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The eBay auction for this 1963 Pontiac LeMans Tempest
http://atu.ca/1963LeMans
started out innocently enough.
Obtained after owner died. Appears to have original
interior but no motor, no transmission. Body has a little
rust and some dents. There's stuff in the trunk, but no key
to open it. Opening bid nine days ago was a mere $500.
After one week, eBay seller "123ecklin" will pocket
$226,521 before auction fees. What happened between Day 1
and Day 9 is an amazing story.
The car's plexiglass windows, unusual suspension setup and
a dash plate bearing the name of a racetrack tipped the
owner to its racing history. But what he didn't know is
that the car is one of only six 1963 Pontiac LeMans Tempest
Super Duty coupes ever made. Hemmings recently did a story
on the rare cars in which they listed all ever built. This
one looks to have been driven by Stan Antlocer and was the
fastest drag car in 1963 before disappearing.
Reading through the questions on the auction gives us
reason to believe the seller truly didn't know the car's
provenance. In his answers, he seems both surprised by the
car's potential value as well as overwhelmed by the
attention. He turned down an offer of $160,000 to end the
auction early because he feared getting negative eBay
feedback. That decision paid off. With only seven minutes
remaining, the highest offer was $95,000. When the virtual
gavel fell, eBayer "ccsi2000" had bought a very rare, if a
little rusty, LeMans for $226,521.
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