Dean Weller turns old automobile parts and sheet metal into works of art in this 1918 Model T Garage

 Not open to the public, but located in DeSoto Kansas, the sign in the window says Grandpas Garage and Body Shop. Dean is a grassroots artist and retired 31 years ago, but he has been creating nearly a vehicle a year 

 you can possibly read the front license plate, 1912 Mercer raceabout, but it's a replica, and everything except the lights ,was handmade by Dean on the frame and drivetrain of a 1930 Pontiac. Only 20 originals exist.

 1932 Buick model 66S 4 passenger special coupe - straight 8

 the yellow boat tail once was a '47 chev truck hood

 Above, 1921 Model T pie wagon

read about this automotive artist and restorer at http://www.kansastravel.org/grandpasoldfordgarage.htm

the King of Sweden has a car collection, 1966 GT 350 Shelby Mustang, GTO, AC Cobra, and so on

thanks to Licolncadillac for letting us know! For a short post see http://grandprix63.blogspot.com/2009/05/raggarkung-for-sverige-i-bilen.html

Like many members of the Royal Family, the King has a keen interest in automobiles. He owns several Porsche 911s, a vintage Volvo PV444 a Ferrari 456M GT, a Shelby AC Cobra, 1966 Shelby GT350, and BMW M3 CSL, one of only 1,500.

The private car collection of Lee Roy Hartung was auctioned off

1936 Lincoln Zephyr custom sedan has an unusual dual nose and shows 19,600 miles on the odometer.
Credit: Tudor Van Hampton for The New York Times
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/31/piece-by-piece-the-hartung-collection-is-dismantled/

The eclectic Lee Roy Hartung Collection of automobiles, motorcycles and memorabilia was gathered over the past 50 years by the Chicago collector.

Mr. Hartung dealt in scrap metal, sold used cars and maintained a hauling business that aided his hobby. After a garage fire destroyed an antique bicycle collection, Mr. Hartung in 1972 built a 10,000-square-foot barn on his four-acre property and spent the next several decades stuffing it with treasures

Mr. Hartung operated the space as a museum by appointment only. In it, he stored about 80 cars, 40 motorcycles, 100 bicycles and thousands of pieces of automobilia. He had what experts called one of the most complete collections of license plates in the United States

A 1912 Harley-Davidson Single-Cylinder Belt Drive, believed to be among the best 1912 examples in the world, brought $115,000.
original bicycles were highlighted by a like-new 1934 Iver Johnson, an Elgin Bluebird and a Schwinn Aerocycle, which individually sold for $5,175 each.

Lee Hartung Collection Auctions America by RM – Top 10 Auction Results

1. 1911 Flying Merkel Twin Belt Drive – $201,250
2. 1950 Veritas BMW – $195,500

 The 1949 Veritas was built by BMW and bodied by Spohn, the German coachworks company. It was believed to have been sent back to Spohn in the ’50s to receive tail fins and other retrofits to echo General Motors’ 1951 LeSabre concept car.
 3. 1950 Edwards R-26 Roadster – $143,750
4. 1912 Harley-Davidson Single-Cylinder Belt Drive – $115,000
5. 1911 Pope Model H – $83,375
6. 1909 Sears – $66,125
7. 1938 Indian Four-Cylinder Rigid Frame – $64,400
8. 1926 Henderson Deluxe Fire Department Motorcycle – $63,250
9. 1915 Harley-Davidson Single-Cylinder Two-Speed – $57,500
10. 1904 Fabrique-Nationale Four-Cylinder Shaft Drive – $55,200
http://www.sportscardigest.com/lee-hartung-auctions-america-by-rm-auction-results/

Last of the private steam locomotive collections? Even had a Big Boy... the Blount collection

looks like a Big Boy http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2010/12/big-boy-used-coal-so-fast-that-shovels.html

In the late 50's a seafood company founder began collecting steam locomotives... can a guy collect anything bigger? Has anyone? I doubt it.

Anyway, he made a small tourist attraction and called it Steamtown, moved it a couple times but didn't get very close to any major cities... he stuck it in Vermont.

Anyway, he died in 1967, at the age of 47 and without setting up a modicum of management to keep the trains in good condition, so they were sold off, neglected, and falling apart. The company that ran the collection moved from Vermont to Scranton, PA in 1984 after about 20 years of barely surviving, and went bankrupt in 1986

Congress was quick to make it a national park, and the park service now runs the train attraction as a learning center about 1850 to 1950 steam locomotives.

