Event Coverage Did anyone go to Gene Winfields auction?

I don't know if I would necessarily call this an event I mean I guess technically it is so that is the section I am putting it under but I'm pretty lost if somebody else is already talked about this please link me to it because I somehow missed it and I would be happy to just add to an existing thread versus making my own.

Anyways so I saw his auction listed on an estate sale website so I decided to register and check it out on the auction company's website... So next thing you know I decided I am going to drive there because it's "only 115 miles away" from me and I would "just look" at all the junk he has got (most of it really was rough parts type cars).
So low and behold I am a hoarder and if the 7 other cars I already had were not enough to keep me busy for the next 20 years I decided to buy a non hamb friendly 1975 Lincoln Continental two-door that has some really odd rust on the hood and the trunk lid and the typical under the vinyl top stuff that every '70s car has earned. The 1975 is going to be sacrificed so it technically isn't a new project I bought it for the drivetrain to fix a 1973 Continental that I've had since high school that is but that's another story.
The big winner (or maybe that's a big loser being me) is a couple of weeks ago at a separate auction I bought a 1952 Kaiser Deluxe four-door sedan that was missing the bumpers and the grill and the tail lights that I have no idea why I bid on it but I got it so cheap I had to buy it but at that moment when I won that particular auction I was thinking to myself where on Earth am I going to get these parts for my $52 Kaiser... So Fast forward a few weeks and it was now Saturday. I went to Gene Winfield's auction in between Rosamond and Mojave and there it was it was a 1951 Kaiser that has pretty major rust but it has a great grill, front and rear bumpers that were in Fair shape and a bunch of miscellaneous things that I could use on the 1952 toilet I just mentioned a few sentences ago... I paid including auction fees about $300 bucks for the car and if you include gas for the gas sucking Hemi it was right at 400 bucks to bring home my lawn ornament that all my neighbors I am sure are going to love but that wasn't the big kicker because this is actually a story about a hoarding man so in the words of the great obnoxious infomercial Billy Mays "but wait there's more," parked two vehicles down from the 1951 Kaiser was a 1953 Kaiser Manhattan that is also missing its bumpers but have some really cool trim that I can use on the 52 because for some reason I'm stupid enough to take on this project (eventually).
So enclosed is a few pictures of my new rides on my buddy's trailer and my neighbor's trailer I ironically have a million busted cars but don't own a trailer. I didn't get any close ups but a good Fair assessment is all three Kaisers are toilets (the 51 is behind the gold truck and the 53 is behind my blue truck and the 52 is not pictured) but I really like them and I can't figure out why if anyone needs parts off the 51 for their Kaiser let me know and we can work something out I am sure because I am going to scrap it once I get the debris off it that I want and the 53 no idea what I'm going to do with it all I want is the trim that goes underneath the back window and (maybe) the trim that sits directly underneath the door windows I would love to see the 1953 and the 1951 go to a good home and even though the 1951 is pretty rough I don't like scraping 75 year old cars but i digress.
Anyways that wasn't the point I just wanted to see if anyone else went to Gene Winfield's auction and to see if they bought anything and if so what did you get?

 

Well, I was kinda like you. But had a trailer. Kept hauling stuff home. Finally I realized I’d have to work full time on projects and live to be 160 years old. This was some 20-25 years ago.
The first thing to go was the trailer. I’m to tight to rent one unless absolutely needed, and don’t know where to borrow one.
I still won’t finish what I have before I’m underground though.
But that doesn’t help you and your hoarding. Kinda like a druggy who quits drugs, then moves in with his connection. (Hoarder-druggy. Friends with trailers-connection).
That said, glad you scored some items you need

 

I like your buys- too good to let them get crushed!

 

Hey Alex.
So cool that you saved these old relics, if you don't, nobody else will.
I always loved these cool old cars, they were different and unique.
I see one or two each year at the Portland Swap-meet.
Definitely an acquired taste, here is a couple of pictures from past encounters of these road warriors, from a time period when styling was essential, no matter how much these styles were mostly not appreciated, sad to say!

 

A guy in our club has a beautiful '51 Kaiser Traveller. It features a rear hatch. Photo for inspiration

 

There is a reason Kaiser went out of business.

