Here’s the Windsor Collection, from Swingandamiss
9/3 Update: All cars in The Windsor Collection are now live! The full list of links can be found at the bottom of this post.
We’re happy to introduce the Windsor Collection—the first presented by long-time BaT seller and commenter Swingandamiss, who appropriately hails from Windsor, Connecticut. For a group of just seven cars, the collection covers a lot of automotive ground with offerings ranging from a classy pre-war Packard to a rare ’80s sport truck. Auctions will begin going live on Tuesday, September 2, and additional lots will be added over the following days.
A preview of the collection follows below:
1929 Packard Custom Eight 640 Convertible Coupe
We’ll kick things off with this Sixth Series Packard, one of two Premium auctions in the collection. For the Packard buyer in 1929, choosing a body style wasn’t an easy decision; a seemingly endless array of open and enclosed configurations were offered at Standard, Custom, and Deluxe trim levels. The Custom Eight Convertible Coupe was Style 349, and pictures don’t quite convey the scale of this Jazz Age beauty. All 140″ of its wheelbase are dedicated to carrying just two occupants (rumble seat riders were placed behind the rear axle). This behemoth is festooned with interesting details like a cane-pattern stainless grille, C.M. Hall and Hippe lights, and cast aluminum foot plates.
1965 Bentley S3 Continental Flying Spur by Mulliner Park Ward
Park Ward’s association with Bentley dates back to the W.O. Bentley days, and the connection only became closer as time went on and both companies were wholly acquired by Rolls-Royce. Similarly, the H.J. Mulliner company built bodies almost exclusively for Rolls-Royce, so it made perfect sense when the company was purchased by RR and combined with Park Ward a few short years before this S3 Continental was built. It features an alloy body and is said to be one of around 20 left-hand-drive examples. The car was delivered new into Commonwealth Nova Scotia and seems to have spent much of its life in North America, though it was refurbished in 2021 while in the ownership of a member of the Kuwaiti royal family.
The included Schoellkopf card is a fascinating piece of documentation, and contains copies of handwritten order and production notes including serial numbers for most major components as well as testing data and builders’ initials.
1964 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible 3-Speed
This Corvette is of a decidedly more modest but appearling spec, with a 250-horse 327, a three-speed manual gearbox, drum brakes, and knock-off-style wheel covers. We’re glad the previous owner went the extra mile with the refurbishment, as the car presents beautifully in its unique combination of Saddle Tan over white and should serve as a tractable weekend cruiser.
The next Corvette in the collection is outfitted more like a GT car, with a four-speed automatic backing its 300-horsepower LT1 V8 and options like cruise control, automatic climate control, and wide bolstered seats in beige leather. After 12 years of building the C4, GM knew what they were doing by the time the final model year rolled around in 1996. This example is finished in classic Polo Green, shows 85k miles, and is being offered at no reserve.
By the mid-1960s, American automakers had segmented the car-buying population into very thin slices. The Dodge Monaco, introduced in 1965 on Chrysler’s new C platform, filled the full-size non-luxury niche next to vehicles like the Ford Galaxie and Pontiac Grand Prix. This example is a sleek two-door hardtop in metallic blue over coordinating blue vinyl and features a 383ci V8, air conditioning, and a vinyl roof.
1988 Chevrolet S-10 Cameo 5-Speed
As the market for sport trucks heated up toward the end of the 1980s, Chevy sought to capitalize on the trend with the Cameo appearance package. With wraparound bumper covers, flares, and side skirts, the Cameo package morphed the utilitarian RWD S-10 pickup into a youthful runabout. It was offered to test markets in sunny locales like California and Florida in monochromatic schemes of red, white, and black. This example is only the second one we’ve auctioned here on BaT and is finished in Apple Red with chrome 17″ wheels, “truck” print seat and door inserts, and a five-speed manual transmission.
1983 Jeep Wagoneer Limited 4×4
There was a time when Wagoneers were thick on the ground in places like Windsor, but northeastern road salt has returned many of them to the earth in the form of iron oxide. This example, fortunately, spent the first 30 years of its life in Arizona, and its Copper Brown paint and exterior woodgrain paneling were refreshed around 2010. The color looks just right on Brooks Stevens’ timeless design, and as the season rolls over into fall we can just imagine it ranging over the back roads of New England.
The full list of vehicles in the Windsor Collection is below, and links to live auctions will be added as they become available.
