Zanardi said he had long considered selling some of his collection via the auction platform, but he was never quite sure with what auction company to move forward. He said he had attended Mecum auctions in the past, but it was after meeting Dana and Frank Mecum at this year’s Glendale auction when Zanardi said he knew for sure that Mecum would be the best fit. “Everybody that I’ve talked to with Mecum have been nothing but class people,” he said. “They’ve done everything they said they were going to do. My friend who recommended Mecum and introduced me to Dana, he just said you’re a class company and that you do what you say you’re going to do. And that’s been my experience; you’re Johnny on the spot.” As such, Zanardi is now set to bring 10 of his cars to Mecum’s Monterey auction, with all set to cross the auction block on Friday, August 13. Among that selection is Zanardi’s 1940 LaSalle Series 50 8-Door Woody, the only eight-door woody body ever built by the Meteor Motor Car Co. While its rarity is certainly enticing enough, its backstory only further adds to its intrigue. According to Zanardi, the LaSalle was commissioned by Matilda Dodge Wilson in 1940 for use at the family’s well known Meadow Brook Hall estate in Michigan. “I talked to her son about 8 to 10 years ago, when he was 96 years old, and he told me he remembers that the chauffeur used to bring him and his friends to the football and basketball games in the car,” Zanardi explained. “He said, ‘Mom had this car commissioned to bring the help to town on the weekends … we had a lot of employees, and a lot of them didn’t have automobiles in those days.’ They would take them to town on the weekends to get their supplies.” Zanardi said from his understanding, Meteor Motor Car Co. only ever built two woodies, with this being the only eight-door, 196-inch wheelbase woody built by the company. “That’s a real rare, rare car,” he said. While perhaps not quite as rare, the rest of Zanardi’s selection headed to Monterey is equally as impressive. He bought his 1947 Chrysler Town & Country Sedan from its second owner—who bought it for $300 in 1960—with just 27,000 miles on it; today, it has a mere 30,690 believed-original miles on the clock. His 1941 Chrysler Saratoga Coupe shows just 14,000 believed-original miles, and his 1935 Ford Woody Wagon has its original wood body. As for his 1955 Mercury Monterey Woody Station Wagon, the car wears signatures from the Beach Boys, Chubby Checker, Dick Clark and Christopher Knight, perhaps best known as Peter Brady of the Brady Bunch. All in all, the selection is strong evidence of the caliber of cars Zanardi has sought throughout his collecting career, and for Monterey bidders looking for something a bit outside of the ordinary, the Jim Zanardi Collection might have just the thing. OFFERED AUGUST 13 AT MONTEREY 2021 MECUM.COM // 49
