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1950 Cadillac 2-Door Hardtop
BigIron Auctions
Quartzsite, Arizona – BigIron Auctions announced that it will be holding lifelong car collector, C. Richard Oldham’s, retirement auction December 8, 2022. There is a large assortment of classic vehicles from the 1950’s to 2000’s.
Now in his 80’s, Oldham owned several lifetimes worth of cars and has a unique collection that holds over 800 cars, with nearly 100 on the auction block. A couple of unique items up for auction include a Buick Jet Engine and a 1972 Checker Aerobus Limousine.
Spanning across 37 Acres of Arizona desert, The Collector Car Company sits amid warehouses that contain a variety of the best automobiles Americana ever crafted. From a 1962 Pontiac Catalina Convertible, to a 1959 Cadillac Sedan deVille, the property contains cars, trucks, 4×4’s and other specialty vehicles that would make any car fanatic swoon. After 60+ years of acquiring such a collection, their tagline rings true: “If it floats, flies, rides, or drives – we’re in!”
C. Richard Oldham, a seasoned car dealer with over 22+ years of experience, has been involved in seven dealerships throughout his career.
Q&A – Richard Oldham
BigIron: What inspired you to be such an avid car collector?
Richard: My grandfather had a yard, he was the Chief Forrester for Coconino County, where they would just park their cars just around back instead of bringing them in. When I was 7 years old, I’d just go out back and play in the parked cars.
BigIron: 7 years old! What was your Dream Car Growing Up?
Richard: ’53 Corvette.
BigIron: What’s so special about a ’53 Corvette?
Richard: It has wires on the headlights, 3 carburetors on the engine, it’s just a cute little roadster!
BigIron: We’ve heard stories of you lending/renting your cars to film movies in Hollywood. Any vehicle you can think of that made quite the impression in the movie industry?
Richard: The Black Dahlia. They picked some of the cars off the lot; that was an interesting film. It had some of our neat cars in it.
BigIron: Now you have a unique item up for auction – a Buick Jet Engine. How did you come to own that?
Richard: I was at a government auction in LA selling aircraft stuff and saw containers sitting and just thought they’d be a good place to store car engines. So, I bought 6 of them! I noticed they were heavy but didn’t know what was in one until sometime later. I’d never heard of a Buick Jet Engine and I was a Buick dealer at one point. I never even dreamed they would build jet engines.
BigIron: You also have a special 1972 Checker Aerobus Limo that will be coming up for auction. Can you tell us a little more about that one?
Richard: It’s got 4 doors cleverly hinged on each side; they built about 100 of those for the NY Airport Authority. I restored that one and when I was mayor of our little town, Quartzsite, the Council and myself would go to parades and such and ride in the big ol’ long Checker.
BigIron: If you were to take any of your classics for a drive, which one would it be?
Richard: ’54 Waldorf Nomad
BigIron: In your opinion, what was the best era for cars?
Richard: The 50’s for sure.
BigIron: How come?
Richard: They just seemed to build really nice, finned cars with powerful engines.
BigIron: Is there a feature that older cars had that you wish newer cars did?
Richard: They’ve improved cars dramatically in the last few years, except when it comes to maintaining them and fixing them – then it becomes kind of difficult. But cars are really good these days; they get better gas mileage.
BigIron: I’m willing to bet you miss some of that styling; the heart that went into building those things!
Richard: Very much so!
If you are interested in checking out some of Richard’s pieces up for auction or for more information about this auction, visit the BigIron site.
Bidding is currently open and will end December 8, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. MST
About BigIron Auctions – BigIron Auctions has served as an industry leader for over 38 years, reinventing the way used farm, construction, and transportation equipment is sold by featuring weekly online auctions every Wednesday. With BigIron’s recent acquisition of Sullivan Auctioneers, it will grow into one of the largest unreserved online auction businesses serving rural America selling tens of thousands of items weekly to registered bidders representing a global marketplace.
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