Hot Rods Leon Adams "The Tin Man" Vershire, VT

I did some searches and couldn't come up with any threads regarding the auction of the Leon Adams estate.

Out of respect I thought it would be appropriate to insert a portion of his obituary published in Jan 2017 that described who he was and the legacy he left behind.
(I edited out extended family names)

Leon V. Adams Obituary
VERSHIRE - Leon V. Adams, 70, of Vershire, Vermont.
He was born on Nov. 29, 1946, to Beverly (Cadwell) Adams and Victor Adams, in Lebanon, New Hampshire. In his early years, he was raised and schooled in Norwich, Vermont, on Turnpike Road. In his later years, his schooling was in Post Mills and Thetford, Vermont. He was an athlete participating in baseball, basketball and boxing. His love of baseball eventually lead him to a mens' softball league and a coaching position with a local Little League team.
In his mid-teens, Leon started working on cars and learned about body work at Bill Phelps' garage in North Thetford. He also started dirt track racing when he was 16 years old. He continued with racing for the next 40 years at various tracks in the Upper Valley, mostly at Bear Ridge in Bradford, Vermont, where he drove the number '0' and won many races and more Enduros than any other driver in the state of Vermont.
He was a jack of all trades and had many jobs over the course of his life from hanging drywall to restoring antique vehicles. He was normally found working in his garage and took great pride in his work. He could essentially build or fix anything, especially if it was made from tin and referred to himself as "The Tin Man."
He was an avid outdoorsman and had a passion for hunting and fishing. He knew everything there was to know about antique cars and traveled to numerous car shows with his car buddies. He loved spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren, who gave him great joy and pride.

I purchased his IR air compressor today. Prior to loading up, I went and spoke to his mother and family who were present on the front porch of the family home and expressed my condolences. I let her know it was going to a good home and would continue to be used in building hotrods in a small garage just like his.

His mother grabbed my hand and said thank you...


Rest In Peace, Leon aka Tin Man.


Here are some pictures I took of just some of the cars, parts, stuff, things he had collected over the years as a car guy.

I didn't stick around all afternoon, so I'm not all that sure what things were sold for.

As I walked onto the property ...the place was packed !










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Glad it was a good day for the auction. Used to stop and see Leon from time to time and see what he was working on. A lot of cars were built in his shop. Sad day when Leon was lost.

 

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There was so many more things I could have taken pictures of.
There were additional cars, motors, transmissions,wheels .... the list goes on and on.
This is just a portion of his possessions and the items the auction co took time to lay out.


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Thanks for the pics.I wound up with the 4' pan & box brake. I talked to you while we were loading. What are you building or working on ?

 

Awesome ! Ya that sob was a heavy one ...I couldn't see the brake on the shelf because I'm vertically challenged and couldn't see what I would've been bidding on because of all the taller people in front of me. Haha
I never got in the garage before the auction either, so that didn't help things.

I'm building a Flathead powered 29 Tudor. South shore Mass.


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Quite a treasure trove. RIP Leon, Godspeed to you.

 

Thank you for posting, Mike.
Putting in the background info was really interesting.
I don't know if you got a picture or not, but out back where all the motors and trannys were was a pile of race trophies he had won over the years; had to be a hundred of them in a big pile on the ground. Made me sad to think about it , but I'd bet he had a hell of a good time winning them.
RIP "Tin Man"

 

Ya know I did see them. I saw parents giving them to their kids. "Participation" trophies for going maybe.
Didn't think it was right but I didn't know if that was something agreed upon By the owners.

I wish I had taken pics of more things back there. I bet there was so much more than was on the surface.
It was overwhelming to say the least.
Glad I decided to go.
Great seeing you as always.


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Patiently waiting for things to pop up on C list today...just a matter of time [emoji53]


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Or e-bay

 

Gold flathead in the garage on craigslist nh.https://nh.craigslist.org/pts/d/rebuilt-flathead-ford-motor/6221244122.html

 

Good weeks pay if he pulls that off.

 

Sorry for your loss RustRunner. By the looks of his home and the things he enjoyed he was a blessed man.


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Mike, we were up there at 9 and in fact got into one of your pics! We were very interested in the brake and the stretcher but felt prices were going high all day. Left just before the rain at 12:30.

 

Was a great auction to look around at but most prices were high. I did buy the 1966 Ford Mustang making my 12 year a very happy boy he can not wait to work on it.

 

That's great. That's what it's all about !


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Congrats- that was a nice project at a good price. Even better that you and your son are going to bring it back to life!

 

The 56 ford #43 is on craigslist to with a good price jump

 

Hate seeing ads on CList like this.
no shame in flipping something to make a buck. Maybe this poster was the second highest bidder. People get sour.


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"The engine would not turn over by hand at all", makes this a $100 motor.

 

I'm just asking this because I was not in the garage until after they sold it.
Not to start an argument ... is it possible the motor was not able to be turned over by hand because it had sat for most likely almost 2 years according to the back story of the builder.
Also without a balancer or pulley on it just turning it by hand with the crank shaft, wouldn't that be really difficult ? Especially with plugs in the heads ?
Again, just asking and I guess kinda giving the purchaser the benefit of the doubt.



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Mike, I was standing right next to that flatty when it sold. Bill, the older fella that helped sort out lots of the parts, stood right in front of me and wanted it badly but waved it off at the 1000 bid. Bill said it was suppose to be going into one of the 32's I believe. I think it would be hard to turn over a fresh engine by hand with all the plugs in it and no crank pulley for sure.
Do you know what the 32's and 34 sold for?

 

32 coupe- $9500 , '34 got a little more, but I can't remember the actual price.

 

Mike I believe it went for $8500 to the young kid in the Pontiac mechanics shirt. Not sure what the 34 went for. You and I were standing on the opposite side of the auctioneer speaker so it was hard to hear. Anyone know what the model A dirt track car sold for ?



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