Read a bit more about it from the souce of my info: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=6160936&postcount=20825

Sultan of Brunei collection

Aston Martin One-77 supercars, limited to just 77 examples, for $1.7 million apiece were just bought by an anonymous purchaser.

Now educated insiders are speculating that the Sultan of Brunei bought the cars to add to his multi-billion-dollar, 7,000-strong car collection, the world’s most expensive auto hoard.

According to Guinness World Records the Sultan’s collection includes over
600 Rolls-Royces,
more than 450 Ferraris,
570 Mercedes-Benzes,
380 Bentleys,
170 Porsches,
dozens of Koenigseggs,
and 20 Lamborghinis to name a few.

He owns several rare custom, one-off and concept cars, some worth tens of millions apiece, including a Ferrari Mythos, a Jaguar XJ220 by Pininfarina, a Bentley Java, a Bentley Dominator SUV, bespoke Rolls-Royce and Ferrari station wagons, a Porsche Carma and a Koenigsegg Agera.

In the '90s the royal family accounted for nearly 50-percent of all Rolls-Royces sold. The Sultan owns the racecars driven by each F1 world champion since the 1980 season.

Known for buying multiple models of supercars in order to have one in every color, he owns several McLaren F1s, six Ferrari FXXs, four Ferrari F40s and three Ferrari F50s. The Sultan, who’s worth an estimated $20 billion, stores the collection in five heavily-guarded airplane hangars and employs a team of mechanics and specialists to keep the cars in perfect working condition.
info from http://ultimate-luxury-community.com/

See a gallery of some of the cars at http://jalopnik.com/379855/a-garage-fit-for-a-king-the-best-of-the-sultan-of-bruneis-amazing-car-collection

LeMay museum finally had it's groundbreaking (2 years since I posted that it would happen)

http://hagertyblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/lemay-museum-groundbreaking-june-2010.html for the story and photo gallery. My first post didn't say much, just informative that it's supposed to become the largest in the world
http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2008/03/if-you-live-near-seattle-you-might-want.html

The Mullin museum is finally open, but only two days a month, on a reservation basis

The above is one of two made, the other is unrestored. A commisioned painting of it by Nicola Wood is posted here: http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2010/10/marvelous-paintings-of-nicola-wood.html

Above images from http://motomania.tumblr.com/

Here's one amazing car from the Mullins collection, a Hispano-Suiza woody!

http://karakullake.blogspot.com/2010/08/mullin-automotive-museum-review-part-1.html for a full write up and gallery

For hours and dates it's open: http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2011/02/mullins-museum-info-its-not-open-often.html

Evans Garage... what a cool looking place (not open to the public)

Cmon, that is a cool way to dress up your mailbox!

In the right place, at the right time, and even better... get paid to do it with a camera! Meet Laura, she posts private collections, celebs, etc

That is Laura, and Danny Trejo

Go over to her website for lots more, and comment to tell her to post the rest of the stuff! http://hagertyblog.blogspot.com/

New photo coverage of Jay Leno's collection

his motorcycle collection: http://big-diesel.blogspot.com/2009/08/harem-of-leno.html

his car collection: http://www.mensjournal.com/jay-lenos-time-machines

a couple new cars in his garage, http://www.moparmagazine.com/2008/sept-oct/another_mopar_for_lenos_collection and http://fuel-efficient-vehicles.org/energy-news/?p=892

The Peter Mullin auto museum, not open yet, but soon

Celebrating the art deco movement, the French Curves Collection exemplifies the zenith of the French automobile, including beautifully styled and amazingly engineered French-built cars covering several decades: Bugattis, Delages, Delahayes, Hispano Suizas, Talbot-Lagos and Voisins, many have won awards at concours d'elegance, and a number of the race cars have been past winners of historic races, such as the Grand Prix de Pau and Le Mans.

1421 Emerson Avenue

Oxnard, CA 93033

Previously the Otis Chandler museum, The museum is reopening as the Vintage Museum of Transportation, displaying the Peter Mullin Collection, including 12 Bugattis from the former Schlumpf collection ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandler_Vintage_Museum_of_Transportation_and_Wildlife

For dates and hours: http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2011/02/mullins-museum-info-its-not-open-often.html

Something I bet the Shelby collectors have never heard of... the 33 1/3 rpm record of Carroll and a GT 500 racing around Riverside, in a model kit car

Deerpark Auto museum is open again! Closed for years while things got sorted out, it's $5 to tour a great collection!