Here’s something even dedicated car nuts like those of us here at Barn Finds don’t get to see every day: an ad claiming there are 175 Impalas and plenty of other cars. The entire lot of cars are for sale here on craigslist and are located in Sallisaw, Oklahoma, about a hundred miles southeast of Tulsa. From these photos we can see enough cars to know this would be a fascinating place to spend hours walking around, looking at this ginormous collection of vintage Chevrolets.
At least in these photos, the 1959 model year is very well represented, and I’d love to see the two door hardtop in the foreground, up close.
There appear to be plenty of examples manufactured after 1960, as well. As a previous owner of a ’64 Impala, I’d like to know more about this one, as the body looks straight and solid for a non-restored car sitting outside. An interesting 1968 wagon also is visible in the background.
Tri-five lovers will also have something to see here, as shown by this very restorable looking ’55 210 two-door sedan.
This photo shows an impressive number of ’59 El Caminos, and being located in this particular part of the country, it would be interesting to see how solid they are.
The seller’s ad says he has Impalas all the way from 1958 to 1972, and plenty of others. He says they start at $2,500, which is pure fantasy for some of the cars as shown, and may partly explain how he was able to keep his hands on so many of them over the years. But on the other hand, maybe he has reasonable prices on some of the better cars. A road trip to his location would confirm it. I’d come armed with hiking boots, a cooler and a camera. How would you like to take a walk around this guy’s place?
It would be nice to say that most of these cars can be saved and brought back to life the 59 four door at the opening shot piques my interest , as well as the 64s . I noticed some sitting on the ground .. too bad . In all probability they will be used as parts cars. I also noted a 68 Imp wagon ( Kingswood?) in the background of one of the pics. I’d like to know how he got those Caminos and managed to hang on to them. as noted he probably won’t budge on his prices , unless the township where he lives told him to clean the place up or else
I know the yard and owner well. As a former mayor I don’t think he’d be under any pressure to clean up his place.
BTW he loves chocolate frosted donuts, bringing a box when you stop by and you’ll be handed a key to the place.
Isn’t this usually the issue with hoarders? They amass a lot of something that they don’t need and assign an internal value to it, and when it comes time to purge their hoard they place an unrealistic value on all aspects in order to retain what they have but still outwardly showing the intention of purging?
I’ll admit that there are a lot of cool choices here; I’ve been quietly seeking a ’65-’66 Impala project and I see a few of them here, but I was hoping to start with a clean driver. None of these look like drivers and – if the lowest priced turd on the pile is $2500 then realistic projects will sell for approximately 1/2 of their finished value, making them unrealistic as restoration candidates. I love seeing things like this here, isn’t this what Barn Finds is all about? It’s just sad that some people see rotten derelicts as an area for profit instead of the opportunity to preserve some super cool old cars.
But that’s just my two cents. ($.02). Thank you for listening.
So running a parts business is a hoarder to you. Got news for you, your two cents is worthless in a reality based economy.
James Scott – is he running a parts business here? The cars look to be pretty complete to me with few parts missing, and a smarter business plan would show a great deal more diversity in the product offering. I see hoarder here with cars placed willy-nilly throughout the property; no nice, even rows, the cars are sitting on the ground which limits the opportunity to remove parts from underneath, no markings on the cars to suggest a stock number or what “good” parts it contains.
I’ve been in the used parts business and it was never done in the manner I see here, but what do I know? Maybe in the woods things are done different.
If these are what’s left of a “parts” business, their prices are way too high. They should be advertised as parts cars as well. This place is very near me, but as previously stated the cheapest leftovers are $2500.00 a pop, I’ll save my gas and wait for another opportunity.
I would love to have a winged Camino. Wish I lived closer so I could carry him some donuts and tour the place.
Oh oh, looks like another “Lambrecht” auction. Still can’t believe people shelled out big bucks for those cars. I suppose this won’t be any different.
Bow Tie heaven.. you can immerse yourself in cars and parts to the max while toying with restorations.. Nice find and I hope it works out for everyone who jumps in..
Great find..
He states he has about 175 Impalas, and the starting price is $2500.00. The Impalas alone total $437,500.00 ! It would be cheaper to buy his property as is.
Those cars are being held in what I call “Economic Prison”. Each one of them has a price put on it that will ensure they sit right where they are at and will rot into the ground. It’s a shame what someone who clearly has a love for the model will allow himself to do to the same things he claims to love.
Hi James, BINGO!!! Although, I suppose this person saw the frenzy at the Lambrecht auction and figures, what the heck.
I love the fact that so many people can not understand the concept of someone having run a parts business and possibly a resto shop with it!!!!! Is it so hard to conceptualize this??? I suppose it would have been better for them to have been crusher food. Granted the guys prices are not to my liking personally. That being said it is not my property so big deal.
Well, hoarder or not, you can’t say for sure but as a professional in this field, I am leaning toward this being a hoard. If it’s a salvage yard that deals in Chevys for the most part and the yard is open for business with an office, steady cash flow each week, cars coming in and out of the yard, ect, it’s a business maybe with a little hoard put in for good measure. If it’s just a piece of land packed with cars that hold more of an emotional value to the owner, it’s a hoarder. Quote, “A hoarder is a person or persons who collect items, either of value or no value that in that person’s mind, replaces the missing human emotional conections in their lives”. Sometimes, a hoarder’s collection can make him/her pretty rich if they could ever see through the clutter and make themselves able to sell off their stuff. To a hoarder, the stuff is like their family and friends so it’s almost impossible to sell off or toss away without the help of a trained doctor. It’s all about CBT which retrains the mind in how the person thinks about things and life in general. Amazing how it works. Most hoarders get to the point where they are so overloaded with stuff that they become stuck in a rut. Oh, by the way, I’ll take that 68 Caprice wagon with the woodgrain please…. There could be a big block under that hood….
i hardly think this collection is of the quality of the lambrecht collection. but it is well worth time to see especially if the prices get a little softer
Hopefully if this owner is really ready to start parting with his collection/hoard the prices will start to drop if things dont move quickly for him. There looks to be several savable cars here and surely countless more with parts to keep others alive. Its nice to know that they are not all toast and that the owner is at least leaning towards letting them go to other people rather than let them rust away like so many others do
It would be a blast to walk around this yard and to see all these cars. I wonder how long it took to accumulate this many cars and how he did it. Quite a collection.
I called him and talk with he’s only got one 58 and it’s not a impala a two door post gutted lots of rust he sent a few pictures nothing to work with the asking price 4500 your not going to get much for 2500
To add to the speculation here, Googling the phone number on the ad comes up with “Showcase Motor Company” in the same town. So, he is operating it as some sort of business.
Due mostly to Barn Finds, I am becoming a fan of late 50’s – late 60’s Impalas, but none of these have any appeal to me. Way too much work for the asking price.
A lot of nice “OLD” cars that are rusting away into the ground,if the owner/owner’s have a lot of appreciation for what they have,And love ,They should soften up just a bit on the prices and betting on it they would get rid of a bunch of them,BUT,I’m not a betting man and I dont think the price is coming down any,Good luck to whoever gets a chance to buy,peace