There was a lot of ground to cover this year in Monterey, but that’s the same story every year. The auction previews were happening, the shows were starting, and add to that we haven’t seen each other in two years, so all the car enthusiasts were ready to go!

There was a heavy anticipation at the auction houses to see what the market would do. They all agreed that did fairly well in the past year or so transitioning to fully online auctioning due to the COVID Pandemic, but agreed it was nice to be back in person and showing cars in the flesh.

There was still a very strong online registration, and many people were planning to see the cars during the previews, but bidding for their cars online. Perhaps being in a crowded room during a pandemic was not the idea of health safety.

Dean Batchelor’s unrestored 330 GTC was up for auction at Bonhams, and I wanted to take a closer look.

I was disappointed to see the front shock mounts had not been repaired as per a factory recall in the 60s. I would have expected someone as knowledgeable as Mr. Batchelor would have known about this dangerous flaw and fixed the car. There is original, and there is dangerous. If you want to read more about this recall, click here. If you purchased this car, or know the person who did, please let them know!

There was a GTE up for auction that was on the verge of being a restoration candidate. All the details were there, and it wasn’t missing any major pieces.

The only disappointment was the application of burl wood on the dash! Not fitting of a GTE!