I feel more than a tinge of sadness when a find like this shows up. A collector in Florida has died, and his collection is being sold off by a dealer; the first ones have appeared on eBay. But then I started looking closer at the auctions, and the different places the pictures are taken started me wondering. Looking through this dealer’s offerings on their website, they apparently specialize in estate sales, and may have combined collections to come up with this many cars and appear to be taking offers on the entire dealership inventory. Either way, it’s sad to me that there’s no one in the family that wants to keep these classics. Thanks to reader Mark H for these finds! Here is the entire slate of eBay auctions, all located in Lakeland, Florida.
The variety of cars here is fascinating, including the cars that are pictured in the background but not offered for auction yet. Contrast this tired Pontiac Trans Am with the period pink Edsel Ranger. I’m guessing these two are from the same collection as they are photographed in the same location. The Pontiac needs a lot of help, where the Edsel needs a little sorting of the fuel system but a lot of work has already been done. I think the Edsel would be a really cool cruiser, but I’d be looking for a better condition late Trans Am before I pulled the trigger on that one.
The Mercedes SL seems to be a decent, solid example of one of the best German personal luxury cars, while the 1961 Cadillac DeVille has been repainted, but needs reassembly of trim and comes with over $1,300 in new rubber weatherstripping among other included parts.
But my favorite out of the bunch is this 1959 Mercury Montclair 2-door hardtop. Despite the glaring (to me) late model Ford Granada wheel cover on the right rear, this car has a lot going for it. With interesting design features like the kick-up rear window (look at where it meets the top) and its rarity versus a comparable Ford, I really like this car.
While certainly not in show condition or original, the interior is nice for a driver and looks comfortable. There’s plenty of room to take the family out driving on a nice summer evening to the local ice cream shop (there’s one about a mile from our house that we drive to in our Triumph Herald). $22k seems a little high, but a best offer option is available. Anyone out there interested in the entire collection? How about a Barn Finds readers “group buy”? I call the Mercury!
Seen this before….
really nothing to see….move along now.
Prices are high, might as well buy from a real person instead of a dealer telling you stories….
…and ANYBODY, doing a “Private” auction on E-bay these days has something to hide.
the seller has a lot of very interesting vehicles for sale. from the lot on ebay i would be most interested in the allis chambers. great finds
@ Jamie You said “it’s sad to me that there’s no one in the family that wants to keep these classics” I resonate with that. We share similar hobbies/addictions. In reality they are just cars. The silliness of spending my emotional energy on things that can’t love me back instead of people, really makes no sense, but it works for me!
I’d take the Mercedes.
The rear window on the ’59 Montclair looks suspiciously like a windsheild that no doubt came out of the FoMoCo parts bin.
I couldn’t help but notice the diesel engine (Looks like an Isuzu 241) in that Model A Tub. Someone Obviously looking for something different. Personally if I was looking at diesel power, I’d have used a V-8 like a 350 Olds, or even a 6.2 Chev. They both sound neat with dual exhaust.