 

I was a couple thousand miles too far out of range to go but I'm glad you scored some good stuff, even if they only end up being parts donors, it sounds like you were buying them for just above scrap price so anything saved is a bonus. And by Wisconsin standards, they seem pretty solid and decent, too.

Did you get any other pics at the auction? What were prices like on the other vehicles and parts? I was at a local auction here a couple weekends ago, there was definitely some bargains. My space is a bit limited at the moment so I had to hold back somewhat but I still ended up buying a full van load. I can't help myself, it's in my nature.

 

Sheech... If that's major rust/rot, stay away from the Midwest. You'll get a heart-attack from 500mi away. & they looke fairly straight to boot. '52 or '53 hatch models? That would be worth grafting or saving...
Marcus...

 

Those 74-76 Cadillacs the demo derby guys will pay $3,500 each

 

Good job picking those Kaisers!! You got a great deal.

Here is a link to the results of the auction. Click the ">" to get past the first pictures to the view items.
https://bid.bidfastandlast.com/ui/auctions/109285/13744492

 

Reminds me of the scrape yard I used to visit, prices about the same.

 

Cool stuff
Great prices

 

this made me think of the song "Alice's restaurant"

 

Ol' Gene sure had a lot of stuff...

 

As an Imperial enthusiast, I detest demolition derby buyers with the burning intensity of a thousand suns.

 

That was pretty depressing, makes a case for just selling ,with a few exceptions, to the scrapper...less effort -likely more profit.

 

$1400 for a paint booth once owned by Gene Winfield. Bargain number one.

Another for $800

Lots of very cheap containers, some under $200, although some seem like a real bitch to move.

41 Chrysler 3W coupe $1200, didn't look too bad.

'65 F100 with no box and no title but looking solid, $425

65 Sedan Deville $220

So many junk vehicles selling for under $100, some as little as $5.

'53 Kaiser parts car a no-brainer at $60, even if you only need a couple pieces of trim off of it.

60 Imperial brought good money, one of the few that seems to have.

Some screamin' deals on big equipment and piles of parts for resale, one shelf with a bunch of '51 Merc rear quarters went for 5 bucks. Looks like 4 door stuff, but still, that's nuts to me. Lots of brutally cheap lots of random parts.

I'm kinda shocked, seems like a lot of guys were sleeping on this one, and I would have thought the Winfield connection would have brought in a lot more bidders. Granted, most of this was desert-burned parts cars and big parts, more of a cleanup effort and not too many "trophy" pieces for people to bid on. But if I would have been anywhere near this, I would have ended up with a TON of shit to resell.

 

Wonder what engines were in the RV motorhomes? Possibly big blocks

 

Last I had heard was the auction was canceled and I usually get Gene's FB updates on a regular basis and didn't see anything.
I'm going to assume that a lot of those junkers that went cheap were parts donors from years gone by that never got hauled for scrap simply because there was room to let them sit and they still had a few parts on them or panels that could be cut off and repurposed.

 

They all had RV cams

 

They actually didn't go out of business for quite a while longer they just started making Jeeps instead of cars.

I like all vehicles but really like the oddball stuff when I was younger I used to get annoyed going to car shows because everybody had a tri five Chevy or Ford mustang or Chevy Camaro and I was always attracted to the 'bakers, Ramblers or these "fine" machines that I just bought. I like some mainstream cars obviously like everyone I love it pre-war Ford and if I'm being honest not that I would ever buy one I got to admit any mustang fastback from 1965 to 1973 is a cool looking car.

What I thought was cool about the Kaisers from 51 through 54 is they look sectioned from the factory and it would only take a little work to make them look like something wild.

The guy that owns the gold truck you see in that picture he's my enabler, he hauled cars for a living for probably 10 years and he likes old junk, he's always down for a road trip and always has a trailer so he just feeds my car addiction.
The only plus side as I've gotten older I've gotten better at not losing money usually I can scratch the itch and send stuff on their way and if I'm lucky I might make a few bucks although I am definitely not going to retire especially buying stuff like Kaiser's and disco era Lincoln Continentals.

