That's one great collection!!I wish i was closer, i'd love to see it before it gets split up. It would of been fun to talk to him about it.He did a great job of preserving the past.
What an amazing collection! Too bad it couldn't all be kept together for his family or be made into a museum. It reminds me of the warehouse scene at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. I hope someone at least takes a lot of photos of his collection before it gets broken up! Sent from my iPhone using TJJ
Wow, how humbling. The old saying "The one with the most toys, when he dies, wins" really applies here. Great stuff, thanks for posting this.
Incredible! I would agree this is a collection, not a hoard. He obviously spent some real time putting things together and grouping items, but still being able to actually SEE everything by walking through. A hoarder would just keep throwing shit into the back until it was full, and then work on the next layer, and up and up until you couldn't even get in. I'm grateful for people who collect like this because it gives the next generation some really interesting things to see. Plus, those hoarding shows are scary. I have a hard time seeing where hoarding is not just full-on laziness.
Theres a barn not far from me that is almost like that, packed. Old single cyl harleys with the original tires petrified, at least 2 curve dash olds; t's, a's thru the 30's fords a dodge or two, a cadillac tow truck, stacks of license plates, carbs and intakes hanging - it is actually 2 barns and i think there is stuff in a few outbuildings as well. The guy just loves to buy stuff, i've seen him at auctions etc and he'll show me an old toy tractor that he got, excited as if he'd won the lottery, and he knows exactly where he put it in his collection. We call them 'hoarders' with derision but they are really preservers. People like that rarely change what they get, they'll talk about it and what needs to be done etc but decades after the purchase the piece will look just like they bought it. Look at that barn in the video, all that stuff is preserved - he has maintained the building in such a way that the stuff is safe and protected. It may not look like a state of the art climate controlled enclosure, but it is damn close.
whats up with that zephre V12 with the two 37 Ford grills on it?....there was an old picture of it too...anyone catch that?
Would you say the same thing about Leno? Ralph Lauren? Does Leno or Lauren enjoy there "collection" any more or less than Lee did over his 50 years of collecting. Thanks Lee, blue collar lifestyle.... blue chip collection
Just because he didn't pay for a museum quality building and a curator, sure doesn't mean it's not a collection. I can't afford to collect cars like that, but I do collect. Many of my friends that also collect things completely understand and endorse collecting, but those who don't collect anything always look at any collection with a different eye. Collectors are just caretakers of items until they die and it's spread around to other collectors. We should thank them for preserving the history, not condemn them for hoarding things. Most of the stuff would be ruined if they didn't preserve it. Even as dusty as this collection is, it's still preserved better than sitting outside rusting. I get mad when I see cool stuff disolving or rotting away, unprotected, and the owner wont care for it, and wont sell it. That's my definition of a hoarder, when they wont take care of it, and wont let someone else do it.
I'd call it a museum! Some really neat stuff there and it will be nice to see it go to others to enjoy but I collect Hot Wheels and other things and have them on display in the basement and office. Some people don't get it and some do. I just like sitting there looking at the items and remembering where I bought it or if it has a cool story behind it.
anyone see the second video..he pans by a '37 ford with two hoods? whats that about, anymore information on that?
Awesome collector. Looks like a collector to me. A guy who lets it rot in a field not selling it or doing anything with it is a Hoarder When are they auctioning all that stuff off, or have they?
Nice collection love to have just one of them. At least he has them inside and not on a field rotting
OK, that is not hoarding. That is collecting. It actually looks pretty well arranged but the order may only be known to Lee. If the family were smart, they would take a year or two to auction off that stuff one section at a time. There are lots of small things there that collectors would love to have if given notice well in advance so they could plan to attend. I have been to auctions that were too big and some good stuff went pretty cheap because there weren't enough interested bidders there for that particular niche of property.
At least for the most part, things are in a neat orderly fashion. I wouldn't consider it hoarding where junk is stacked everywhere and you can't walk around .
Heres more on the the custom 36 Lincoln! http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2009/06/07/sia-flashback-mr-morrisons-mellow-machine/
Hoarding...collecting...arguing about the difference. There is a mindset today that goes against everything that is free enterprise. I have had 'visitors' come to my house and say "You're never going to get around to that, why not give someone else a chance to learn?" (Learn?) I have relatives that lust for things I have found and brought home. One asked for years about a 5 gallon Moon fuel tank complete with tri-bladed cap, and brackets and attached pump. He said he wanted to use it on his roadster. (Chico asked to borrow the cap to have it copied for the Mooneyes stock, as there wasn't one to copy from) I finally gave in to the relative, he begged for it for so long...a month later, he sold it on EBay. There are jealous types everywhere, some extreme enough to crash commercial flights full of people into buildings to rid the world of 'capitalistic hoarding infidels'. My message: Try not to be so judgemental. Go get your own. Mind your own business.
that is way cool. iv met guys like this and they love the thrill of the hunt.. and yes, he loved his cars as much as leno.. just did not have the resources to do what leno dose... but hell if you watch leno garage show.. what makes him smile the most.. old cars that have not been touched.. leno would dig a few of the cars in here and then get them on the road and drive them till they break down on the high way.. heh.. this is very well organized once you get past so much stuff.. his job gave him some great deals im sure.. but he was collecting this stuff before people decided they would make as much money off baby boomers as possible. rock on.. you did good, now there will be lots of new old cars on the roads cause of this one mans collection. chris.
heh, i had to do a double take on that.. no photoshop back then so they had to build the stuff to get the results they wanted. im sure no one wanted that car at one point.. but this an saw it for what it was... saved a part of our history.. cool stuff. i do wish this auction would not happen over such a short period. but i guess thats why people go to auctions to get good deals. iv watched this three time snow and see something different every time.. out of his whole collection, i would take any of his cars they all seem to be in almost used car dealer ship condition.. its like add some fluids and gas and go for a ride is the feeling i get. heh.. anyhow, minus a car... i want the old RC airplane in the rafters shown in video 1.. man that would be so cool to own/fly.. id probably build a replica of it tho.. but who knows im a decent stick. chris.
I'll bet everyone of the folks that bitch about hoarders shows up at the auction and takes something home, right? I don't think so, Tim. (Al Bourland voice) ,
just, think, if it was,nt for hoarders we wouldnt have any of the old stuff to work with, it would been crushed by now. ha ha john
Thank God! Three voices of common sense. If he hadn't spent countless hours gathering, protecting AND ENJOYING this stuff, probably ALL would have gone the way of the do-do bird long ago! Just keep looking and keep an erar to the ground. It ALL has to come out, eventually. (And DITTO on the FeeBay comment above! I MISS it, but it will NEVER go back.)
Im going to split the argment here based on a few things... It appears that one time he had this place set up for public viewing like a museum, if you noticed he had a donation box near the back of the room and nearly everything was labeled for reference...this is what a collector who wants the public to enjoy his things does... then you have cabbage patch dolls, a bad version of optimus prime, and frankly a bunch of crap thrown in on top! At some point this gentleman went from an amazing collector to , sorry to say it, a hoarder... Not to say this collection isnt amazing, christ theres a Veritas under all the stuff!!
This is a point that is lost on those that think it's a shame a hoarder had all that cool. Without guys like this, most of the stuff would have been crushed or thrown away years ago.