5 delightfully unusual vehicles to you can buy at Mecum Indy 2018
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Mecum Indy is one of the highlight events on the collector car auction calendar, especially if you’re into muscle cars. There are more rare Hemis, Corvettes, Camaros, Mustangs and Chevelles than any one person would know what to do with, but there are also quite a few choice for people who are a little more eccentric. From a two-stroke Swede to a Japanese hearse, here are five of the most unusual offerings at Mecum Indianapolis this year.
1976 GMC Motorhome
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Whether you’re towing a vintage racer or road-tripping across this great nation of ours, a classic GMC motorhome is a sure way to arrive in style. In this case, puke green, shag-carpeted and plaid-tufted style. Mecum’s example features requisite road trip features like a sink, a stove and power outlets, plus a table to play cards or watch the miles go by. It looks a little rough under the hood, but the GMC motorhome’s had the 455 V-8 with front-drive and Turbo-Hydramatic from the Oldsmobile Toronado, so mechanical sorting should be relatively straightforward.
1991 Mitsubishi Delica
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To take things down in scale a bit from the GMC is the Mitsubishi Delica (a contraction of “Delivery Car”). These adorable mid-engine four-wheel drive minivans are an uncommon sight in the U.S., but a fair number of JDM examples have made their way stateside to proudly funky towns like Portland, Oregon. The Delica is frequently found with off-road upgrades, making it a more-rugged modern interpretation of the VW Microbus., Mecum’s example is sadly lacking in accoutrements like fog lights and roof rack, but it does appear to be a solid diesel example with low miles and attractive 1990s-appropriate two-tone paint.
1973 Buick GS Stage 1
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By 1973, the horsepower years and the muscle car era were screeching to a halt, but a few gems were hanging on. The Buick Century line was available as a Gran Sport, and the Gran Sport’s Stage I package came with a 455 that made a fantastic (for the time) 270 horsepower. Mecum’s rare piece of late muscle is represented as one of just 92 GS Stage Is built in 1973 with a 4-speed and one of just 41 with factory A/C. It also received a full restoration, so it’s likely one of the very best examples still around.
1988 Toyota Crown Hearse
If you’re just dying to be the one with the strangest car in the neighborhood, look no further. Offered from the private collection of JDM specialist dealer Duncan Imports, this aToyota Crown wagon with a mini Buddhist temple grafted onto the top half for funeral duty. Such remarkable ornamentation won’t just attract attention, it will likely gather a crowd.
1964 Saab 96
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Just about any Saab is an oddball, especially since the company has gone bust, but the Saabs of the 1950s and 1960s were truly strange compared to everything else on the road at the time. From the bulbous-but-faerodynamic bodywork to the front-wheel drive configuration and two-stroke engine, there was nothing conventional about the early Saab 96. Early Saabs such as this one have the radiator behind the engine, on the firewall, a feature that seems less odd when you consider Sweden’s long winters. Mecum’s example is done up with tasteful rally mods like the successful racers of the ‘60s, and the airplane motif on the grille is just plain neat.
