Car collectors in the Nebraska region had one heck of an auction to look forward to in 2013 because a defunct Chevrolet dealership shared its treasure chest.
Lambrecht Chevrolet opened in 1946 after owner Ray Lambrecht opened the dealership following his return from World War II. After 50 years of business, the family-owned and operated dealership closed its doors in 1996. But, Lambrecht left quite a few surprises only to be discovered years later.
The dealer’s practice was to sell new, and only new, cars. So, when Lambrecht would take a pre-owned vehicle on a trade, the car would be sent to storage, either inside or parked in a field. What looks like an organized junkyard actually holds some incredible vehicles. Though, those aren’t Lambrecht’s true treasure.
When the dealership was closed in 1996, Lambrecht housed dozens of low-mileage Chevrolets inside the building. The like-new Chevrolets included a 1978 C3 Corvette with four miles, a 1964 Impala also with four miles and a 1958 Cameo pickup truck with just one mile on the odometer.
In total, there were 48 cars and trucks that have been stored indoors with less than 10 miles on the clock, with the oldest being a pair of 1958 Chevrolet trucks, and the newest a 1980 Monza with nine miles.
In total, VanDerBrink Auctions sold off around 500 of Lambrecht’s vintage Chevrolets, and the entire collection fetched $2.8 million in bids. The cars, in particular, weren’t one-off machines collectors may be seeking, but the low mileage and condition of the vehicles made them an incredible time capsule for those looking to own a piece of the mid 20th century.
Comments
This was back in 2013??
Troy,
The video is, but the cars will be auctioned off this coming September.
-Sean
You’re almost 4 years behind the curve. There is even a facebook page trying to get people who purchased the cars to post them so they can see what has been done to them since the auction occurred. Here’s a link to Autoweek dated 9/30/2013 of the top 20 sales at the auction including the 58 Cameo and C3 Vette: http://autoweek.com/article/car-life/lambrecht-chevrolet-auction-top-20-sales-weekend.
If there is some secret stash of extra cars and second auction we all should know about, please post the links. Otherwise you got April Fooled.
Good looking out. And I have no problems standing corrected. The auction recently resurfaced on our radar.
I suppose now we can just look back on the auction. It’s still quite an incredible story.
Cheers,
-Sean
But the auction occurred in September of 2013…..I was there!
What a joke? The Lambrecht auction was very well covered by just about every car enthusiast publication and/or blog. Hard to believe this site thinks it hasn’t happened yet? Wow!
April Fools has come and gone guys. 🙂