I don’t care what kind of barn finds (ok, in this case quonset hut find) you like, the Gervais Family Museum auction coming up this August has something you’re interested in. The full listing is here on mackauctioncompany.com and I would highly encourage all of you to look it over. The auction will be held at the museum in Alida, Saskatchewan, Canada on August 4 and 5, 2018. There are many teens and 20’s cars like the brass era Model on the left, but there are vehicles all the way up to the still-being-sold Tri Magnum on the right.
There are way too many cars for us to show you everything in the auction, but I picked out some that intrigued me the most. This is a 1927 Essex coupe. Apparently this museum has existed for quite a while, but due to the remoteness and size of Alida (2006 population 106, not a typo) not very many folks knew about it. I was only able to find mention of it in a few older Canadian museum listings, and the only information of note was that the collection of vehicles and farm equipment was housed in a large quonset hut. Apparently it still is.
Here we have a 1918 McLaughlin. The company used Buick drive trains to manufacture its own cars up until sometime that year when they were purchased completely by General Motors. The company was located in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, making it a logical fit for this collection.
This is a 1929 Erskine, which was a lower-end marque entry produced by Studebaker from 1926 to 1930. Albert Russel Erskine was the president of Studebaker during those years, and even when the Erskine failed in the marketplace he followed it up with another low cost entry, the Rockne. Some say that it was due to both marques failing and the financial pressure it and the Depression put Studebaker under that caused Erskine to commit suicide in 1933.
This beauty is a 1929 Packard. There were five different models produced that year from the 6-26 to the 6-45 Deluxe — can any of you tell which one this is from the picture?
Here’s a 1938 Chevrolet. One thing that seems pretty common about most of the cars that were stored inside is that I don’t see a lot of rust.
Shifting across both the years and the ocean for a moment, check out this mid-1960s Honda convertible. I think it’s an S600, which featured a sky-high for the time rev limit of 8,500 RPM! These made great little race cars, and it’s rare to see one looking this stock but not rusted completely away.
What’s old is new again — this 1915 Milburn “Light Electric” is similar to cars used by the Secret Service when it was new, and features an 80 volt power system. Just think of it as a really, really old Tesla. Believe it or not, the car was advertised as having a range of 60 to 75 miles upon its introduction — pretty incredible for 1915 if you ask me!
Not all the cars were stored inside. I think this 1964 Pontiac is a Canadian Parisienne model, which had some Chevrolet components wrapped in Pontiac-styled sheet metal.
See, I told you there was something for everyone — even this Nash Metropolitan will be looking for a new home.
There is literally a field-full of old tractors as well. This old Fordson caught my eye.
Internal combustion too modern for you? Try this George White steam engine — but you’d better have a certified expert engineer check out the boiler first!
Maybe this Dodge Custom Suburban wagon is more your speed? It looks pretty solid. Based on the grille, I think this is a 1958 model.
Here’s a 1959 Lincoln Continental Mark IV convertible. Again, dirty but apparently pretty solid.
Being a museum, there are some really cool models as well.
I wonder if this one works like a Mamod model?
Just look at this collection of vintage spark plugs! I know this auction is a long way away from most of you…ok, pretty much all of you. But I think it might just be worth the trip! Be sure and check out the auction site and let us know what you’d like to bid on! And if any of you make the trip to Alida, be sure and send us a report!
would love to grab that 1915 Milburn and pick up a wreaked Tesla and do a swap That would be awesome . ..
Bring a picker. Geez, those tractors have moved in decades… I don’t think they’ll move anywhere else except the scrap yard..
The Pontiac is a 1965 rather than a 1964, and given the lack of chrome is more likely the Laurentian – the base model. The cars inside the building are likely to be very rust free given that very little salt was ever used on roads in Saskatchewan/western Canada. They may, however, have lots of rock chips in the paint as a lot of roads were (and still are) gravel. I’d be more concerned about rodents having destroyed the interiors.
The same auction company are doing another antique car auction in September in Glen Ewen, Sask. Link here http://www.mackauctioncompany.com/18sept15.html
Wow that is a lot of stuff. I see 4 or 5 things I would like to have.
As much as I like most things “motor vehicle” this looks more like hoarding than museum…
Very cool collection. Very much a product of the time these cars were collected. You could picture the owner pulling them out of the original owners (farmers) barns or garages. I like that they were unrestored, a time capsule of the time they were collected. The farm equipment is also nice to see.
Sadly, if current trends continue, this is what all car museums will look like in the future.
Given the late interest in antique farm equipment I really doubt the tractors will be scrapped.
I’m not so sure about that. I recently picked up an antique tractor magazine ( Antique Power) and every other page was an auction, and large collections too. I also watched the Mecum auction on the farm channel, and the audience had a lot of empty seats. While there is still a lot of interest, they won’t be scrapped, it’s just, interest seems to be waning to that as well. Just no connection with it, much less know how to operate them.
A few of the years listed for the cars are wrong.
Why don’t they have “car guys” on the payroll to get it right?
for one thing rs mclaughlin was the one that started buick in canada, and he hooked up with william durant, and ransom olds this is how general motors got off the ground! gaston chevrolet came in too!
Thanks for sharing, Jamie. I think we’re all feeling like kids in a candy store – so much to choose from.
Assuming we are looking at the museum itself and not just storage, wonder how how long the place has been closed? No internet presence found other than the auction listing.
I like that 49 Merc. and a lot of other things.
I am relatively close to this and will likely attend just out of curiosity. I have a feeling there will be people attending with very deep pockets but auction are auctions and you can come away with some great deals sometimes.
Yes! Another chance to use my favorite obsolete joke!
“Whatever happened to your ethics?”
“I traded it in for a Hudthon.”
and I got tired of my essex and got myself a terrable pain!
My dogs want the Whippet. The Dodge Suburban would make a fun summer car for them too.
I’ve seen other old style car museums where the cars are displayed largely “as found.” Judging by the amount of dust on the cars and some of the other displays shown in the auction ad, this museum has been closed for a long time. Probably being sold by the grandkids and the property is probably next.
Are there companies that still make a lot of those spark plugs?
It’s a Honda s600, the s800 has a bump in the bonnet ( hood ) to fit the ” larger ” engine. I’d love to have it.
Thanks TBAU, I wasn’t sure.
That Gray-Dort looks real familiar to me. I purchased a similar if not the same Gray-Dort in 1972 for $1, from a family friend and drove it to school for about 3 months.
I parked it on the street with a canvas tarp over it, because the touring car’s roof was non- existent.
To start it, I put gas into the pet-cocks and cranked by hand. Fortunately (well maybe not), someone offered to purchase it for $2700 cash just before Christmas. I sold it.