. I was amazed, they had been left outside for years. The wood in thier beds had rotted out. Radiators and tailgates on some had been stolen. Some had trees growing thru the beds. Still you could tell they had never been driven. They all needed restoration and that is why I thought they would go for 4-$5000. I was wrong, all sold for around $20,000 each. The one shortbed went for $50,000.
Everyone was friendly. I met people from all over the US and many had flown in from foreign countries. We all had the same thing on our minds, why? When these cars were traded in they were running vehicles. And why hold onto new unsold vehicles? Why weren't they sold off to other dealers in the cities? Sure seems like that would be the business thing to do with excess inventory, new or used. That question will just have to go unanswered but whatever the reason it sure afforded us a great and fun experience. I spent the rest of the day checking out all the cars and trucks, being amazed at the high prices and meeting many nice people. For more pictures click on the link below.
