The collector car hobby is alive and well all cross the America. The “Collector Car Auction” has become a regular on cable TV channels like NBC Sports, The Discovery Channel, Velocity and so on. These events are exciting and fun with lots of glitz and glamour, bright lights, shiny cars, auctioneers, calling out for bids in a cadence that’s hard for the average guy to duplicate and that cadence only adds to excitement and implants a sense of urgency.

Mecum came to Portland again in June 2018. They travel all across the continent producing their collector car auctions in, I think, 18 locations, it’s a traveling show and what a show it is. I heard these auctions described as the biggest and best car show you can attend, and everything is for sale!

Mark Young with the Northwest House of Hardtops @ 11834 SE Stark, in Portland, OR., 503-257-9050, brought much of his inventory to the auction and a lot found new homes. His inventory is usually just spectacular. Rare muscle cars, fantastic restorations, beautiful and well-kept Corvettes of all years. Each offering a treasure to any car guy or car gal.

Mecum offered more than 600 lots this year and nearly 300 sold for about a 50% sell through. Total sales reached 8.3 million. I found many cars that I would love to call mine but alas, my budget just can’t handle what my mind thinks I might need.

For access to complete auction results, or for a schedule of Mecum’s upcoming events, you can sign up for the free InfoNet service at www.Mecum.com. Check out some pictures of cars that were offered and put Mecum Portland on your calendar for next June.

If you’re selling, consign early. They will post your car on the site so people shopping can see your car. If you’re looking to buy, check their website for a look at what’s going to be available. Obviously, next years auction won’t be shown yet but don’t forget to check back often to stay up to speed on what’s coming.

Collector car auctions are a great place to locate the car of your dreams and you can buy it there and take it home.

What follows is part two of a story I began in the February 2018 issue of Roddin’ & Racin’. It was entitled: “One Man’s Junk…” and told the story of a unique wrecking yard in Springfield, Oregon that is brimming with eclectic vehicles. “Another Man’s Treasure” tells the story of what at first appears to be a similar venue but in fact turns out to be…“a collection”. For the most part nothing is for sale here.

I spent the better part of a day with the owner exploring the grounds and taking pictures. I have known Bob Farwell for many years and consider him a friend. Yes, he’s a chatterbox but if you are willing to listen, he has many interesting stories to tell. He is bright, resilient, insightful, kind of heart and as passionate about automobiles as any person I’ve ever met.

And then there’s “the collection”…Wow. I have to admit that my reaction to it was somewhere between fascination and horror. The tour of his compound left me reeling. I had very mixed emotions about what I’d seen and that makes it difficult to write about. Then a few weeks later I received word that he’d had a fire and a portion of his collection was destroyed. The news made me nauseous but I imagined that it was devastating to him. At that point I decided that the second part of my story would never be published- then I ran into Farwell at a swap meet. I offered my condolences and told him of my decision. Much to my surprise, he was disappointed! In spite of everything, he wanted to see a story about his collection in print.

So here it is. It is not my best work. It is not the story I initially intended to write. It’s not much of story at all but fortunately…the photographs speak for themselves.

Bob Farwell is a collector of a different sort. He collects antique cars, race cars from different eras and much, much more. There is a collection of radio controlled airplanes, small industrial engines and mechanical oddities. What appears at first to be a scrapyard is in actuality an uncategorized assemblage. Every object is somehow meaningful to Farwell and worthy of saving. Every object has a story attached- a story that Farwell is anxious to tell. I think in many cases the stories are of more value than the objects themselves.

Farwell has had an interesting life full of ups and downs. He has been a championship winning race car owner. He has lost one of his best friends (due to heart failure) in a midget that he owned. He is the former owner of Cottage Grove Speedway and readily admits to losing a fortune in that endeavor but expresses no regrets. Until very recently, he owned a successful bar and grill adjacent to the State Fairgrounds. And of course, he still owns an amazing collection of race cars. They include:

A 1957 Grant King Big Car powered by a 302 c.i. GMC engine. King was a master race car builder of Chinese descent with strong ties to the Pacific Northwest. Eventually he settled in Indianapolis where he built numerous racers that compete in the Memorial Day Classic
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The Rennsport house midget. A 70’s era bullet propelled a 165 c.i. “Staggerfire” V-4 engine. This potent racer was driven by some of the best short trackers in the business including Jimmy Sills and Jan Opperman.

An extremely rare Don Edmunds-built, rear engine midget powered by an Auto-Craft (Full race Volkswagen) engine. This car was campaigned in the Pacific Northwest but remains a bit of a mystery. Edmunds acknowledged having built the car to Farwell but it is not mentioned in the exhaustive biography on Edmunds published by Paul Weisel, Jr. last year.

Roseburg in July is a great place to be for people who like hot rods, old cars. street rods etc. “Graffiti Weekend” as its called, offers car shows, cruise-ins, circle track racing, collector car auctions and more. There is something for everyone and it’s not actually just the weekend. This year it started on July 4 and lasted into the weekend. Some may say that the 4th stretches the events out to make it a long weekend and I can see that. Suffice to say, there is something going on every day that’s bound to appeal to many.

The Petersen Collector Car Auction at the Douglas County Fair Grounds is the one I like the best. This year’s auction offered a great array of interesting cars for sale. Not all of them old cars necessarily but many were, both stock and modified. The inventory represented a very diverse selection of rigs ranging from the 1920’s to a late model 2013 hi-rise Dodge Diesel 4 X 4, as well as Corvettes, Jags, BMW’s, and motorcycles. The responsive viewing audience of 400 plus with nearly 300 registered bidders purchased 45% of the 80 vehicles that were consigned. Curt and Susan wanted to say, “Thank you to everyone that participated in the Roseburg Graffiti Weekend Auction.”

This company is an Oregon family owned and operated business that holds three auction a year, in a couple different locations. Every sale typically has a great selection of cars to choose from and this year didn’t disappoint. I’ve bought and sold cars at these auctions and have always gone home happy. Curt and Susan Davis put together a wide variety of cars and trucks to sell and they enlist their family and friends to make these one-day events fun and enjoyable. Please follow them on Facebook and watch the website www.petersencollectorcars.com for the next auction coming in the fall.

Memorabilia sells first in the “warmup auction,” which includes beautiful and well built “man cave items” like custom phone booths, service station type yard lights, combination air & water stands and petroleum signs, provided by Pedersens Petro Retro of Roseburg, Oregon. They will be happy to “custom build” to your color scheme and product designs to fit your personal needs. Call Brent @ 541-868-5222.