Mother and Son Morris sells for $18,000!
The ubiquitous 1955 Morris Minor convertible of TV Series 'Mother and Son' fame sold for an unprecedented $18,000.
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Mother and Son Morris sells for $18,000!

By Shannons - 18 February 2008
The ubiquitous 1955 Morris Minor convertible of TV Series 'Mother and Son' fame sold for an unprecedented $18,000.
Sydney, Tuesday February 19: The problematic black 1955 Morris Minor convertible that actor Garry McDonald drove as Arthur Beare in the popular ABC television comedy series 'Mother and Son', sold for an unprecedented $18,000 at Shannons Sydney Summer Auction last night.

In a classic 'life imitates art' sequel, the car that was sold on behalf of the Australian Broadcasting Commission, was purchased sight unseen over the telephone by a young man from Central Victoria who lives at home with his mother.

To get his 'dream car', he had to outbid another seven telephone and as many floor bidders from around Australia, as the unreserved price for the Series II Tourer soared past its estimated selling price range of $7,000-$12,000. Shannons had to limit the number of telephone bidders due to demand exceeding the number of lines available.

"The whole family loved the series, but I went a bit overboard," admitted the purchaser, who did not wish to be identified.

"After I saw the car advertised a month or so ago, I rang Shannons and they told me all the little things that needed doing to it, like fixing the carpet and so on. But I said to them, 'don't touch a thing'. The whole attraction of the car to me was that it had never been offered for sale before and therefore it is exactly how Arthur Beare drove it."

The Morris is now destined to become a celebrity classic in the Bendigo area when it is taken out on special occasions.

"Hopefully it will be a little more reliable for me that it was for Arthur!" the new owner quipped.

Another outstanding result of Shannons Sydney auction was the Australian record price of $165,000 paid for a concours-standard 1958 Mercedes-Benz 190SL roadster to a floor bidder. It follows the sale a week earlier by Shannons at their Brisbane Motor Show Auction of a silver, 1962 190SL for $100,000.

According to Shannons, the original right hand drive, Australian-delivered car was one of the best examples of the increasingly popular and collectable model ever to come up for sale in Australia.

"There is a real spike in demand for 190SLs at present" said Shannons National Auction Manager Christophe Boribon. "People realised that this was going to be the best example to come onto the market for some time and that fuelled the demand."

"People these days have a greater realisation of the restoration costs associated with these sort of cars and are prepared to pay that premium.

"The vendor is over the moon with the result."

Another good result was the $112,000 paid for a 2000-model Hondas NSX 3.2 Targa Coupe, with the West Australian purchaser planning to drive it home - across the Nullabor.

Other standout sales were the $28,000 paid for a 1980 Ford Escort RS2000 - nearly double its pre-auction estimate and $20,000 for a Lotus Cortina Mark I replica.

All the Australian muscle cars bar one sold for strong money, with a 1977 Holden LX Torana A9X sedan bringing $118,000, a 1968 HK Monaro GTS 307 (automatic) coupe selling for $70,000, a 1972 Falcon XA GT Sedan bringing $42,000 and a 1971 Ford Fairmont XY GS sedan going for $29,000.

For further media information and images, contact:
Michael Browning (03) 9879 9111 / 0418 324 328
For further auction information, contact:
Ian or Damien on (02) 9438 9315 or Christophe on 0413 567 308.
To view all auction lots and results visit www.shannons.com.au