Mammoth 400-strong private car collection for sale in Kansas

As private collections go, few are as large as this. For two big days 'on the ranch' in southwest Kansas, Sullivan Auctioneers will be selling more than 400 classic vehicles from a monumental private collection.

Currently spread over eight separate sites, such is the scale of the collection, it will be consolidated across two sites in Kansas across September 17 and 18.

This enormous collection is being auctioned off by the heirs of former car dealer Ramon G. 'Bud' Walters, Jr, who amassed dozens of pick-up trucks in various state of condition, old tractors and vintage signs. More importantly though it appears an incredibly rare 1936 Chrysler Airflow also ended up in Walters' stash of classic vehicles.

Along with his brothers, Walters owned and operated Walters Motor Co., selling brand new Chrysler, Plymouth and Dodge vehicles. Mr Walters was never married and spent most of his life collecting prime automotive slices of Americana. According to those who knew Bud, 'nothing was for sale'.

The collection grew so large that Walters had to purchase further properties just to store his purchases. The vehicles  have remained untouched since purchase and while mostly original, none of the auction lots are in running condition.

Batteries were removed from each vehicle as they were collected, and many sport damaged panels or broken windows. Engines haven't been run in some time, meaning that any purchase will require a strip-down rebuild. However, the vehicles up for grabs are rather rare, including the likes of a 1952 Desoto Firedom Eight and 1950 Plymouth Special Deluxe.

Walters collected memorabilia alongside the vehicles, with every piece from the collection also up for grabs. More than 1000 people are expected to attend the sale.

'This gentleman must have been a very interesting individual,' said Joe Sullivan, co-owner of Sullivan Auctioneers, the firm conducting the sale.

'It's always interesting to find these collections that have never been touched; nobody has picked through this stuff. It's always neat to find a collection that's intact because when we were going through the buildings, everything was left the way it was when he got it. Even his heirs aren't keeping anything,' he said.

200 cars and countless memorabilia will be auctioned per day, with internet bidding available here. For more information on the upcoming Kansas auction, check out Sullivan's official website.