Car collector auctioning 75 classics to 'hit the road'

Wayne Davis will be saying goodbye to 75 old friends on April 19.

Over the past 20 years, the Southlake resident has bought and restored almost 80 classic and muscle cars -- from a 1953 Oldsmobile Fiesta convertible to a 1989 Ferrari Mondial t Cabriolet -- and now he has decided to sell most of his personal collection at auction.

Davis, 57, said it is time to retire. He plans to travel the country's two-lane highways in a few of the cars he decided to keep.

"I want to get out and enjoy them a little bit, do the Route 66 deal from Chicago to L.A. probably in a '60 Eldorado convertible," said Davis, who recently sold his Fort Worth company, Regency Conversions, an upfitter of vans, SUVs and pickups.

For classic car enthusiasts, the April auction will offer a chance to purchase cars that are part of America's automobile history. All of the cars are being offered without reserves, meaning there will be no minimum bid. To attend the auction, guests must buy an $80 catalog that allows two people admission.

"The event will mark the auction debut for many cars -- most have not been offered publicly for sale before," said Dan Spendick, sale manager of RM Auctions, which is selling the cars for Davis. The auction will also feature auto memorabilia, including the 32-foot neon Cadillac sign that hung above Frank Kent's downtown Fort Worth dealership.

Years of collecting

Davis said he began restoring cars when he was a teenager working at his dad's grocery store in Odessa.

"I've loved cars since I was 10 years old," Davis said. "That's all I ever wanted to do was work on cars."

He sold most of his collection, about 40 cars, when he moved from Odessa to the Metroplex about 13 years ago. But then he built the collection back up.

Most of the cars are housed in two climate-controlled buildings in Southlake: cars of the '30s, '40s and '50s in one and all of the muscle cars of the '60s and '70s in another.

Davis has four full-time employees who restore cars to their original state and maintain the ones he has by wiping them down every day. And he said he has driven every car he owns, sometimes taking them out for short drives around Southlake or for longer trips across the country.

"When you look at the quality and the bumpers and the design -- today you go down the street and you can't tell a Camry from a Mazda. Back then a Cadillac was a Cadillac, an Oldsmobile was an Oldsmobile. Back then they were all very unique," Davis said.

Time to hit the road

It has always been Davis' plan to sell his collection, his own version of a 401(k) as he calls it, to fund his retirement. But he said he does "hate to see it all go."

Davis has already sold the building that houses his restoration shop and 42 of his cars. The other building he uses is leased.

Now, Davis said he will build a smaller garage for up to 10 cars near his Southlake home.

"I'll always have a few cars, but I never want to get to the mass that it is now," Davis said.

The one he'll miss the most

Davis is keeping seven cars, but of the ones he is selling, he said he will miss the 1957 Dual-Ghia convertible the most.

"It was a really neat car," Davis said of the white convertible with red and white vinyl upholstery whose body was built by hand in Italy.

Only about a hundred of those cars were built, and most were sold to Hollywood stars such as Frank Sinatra and Eddie Fisher. Davis bought his from a friend in Odessa who had purchased it in California.

"Everything I bought is something I personally loved," Davis said. "I've had this stuff a long time and even though it was planned this way -- to sell when I retired -- it's still like losing part of the family."

NOT FOR SALE

The cars that Wayne Davis won't sell:

1960 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz convertible

1966 Shelby GT350

1959 Chevrolet Nomad station wagon

1940 Ford Woody station wagon

1967 Cadillac Eldorado

1958 Buick Limited convertible

1954 Cadillac Eldorado convertible

Source: Wayne Davis

START YOUR ENGINES

1929 Ford Model AA Cretors popcorn truck

Lot 220

Estimate: $80,000-$120,000

Details: 40bhp, 200.4-cubic-inch L-head four-cylinder engine, three-speed manual transmission; includes a 30-ounce Cretors corn popper and a Gold Medal nut roaster.

1935 Ford Roadster custom

Lot 225

Estimate: $125,000-$175,000

Details: 300hp, 312-cubic-inch V8 engine, four-speed manual transmission; features a 1940 dash and banjo steering wheel with classic gauges fitted to make it look original.

1961 Chevrolet Corvette roadster

Lot 227

Estimate: $50,000-$70,000

Details: 245hp, 283-cubic-inch V8 engine, independent front suspension with live axle on semi-elliptic rear leaf springs; painted in an original Roman Red with like-new white vinyl convertible top.

1954 Buick Skylark convertible

Lot 267

Estimate: $175,000-$225,000

Details: 200bhp, 322-cubic-inch Fireball V8 engine, three-speed Dynaflow automatic transmission. This car was acquired new by Amon Carter, former publisher of the Star-Telegram, and was reportedly a gift from General Motors as Carter helped bring a GM assembly plant to Arlington.

Source: RM Auctions

Want to know more?

To view all the cars that will be put up for sale in the April 19 auction, go online to www.rmauctions.com, and look for the Wayne Davis collection.

Auction day

A preview day will be April 18 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The auction begins at 10 a.m. April 19 at Davis' garage at 2055 Greenwood Drive in Southlake. To attend, you must buy an $80 catalog from RM auctions, which will allow two people admission. Buyer registration is $150 and requirements include a valid driver's license and a major credit card or $2,000 in cash.