Sleepers and Keepers

Gone are those breathless days when a hunt through greenest Ohio would exhume a dormant Auburn rusting at rest in a barn--with the farmer’s widow wondering if $500 might be asking too much to tow this piece of junk out of there.

Currently, about the only automotive troves worth finding seem to be prisoners of civil wars in Eastern Europe or unrecoverable relics inside the cargo holds of the Titanic.

Still, say dealers in investment wheels, there are bargains to be had out there--if you know where to look, know what you’re looking for and follow a few rules of the greasy thumb:

* First cars of a marque, and the last of any breed, if facts are substantiated by identification number or the vehicle’s paperwork, easily become collectibles. Such as the V-6 Pontiac Fiero GTs of 1988, its last year. A mint-condition GT is worth $20,000, or about 40% more than it cost new.

* A rare car from a production run limited to several hundred or a few thousand vehicles--because of contrived exclusivity, a specialist buyer body or lack of public interest--will always be worth more in time. Such as the Ford-powered Shelby Cobra sports cars of the ‘60s, of which only 1,300 were built. They originally cost $6,000, but don’t go shopping for one today unless you have at least $200,000 to spend.

* Even disaster cars of yesteryear--the Edsel, the fiberglass Bricklin and the stainless steel DeLorean sports cars--have value as curios.

* Celebrity ownership of even mundane motor cars will send their values into platinum. Take, for example, a 1962 Cadillac. Not worth a whole lot. Unless the glove box yields an original title issued by the Tennessee Department of Motor Vehicles to Elvis Presley.

* Just about any convertible has collectibility, proof that even in dotage, when a car’s top comes down, the price continues to go up. Especially if the top is coming down on a 1955 Ford Thunderbird (its maiden year) or a 1976 Cadillac Eldorado (the last American convertible until the early ‘80s), ’57 Chevrolets in any condition and just about any Chevrolet Corvette.

“Mustang and [Pontiac] Firebird convertibles will always hold their value,” says Rick Cole, veteran collector-car auctioneer, who has sold classic cars for Hollywood stars and brokered vehicle deals for the world’s richest collectors. “Anything with a top that comes down that was very popular in its day will remain popular over the years.”

Among new cars, Cole says, the Porsche Boxster roadster might have legs as a collector car, but not BMW’s Z3, which he considers “one of the ugliest cars ever built.”

“A [Mazda] Miata as a collectible? No way. Too many made,” he says. “I do like the [Mercedes-Benz] E320 convertible, but look for a super-low-mileage car that you can sock away and bring out in the sunshine 20 years from now. And one day, the ’96 Twin Turbo Porsche could be as hot as a pistol.”

*

But over 20 years, will any of these newer cars earn more than a mutual fund with your neighborhood broker?

“Probably not,” Cole says.

Richie Clyne is chief executive of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway but better known as procurer and keeper of the car collection--heavy on historic and celebrity cars--at the Imperial Palace casino. For those with small inheritances they won’t miss, Clyne suggests rooting among survivors of the 3,000 cars built by Rolls-Royce of America Inc., in Springfield, Mass., between 1921 and 1931.

Current prices are $25,000 to $75,000, he says, with the quality and long-term investment potential “of a $500,000 car.”

“But the biggest sleepers in the entire industry are the Lincoln Mark IIs and Mark IIIs built from 1956 to 1958,” Clyne says. “Right now, these are $10,000 to $15,000 cars, and their quality is unbelievable, because this was the time Lincoln was trying to get into the luxury market. Take one apart, and you’ll see it’s built like a Sherman tank.”

He sees little on the current front to stir the juices of anyone interested in investing for tomorrow. Maybe the Plymouth Prowler, a modern interpretation of hot rods of the ‘40s, or the Dodge Viper, which borrows styling, mechanical and spiritual cues from the Shelby Cobra.

“They might go crazy, they might do nothing--it’s all a matter of supply and demand,” Clyne says. “I don’t have a crystal ball.”

What of Volkswagen’s New Beetle?

“Maybe a car the Beatles owned,” Cole sniffs. “But not a Beetle.”

Don Williams, president of the Blackhawk Collection at Danville, east of San Francisco, is another classic-car trader with faith in Detroit’s heavy machinery. In particular, the Cadillac Eldorado Brougham, a limited-edition four-door hardtop, mostly hand-built to challenge the luxury of the Lincoln Mark IIs.

Broughams rounded out the late ‘50s for Cadillac and came with brushed stainless-steel roofs, 44 choices of leather interior trim and Mouton, Karakul or lambskin carpeting.

“Even the vanity kits, complete with lipstick holders and perfume bottles, are worth about $5,000 today,” Williams says. “The Brougham is probably the most unappreciated car in the [investor] market. You can get one for between $25,000 or $30,000. . . . Because of their original cost, prestige and [industry] awards, they could be worth $150,000 in five years.”

Williams likes the potential of British sports cars--the Austin-Healeys, older MGs and, in particular, the Triumph TR series. Current Triumph prices are floating between $10,000 and $20,000, depending on the car’s condition, and they will rise “because not many [TRs] have survived, they are cute and a lot of fun.

“My wife drives a [‘60s] Triumph TR4, and people stop her to make offers on the car at least once a month,” he says.

*

If expert hoardings contain any hints for the future, the personal selections of Craig Jackson, president of the Barrett-Jackson Car Auction, an annual rite of the rich in Scottsdale, Ariz., might be worth knowing. He has a zero-miles 1990 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 in storage, alongside a ’97 Dodge Viper roadster with only 1,000 miles on the odometer.

“I picked the ZR1 because it was the first time a Corvette differed externally [from a standard car of the same year],” he says. “ . . . It was wider; rear taillights went from round to square; it had dual exhausts and a four-cam, all-aluminum, small-block engine, the first since 1955.

“I chose the ’97 Viper because it had roll-up windows, had finally got civilized, and they only made 25 in blue with broad white stripes.”

Blackhawk’s Williams has further guidance for neophyte collectors in search of a 401(k) on wheels: Check high school parking lots. Note the number of Chevy Camaros and Ford Mustangs, Honda Civics and Volkswagen Golfs, which are about all that students can afford.

“You’ll see what is worth collecting now--and what will be worth selling 20 years from now,” he says. “Because in adult life, when we have more income to indulge, we always want to go back and buy the car we first owned.

“I’ve got a ’65 Chevy sitting out back right now, the same color, the same style, as the first car I owned.”

*

Times automotive writer Paul Dean can be reached via e-mail at paul.dean@latimes.com.