Shannons Autumn Auction preview

Shannons’ seasonal classic car auctions are always a highlight on the automotive auction calendar, and their autumn auction is looking to be one of the best yet.

With classic Holdens, Fords, 4x4s, 90s Japanese hero cars and many Euro treasures as well, there’s plenty to feast your eyes on. We’ve gone through and cherry-picked our 10 favourite machines that are hitting the block, but rest assured, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Bidding opens in just under a week on Tuesday 17 May at 10am AEST, and closes a week later from 7pm AEST on Tuesday 24 May.

Our first pick is pretty self-explanatory; after all, a genuine 1976 LX Torana SS hatch in Papaya Orange basically speaks for itself.

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The first owner specced it out with the M21 four-speed manual and black-and-white Houndstooth interior, and you even get a Hatch Hutch included in the deal! The Hotwires are cool too, but if you’re all about originality, the original steelies and hubcaps are also still with the car.

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Shannons’ value guide places it in the AU$150,000-$180,000 bracket, and with another LX SS hatch in similar spec selling at auction for AU$223,000 (before BP) earlier this year, that seems to be a fair estimation.

If you prefer your flavour of Torana in six-pot form, Shannons also has this ’73 LJ GTR XU-1 hitting the block, with just 60,000 miles on the clock.

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If the Salamanca Red paint looks in particularly good condition, it’s because the Torry underwent a complete resto before coming up for auction, despite the low mileage. The hotty 202 and four-cogger manual are the original units that’ve been treated to a rebuild, while most of the interior is the original trim. Shannons’ price guide sits between AU$160,000-$180,000, and with no reserve, it should attract some spicy bidding action.

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There’s plenty of heavy hitters for Blue Oval fans as well, including this genuine 1967 XR GT Falcon.

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It has a rich history, with just three owners from new, all of whom kept the GT in mostly original condition and just 83,000 miles under its wheels. One big change the current owner did make was swapping the original 289 V8 for a peppier 302, but he had the smarts to keep the original mill, which is included in the sale. The XR is valued in the AU$100,000-$150,000 bracket. There’s also a gold XT GT for sale for fans of Ford’s early iteration of muscly Falcons.

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While there’s no XY GTHOs in this auction field, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a rare offering from this much-loved Falcon era on the blocks. Less than 500 of these XY 4x4 utes were built in in 1972, and with a decent number of those now with the petrolhead gods, it makes this survivor a rare bird indeed.

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Certain parts of the XY have been overhauled over the years, including a refresh of the 250-cube inline six, a blow-over of the white paint, and a rebuild of the front diff. Shannons’ price guide gives it a value of AU$50,000-$60,000.

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This ’82 Ford Fairmont Ghia ESP doesn’t boast a full matching-numbers history, but that means it’s been modified guilt-free, and we think it’s a better thing for it.

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Originally a six-cylinder car, this genuine Ghia ESP now rocks a 5.8-litre V8 with a five-speed manual, bonnet scoop, roof wing, rear spoiler, and gold-centred OS Formula wheels that offset the factory pinstriping perfectly.

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Just over a month ago, a genuine XE007 V8 Fairmont Ghia press car sold at auction for AU$170,100 before BP, so Shannons’ value of AU$45,000-$55,000 for this makes it a cheap prospect.

If you’re a lover of those boxy 80s Falcons and you’re in the market for a project, it doesn’t get much cooler than this 1980 XD Sundowner panel van!

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As the dust suggests, it’s been sitting for a long time – 20 years, in fact – and fits the barn/shed-find criterion that people crave these days. It’s one of the few Sundowners to leave Ford’s factory equipped with a 4.9-litre V8, four-speed manual and limited-slip diff. Other cool features include factory a/c, metallic Emerald Green paint and Fairlane seats that were fitted later on.

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The engine turns freely, but the car hasn’t run since it was placed in storage 20 years ago, and being an XD, there’s plenty of external rust areas that need attention. The increased desirability of these 80s Falcons has seen them doing well in the classic car market, and with no reserve on this car, we’ll be curious to see where the hammer falls in reference to Shannons’ AU$15,000-$20,000 valuation.

HDT-badged Commodores have been seeing huge market growth in the past 12 months, due largely to Peter Brock’s personal VK Blue Meanie fetching an eye-watering $1 million at auction last year.

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That means cars like this 1983 HDT Improved ADP SL/E sedan offer one of the few avenues left to get into a genuine HDT for less than six figures, and Shannons’ valuation of AU$35,000-$45,000 makes this SL/E a very tempting prospect.

The ADP in the name stands for Australian Dealer Pack, which is a program HDT ran with Holden dealers at the time to allow owners to spec certain HDT parts onto their Commodores without committing to a fully fledged HDT. ADP cars were still recognised with HDT build numbers and plaques, and are considered just as much an HDT car as a Blue Meanie.

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This SL/E is build number #845 and is optioned with HDT bonnet scoop, guard-top aero strakes, Irmscher alloy wheels and front and rear spoilers. While there’s no HDT fiddlings to the driveline for this particular ADP, you still get the bigger 5.0-litre iron lion V8 paired with a three-speed auto and the luscious SL/E interior.

Specially badged Holdens continue with this 1995 VS HSV Manta wagon, which is claimed to be just one of six built!

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The Manta kit is easily identifiable by the unique front grille design, but the really awesome bit is the 185kW HSV version of Holden’s plastic 5.0-litre V8 under the bonnet, in this case paired with a four-speed auto. The Botanica Mica metallic paint looks to be in good nick, and the HSV-specific interior should come up nicely with a good steam clean.

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This is actually the second time this Manta has come up for auction with Shannons, with the valuation now placing it in the ballpark of AU$15,000-$25,000.

Don’t worry Mopar fans, we haven’t forgotten you! There’s a fair bit of Chrysler goodness to choose from in this auction, and the cream of those would have to be this 1971 VH Valiant E37 Charger R/T.

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It’s a fully restored beast with all the fruit, including the E37 Six-Pack option that gave it the 245hp Hemi six. The orange hue is perfectly offset by the R/T stripes, and the polished jellybean wheels are the icing on the cake.

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The car has been on display at the Gosford Motor Museum during its life, and Shannons has given it a market-value estimate of between AU$130,000-$150,000.

Lastly, we simply couldn’t ignore this immaculate Nissan S14 200SX that’s a proper unicorn.

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Just about every S13/S14/S15 200SX or Silvia has been drifted into a gutter over the past 30 years, which is why examples like this are thin on the ground.

Being a 200SX, it’s a locally delivered version rather than a grey-import Silvia. While there are slight differences between the two, the important thing is that the 200SX still carries the same SR20DET turbo four-pot and five-speed manual the JDM version has, which is part of what made these cars so loved among enthusiasts.

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Unlike every other S14 out there, the seats, wheels, suspension and just about everything else is still stock-standard, which collectors will see real value in. Speaking of which, values for these things have gone through the roof in the past 12-24 months, so the valuation of AU$30,000-$40,000 is not out of whack in the slightest.

You can view all the lots in the Shannons Autumn Classic Car Auction here.