What? An expensive hot rod? That’s not supposed to happen. In the beginning, these were stripped-down, hopped-up, low-budget rides with one mission: Get down to the strip, lake bed, or neighborhood street as fast as possible. Bigger engines, hotter cams, trick intakes. Whatever they could find that would boost power found its way into hot rods of the day.
So, it’s a little surprising to see just how valuable these cars have become. Some because they were influential, and some because they were built by a master at the top of his game. But whatever the reason they became so valuable, here are the 10 most expensive hot rods ever sold at auction.
10 $352,000 – Boyd Coddington, Chezoom
If you don’t love this car, you don’t love cars. Period. Starting with one of the most iconic designs of all time – the ‘57 Chevy Bel-Air hardtop – Boyd performed major surgery that resulted in replacing about 90% of the original sheet metal, but a look that’s immediately recognizable and completely new at the same time.
Yes, it’s got all the hot rod stuff underneath but who cares? Chopping the top, fitting a ‘78 Chrysler Cordoba windshield and an upside-down Ford Escort EXP rear window created a profile that’s more fastback than hardtop. And by rotating the rear quarter panels up and reforming the front fenders, he created a low, lean, ground-hugging presence no ‘57 ever achieved in stock form. No wonder it sold for so much.
9 $374,000 – Boyd Coddington/Squeeg’s Kustoms, 1940 Ford Pickup
Hey, look. Another Boyd Coddington creation. Started by Boyd, but finished at Squeeg’s Kustom in Arizona, this 1940 Ford pickup looks relatively stock, other than a slight drop and rake. But a close examination reveals the truth that it’s had a subtle roof chop and myriad body tweaks and massaging throughout to give it a smoother look overall.
And, since no hot rod would be complete without a little something extra under the hood, there’s a 560 horsepower Roush crate 427 under that reshaped hood, driving a Tremec 5-speed stick and putting the power down through a modified C4 Corvette independent rear end.
8 $385,000 – George Barris, Golden Sahara II
After a collision with a hay truck sheared the roof off his 1953 Lincoln Capri, George Barris made history with the Golden Sahara and its reimagining as the Golden Sahara II, as seen here. More than a standard chop and channel, it was his first custom.
With a wrap-around windshield, half bubble top and completely reworked front and rear, the result was drastically different from the car it was based on. But in a move that presaged the pearlescent paints of today, Barris hit the fish market for sardines with the right shade of gold in their scales. He blended them with clear lacquer to get the gold pearl effect he was looking for, but as he explained in a later interview he got something else, too. The car was hard to be near because it smelled like fish.
7 $407,000 – Jack Calori, 1936 Ford Coupe
Jack Calori was known as both a hot rodder and racer. But it was this car that cemented his legend, appearing on the November 1949 cover of Hot Rod. With a three-inch chop, stepped rear frame and dropped front axle, the car had the right stance. A ‘39 LaSalle grille, clamshell hood, Chevrolet headlights, and side skirts finished off the appearance.
It had the show, so Calori added some go. He dropped in the motor from his former race car – a Mercury stroked, bored and topped with a hot intake. It made the power, but it also made the heat and he never got it to cool properly, leading him to trade it in 1950. The coupe’s latest claim to fame was being restored and appearing at the very first custom class at Pebble Beach in 2005.
6 $436,750 – Dean Jeffries, 1956 356 Kustom Karrera
Dean Jeffries pin-striped with Von Dutch. Customized with George Barris. Painted Shelby’s first Cobra over and over and over to make it seem like multiple cars. Put the finishing touches on James Dean’s 550 Spyder. And started the Porsche Outlaw movement. It’s no wonder his personal 356 Carrera sold for close to a half-million dollars. This man was car culture royalty. And the car was equal parts polarizing, beautiful and storied.
A few years after customizing it, Jeffries sold the Karrera to Albert Nussbaum – on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list – while he was on the run. Maybe Nussbaum thought the outlaw Porsche was fast enough to help him escape the long arm of the law, but it wasn’t. It was, however, the first outlaw. An outlaw’s outlaw. And an important car no matter how you look at it.
5 $484,000 – Norm Grabowski/Jim Street, Kookie T
Going by the Kookie T’s final incarnation, too much is just enough. Two superchargers. Two sets of headlights. Two sets of slicks out back. But the real reason it’s so important (and expensive) is that this is the car that started the T-Bucket craze.
An appearance on the cover of Hot Rod in 1955 led to an appearance in the TV show “Mr. Kagle and the Babysitter,” which led to an appearance in LIFE magazine, which led to a recurring role as Gerald Lloyd “Kookie” Kookson III’s ride on “77 Sunset Strip.” Which led to copies, tributes and who knows how many other T-Bucket hot rods.
4 $577,500 – Dick Flint, 1929 Ford Roadster
Hot Rod of the Month for May, 1952, the Dick Flint roadster had the proportions, the Indy racer's nose, and functional ground effects that made it much faster over the road than most of the cars around. And it also had a cover shot that sparked readers' imaginations making it the first issue that sold over a half-million copies.
Channeled over the frame, with a dropped front axle and the functional belly pan the early aerodynamics helped the car make the most of its Mercury Flathead V8 that featured all the typical hot rod touches of the day and combined for a top speed of 143.54 at El Mirage in 1950. A very impressive number for the day.
3 $671,000 – Boyd Coddington, Whatthehaye
Well, we’re back at Boyd Coddington. No other hot rod builder cracked the top 10 more than once, and he’s holding down a full 30% of the list. That’s an incredible feat. But one look at Whatthehaye and you understand why.
Not based on a real Delahaye, but inspired by many of them, Whatthehaye channels the look of the French manufacturer’s cars of the 1930s and updates it for modern sensibilities with the right stance, width, flow, power, and presence. Gorgeous from any angle, top on or off, it truly stands alone.
2 $687,500 – Bill Harrah, Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona
A Ferrari hot rod? Bet you didn’t see that coming. But with body modifications, larger wheels, raked stance, and upgraded motor, it certainly qualifies for the moniker. Originally owned by casino magnate Bill Harrah, this car stands out even among classic Ferraris as something special.
It’s said that Mr. Harrah, upon being approached by a Sikorsky salesman, agreed to buy a helicopter if it could beat him in this Ferrari in a race from one of his casinos to another. It couldn’t. As the story goes, he and the car won with an average speed of 146 mph. But clearly, there was a lot less traffic back then.
1 $700,000 – Tom McMullen, Deuce Roadster
Called the world’s most iconic hot rod, the McMullen roadster was on magazine covers, album covers, ads on TV, in the movies. It was everywhere you looked and raced on strips, streets, and dry lake beds. It set top speed records at El Mirage and the Bonneville Salt Flats.
While the design didn’t break new ground, it somehow summed up all that came before it and managed to be new in the process. As it graced the cover of Hot Rod in 1963, one writer claimed, “...we’d never seen anything like this!” It was old new and timeless all at the same time. And that’s what makes it the most expensive hot rod ever sold at auction. So far...