I don't know why for some reason I always forget to use my camera, there was definitely some bargains to be had from various eras of cars.
For example there was a pallet of Model T frames it looked like there was three complete frames and two wheels plus some fenders and some other T bits that went for $160.
The 53 Kaiser I bought was 60 bucks, it cost me $120 for gas to get it plus all the auction fees so it was a little higher than scrap prices when it was all said and done but it was definitely cheap enough to justify going there. I have another buddy that went with us he bought a 1978 mustang II for 400 bucks that is a pretty clean car honestly here in California it's a small car so he's going to pull all its drivetrain out for the 1974 that he has (1975 and older is pretty smog in California).
What's strange is for being a gene Winfield auction there wasn't a whole lot of really old stuff like you would think there would be there was definitely some there but most of it was honestly oddball junk.

 

I'm not scared of fixing rust but that car is a lot worse than it looks in that picture it's got rust around the back window the floor has rust rust in the rear wheel wells rust in the a pillar down low... It's definitely fixable for somebody with a mig welder and time but at the end of the day it's still a 1951 Kaiser more door.
As for the three Kaisers that I now have including the two that you see in these pictures all of them are just traditional sedans they're not really anything special just goofy cars that no one outside of this page or group so to speak knows what they are.
My goal is to save the 1952 for myself and then sell the "rusty" 1951 and 1953 off to someone to hopefully make my parts free. I don't really want to scrap either car I just can't bring myself to do it but I also have to be realistic I have way too many cars outside in various states of disrepair and even if they were all clean I couldn't afford to maintain them all
I have my 1930 Model A pickup (this is my current focus and I have just about bought everything for it it is definitely driving me broke but it's been a fun learning process), my buddy's 1931 Model A pickup wide bed that drives the gold truck it has been in my backyard for 3 years now probably I don't think he's touched it, the 34 Chevy 1.5 ton truck (it's for sale on the HAMB although I haven't posted the new pictures now that I put it together) my 1973 Lincoln (I have had this car since I was a teenager I have a lot of memories in it but it really isn't my style so I'm really torn on what to do with it), the Winfield auction 1975 Lincoln was bought to be a parts car for the 73 although I would rather sell it I think it would be a great demo derby car, then there is a 1951 Kaiser, a 1952 Kaiser and a 1953 Kaiser all three look like hell, and most of a 1920 Hupmobile touring on my back patio taking up space but lucky for myself I don't entertain I'm kind of introverted, plus I got my "late model" (that's a relative term in the automotive world they are antiques being 20 plus years old) daily drivers in the driveway.
I just want to thin the herd out to about 5 or 6 lol

 

Unfortunately listening to the locals that frequent his property to hang out with him it sounds like he has dementia which really sucks, I can't exactly say I'm friends with Gene or even an acquaintance but I've definitely talked to him a few times at different car swap meets here in Southern California he's a cool dude and I'm sorry his health is failing him and now his stuff is all being sold off.

 

There was an old Kaiser at a plumbing supply place when I was a kid, behind a fence and it looked dirty but complete and a 4-door. Many years passed... one day the fence was down and the car was gone. I would have driven it..

 

It looks like I better quit assembling treasures for later, if that is all that an icon’s stuff is bringing, mine is not going to be worth the bother.

 

Was this the only auction? After viewing the results I wonder if this was just an auction for the extraneous stuff that was stored outdoors, and they'll have another auction for the cars, equipment, tools, memorabilia, etc. inside.

 

Gene has gone many swap meets recently trying to sell stuff with limited interest

 

Yeah, generally all that hoarding ends up being a burden, not a goldmine.

 

I was under the impression that the desert location was for sale and that Gene was moving to a different place. If that's true, his good equipment and collection is likely just moved (or getting moved) and this was to clear out the property of stuff he didn't want to take with.

I also heard that the dementia/Alzheimer's thing was a rumor put out by some people who don't like Gene's new girlfriend or her handling of stuff.

I don't know if either of those two things are true for sure, I'll only believe it if I hear it from the man himself. Whatever he's up to, I wish him the best, and I wish I would have been close enough to get some bids in on this auction.

 

Not so much hoarding as storing and completing stuff to be useful, such as finding the fourth wheel or second headlight to make a set. I am happy to give away a part if it helps a guy along, even happier if I sell it.