Normally, mulling through any auction house’s listings page is like reading Hemmings…sure, the cars are nice, possibly rare, but they are certainly out of your price range and are way too nice to do anything with. Mecum Auctions’ Dallas show this year not only has a bevy of the rare and beautiful, but a good mix of some easy picks, cheap entry points and a couple of cars that would make you reconsider your stance on mortgaging the house. We forced ourselves to pick eleven cars out of the four-day event that will be held September 16th-19th, and we promise…it was tough. There is no order to the cars, they were just chosen.

11. 1978 Chevrolet Camaro Z28

Cheap by comparison to most of the auction, we’re banking that this clean early 1978 Camaro will go for a very passable price for it’s condition. Don’t understand the “early 1978” quip? The 1978 Camaros can be picked apart by the dash: early cars have the more rounded 1977-style dash, while later cars got the squared-off 1979 style. It’s a 350 and a four-speed, it’s clean, and it shouldn’t hurt the pocketbook.

10. 1984 Dodge Power Ram Prospector

Remember when trucks used to look like this? This beautiful white on gray 1984 Dodge packs a 360/727 combo, one of the cleanest pre-’94 Dodge truck bodies we’ve ever seen, the classic bed bar look, air conditioning, and documented history. The 94,000 miles on the clock are believed to be correct, and in case you’re one of those Mopar resto nuts, the stock wheels will come with it.

9. 1965 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport

Sure, it’s got a crate 454 and a five-speed manual transmission, and sure, it’s got a nice stance with Weld Wheels. It’s even had it’s undercarriage detailed. But who would want a 1965 Chevy Impala in the one-year-only Evening Orchid paint? Hopefully there is at least one individual out there somewhere with an interest…

8. 1974 Pontiac Trans Am 400

Matching numbers, unrestored, and optioned out, including air conditioning. Pontiac was stretching the muscle car game out as long as they could, and while it’s not a Super Duty car, it isn’t anything to sneeze at either. It makes me think of the line from American Beauty, when Lester gets his red 1970: “The car I’ve always wanted and now I have it. I rule.”

7. 1970 Chevrolet C20

This drool-worthy Chevy is a restomod. No joke: subjected to a frame off rotisserie restoration, a dual quad-equipped 350, a 700R4 automatic, a completely redone interior (including the rare tach gauge cluster!), air conditioning, tilt column, and Michelin MTX bias-ply tires that nail the look. Raise your hands: who just considered selling off the first-born?

6. 1967 Lincoln Continental Convertible

Suicide-door Continental drop-tops just ooze cool. Usually they come in colors picked out by Edgar Allen Poe, but this red version is just striking. Will it go for big money? Probably. But we completely understand why here.

5. 1948 Ford F-5

Restored. Oak bed. Flathead-six and a four-speed. Somebody check on Lohnes.

4. 1967 Chevrolet Camaro

604ci engine, Rossler-built TH400, 1,198 horsepower. This thing is a rolling middle finger compared to the high-dollar restorations in the Dallas auction. Here’s hoping they rev the hell out of this beast when it hits the stage to shut up the masses.

3. 2010 HSV Maloo LHD conversion

Left Hand Utes is a Denver, Colorado based group that imports and converts Holden utes to US specifications using the firewall and front suspensions from the already-legal Pontiac G8, GTO or Chevrolet Caprice PPV. Painted Poison Ivy Green…now that’s a great name…this HSV Maloo is fully legal. It’s not a gray market car. You can plate it and drive it.

2. 1964 Dodge D100 426 Street Wedge

This is one of the best factory sleepers that nobody seems to remember. Between 1964-66, you could order a Dodge half-ton truck in the High Performance Package. If you checked the right boxes, you wound up with one hell of a combination: the 365 HP/470 ft/lb  426 Wedge, a Loadflite automatic, torque tubes from the 1961 Imperial, upgraded gauges, a Sun tach, power steering and dual exhaust. Looks like Farmer John and hits like Joe Frazier after you made fun of his wife.

1. 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302

This will go for stupid money, but if we had a “money is no option” pick, this would be it. That would mean that we bypassed Boss 429 Mustangs, Hemi cars, LS6 Chevelles, a 390 AMX, and plenty of stunning customs, including Sam Foose’s “Pro Heavy” Continental for this Medium Lime Metallic Boss 302. And we’re fine with that. It’s a solid pick, a nicely underrated color that looks killer on this car, and with the four-speed it is one we’d drive around.