BRANSON, Mo. — For 46 years, Jim and Kathy Cox have been conducting The Branson Auction in its namesake town in southern Missouri. Over that time, they’ve seen a number of changes, but one thing that’s remained the same is that they’ve been congenial hosts for a rather enjoyable collector car auction. Their spring 2023 edition, held April 21-22, was no exception.
The sole speed bump was a robust thunderstorm that swept through the Branson area on the afternoon before the auction, but after that, there was lovely (albeit somewhat chilly) weather for the duration of both auction days. As the Branson Convention Center is only large enough to hold the Saturday consignments, and tightly parked in there at that, the Friday cars were largely parked just outside before being staged to cross the block in the convention center’s ballroom.
After all of Friday’s and Saturday’s cars had crossed the auction block, the high sale among them all was a 1934 Auburn 850Y convertible sedan. The ACD Club-certified car hammered home a final bid of $86,000 — more than enough to sell. On the opposite end of the spectrum, a 1998 Mercedes-Benz 500SL with issues stated for the top mechanism, was the lowest sale at $1,750. Between them, 138 of the 204 automotive consignments were declared on the block to have found new homes.
Since the Branson area is a vacation destination, there are a host of things to do outside of the auction. If cars aren’t your spouse’s thing, there’s plenty to do and see apart from the auction. Along those lines, this auction does not go very late into the day — generally each day’s docket is completed by around 5 p.m. That way, those who do attend the auction can easily change gears and attend one of the host of evening shows. This is one of several facets that has kept buyers and sellers returning for 46 years. And they’ll return once again on Oct. 20-21st for the fall edition of The Branson Auction.
Following are some representative examples of cars that sold:
1964 Plymouth Barracuda
2-dr fastback; Condition #3, sold for $9,500. Aftermarket fiberglass hood with large scoop. Fitted with a 1970s E-body rear spoiler. Light polishing swirls on the non-stock repaint. Average-grade replating to most major chrome pieces. Engine bay is rather unkempt. Non-stock air cleaner and flex-fit radiator hoses. Seats were redone several decades ago on the cheap, now showing some seam splitting and heavier wear on the piping. Heaviest steering wheel paint wear is at the 12 o’clock position. SunPro tachometer clamped to the steering column at 12 o’clock. Stock AM radio, but modern speakers cut into the front kick panels and rear parcel shelf. Aftermarket alloy wheels and radial tires. Hardly a Valiant effort to make this first-year Barracuda into a custom car, but at least they kept the (largely) stock 273 V-8, instead of stuffing a big-block into it.
1934 Auburn model 850Y Phaeton
4-dr convertible sedan, Condition #2, sold for $86,000. The high sale of the auction. An Auburn Cord Duesenberg Club Category 1-certified car, but when it was last restored, it was given an unauthentic red paint job (albeit
