Sold on Hemmings.com: Reserve-Busting Cobra Jet Cougar, ’58 Impala, Hemi Coronet

Highlighted Auction and Make Offer Sales from November 24 through November 30, 2024

Here on the Hemmings Marketplace, where we have sold vehicles from the first decade of the 20th century all the way to the present year, there remains a strong affection for cars from the 1950s and 1960s. This week, we profile six vehicles manufactured between 1958 and 1968 that were successfully sold via Hemmings Auctions and Hemmings Make Offer.

There are many American muscle cars from the era whose engine names offer as much as many enthusiasts need to know about a car. Included on that list are the Cobra Jet 428 V8 that powers the 1968 Mercury Cougar XR-7 and the 426 Hemi in the 1966 Dodge Coronet, both of which are detailed below. Representing some of the most reliably collectible American cars from the era are a 1967 Pontiac GTO and a 1966 Chevrolet Corvette. Sold directly from a museum in New Hampshire, we saw a very strong result in the form of a 1958 Chevrolet Impala Converible. Finally, in the overseas department, we take a look at a 1964 Mercedes-Benz 230SL roadster, a seemingly definition of restrained class.  

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* Indicates a vehicle sold as a Make Offer listing.

1968 Mercury Cougar XR-7

Reserve: $47,000

Selling Price: $89,250

Recent Market Range: $40,000-$58,000

Ford’s Cobra Jet 428-cu.in. V8 arrived on the scene as the powerplant that put the Mustang on top of the drag racing world when it won the Super Stock Eliminator title at its first outing at the 1968 NHRA Winternationals. Capitalizing on results, Ford offered the engine in various cars from both Ford and Mercury. According to its accompanying Marti Report, this 1968 Mercury Cougar XR-7 was one of just 101 Cougars that year built with the 428 CJ and an automatic transmission. The seller’s notes shared that the car, restored in 2019, was “flawless.” The included photos certainly indicated a complete, authentic-looking and very clean Mercury that sold for 90% better than its reserve and 54% above the high end of recent market activity.

1958 Chevrolet Impala Convertible

Reserve: $105,000

Selling Price: $132,300*

Recent Market Range: $115,000-$140,000

A design departure over its immediate predecessor, the first-year 1958 Impala featured one-year-only design cues and as much chrome as the stylists at Chevrolet could dream up. Offered by a museum, this 1958 Chevrolet Impala Convertible featured a restoration dating to 1995 along with a more recent, and fairly extensive, refurbishment begun in 2018, a redo that included fresh paint, a new top, new body mounts, new bushings, and some upgrades for safety and driveability. Though not concours perfect, it presented extremely well, was listed as being “like new” by the seller, and clearly captured the attention of bidders, with 61 total bids and offers, selling as a post-auction Make Offer listing near the high end of market expectations.

1966 Dodge Coronet 500

Reserve: $65,000

Selling Price: $52,500*          

Recent Market Range:  $29,000-$46,000

Say “426 Hemi” to people of a certain age and they will inevitably conjure up images of tire-smoking Mopar racers taking home the hardware at dragstrips all across the U.S.A. in the latter half of the 1960s. This 1966 Dodge Coronet 500 may have started life with an F-code 383 under the hood, but was treated to a significant upgrade in the form of a Ray Barton-built 426-cu.in. Hemi, a build that included the likes of a Callies forged-steel crankshaft, Molnar forged rods, 599-M cylinder heads, Edelbrock carburetors, and more. Previously sold via Hemmings earlier this year for $44,290, the Coronet’s latest sale price of $52,500 represents an approximately 19% return in 10 months’ time. The post-auction Make Offer sale also exceeded the recent market range for a modified Coronet.

1964 Mercedes-Benz 230SL

Reserve: $36,500

Selling Price: $50,925

Recent Market Range: $35,000-$55,000

Mercedes-Benz has been going strong with its two-seat SL roadsters since the mid-1950s. Among the most elegant of those models has to be those built on the W113 platform from 1963 through 1971. All were powered by OHC inline-six engines, like this Euro-spec 1964 Mercedes-Benz 230SL, which was equipped with a speedometer that measured in kilometers, not miles, and covered European-style headlamps, which were not offered on vehicles marketed in the U.S. This 230SL appeared to be in very nice, driver-quality condition, with the seller noting such imperfections as a “very small” tear in the roof, a scratch on a quarter panel, a door ding and a missing knob on the dash. Overall, it sold strongly but in the range for examples in this condition.

1967 Pontiac GTO Hardtop Coupe

Reserve: $52,000

Selling Price: $68,250

Recent Market Range: $40,000-$60,000

While original and restored-to-original vehicles can make headlines, this 1967 Pontiac GTO Hardtop Coupe appeared to have just enough originality to make it legit to go along with a number of mods to make it quicker and more comfortable than stock. Those mods included a .030 overbore to the original 400-cu.in. V8, Eagle crankshaft and connecting rods, RaceTec forged pistons, Comp camshaft, reworked heads, aluminum intake manifold, and more. Other upgrades included QA1 rear suspension, Auburn LSD rear end, McLeod clutch, Vintage Air A/C, and Cragar wheels. Listed as a “turn-key vehicle,” the GTO clearly resonated with bidders with 13 of its 33 bids coming the final day, resulting in a net sale price 14% higher than the expected top end of the value range.

1966 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray Coupe

Reserve: $38,000

Selling Price: $43,050

Recent Market Range: $37,000-$49,000

We’ve said it before in this space, but it bears repeating: The Corvette is the most collectible mass-produced American automobile. That statement can mean a lot of things. In one respect, on the high end, we can look for big-money, perfect restorations of rare examples with special powertrains. On the other hand, a driver-quality example, like this 1966 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray Coupe that sold last week on the Hemmings Marketplace for $43,050, will carry a stronger value compared to other contemporary models in the same condition. This one had a non-original 327-cu.in. V8 under the hood, some paint issues, a possibly incorrect interior and some visible surface corrosion on the chassis. Still, it sold as expected—and the market frequently expects good things from mid-year Corvettes, even in this condition.

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