More than 40 vehicles from the collection of the late Ronald J. Hamm Collection will be offered for bidding when Mecum Auctions stages its third annual Louisville auction September 7-8 at the Kentucky Expo Center.
Hamm became a car enthusiast at a very early age, his son Aaron told Mecum, offering to wash neighborsâ cars for free, âanything just to be able to interact with the cars he liked.â
Heâd also talk his father into taking him to junkyards, âjust to be able to take a piece of his favorite cars home with him.â
After he earned a college scholarship, Ronald Hamm took the money his parents had saved for his education and bought a 1969 Pontiac Firebird.
âFrom then on,â Mecum noted, âPontiac creations would continue to be a favorite of Hammâs, today evidenced by the many that claim residence within his collection.â
Mecum also reports that Hamm, who became a doctor, kept running out of places to house his cars.
âOnce he bought what he liked, he didnât sell it,â Aaron Hamm explained. âHe was constantly building new areas to store them.â
Hammâs collection grew to more than 100 vehicles.
But with the doctorâs unexpected death earlier this year, Aaron Hamm decided to find new homes for most of his fatherâs cars, although he is keeping one special vehicle for its sentimental value, though he didnât specify which one.
Among the cars from the collection on the Louisville auction docket are a 1931 Ford Model A roadster, a 1989 Rolls-Royce Silver Spur, a 1965 Chevrolet C20 wrecker truck, a 1959 Buick Invicta hardtop, a 1997 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra convertible, a 1953 Dodge Coronet, a 1989 Bentley Mulsanne S, a 1955 Ford Thunderbird, a 1967 Pontiac GTO convertible, a 1965 GTO, a 1969 Firebird convertible, a 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado, 1960 Mercury Monterey Cruiser and 1955, â56 and â57 Pontiac Star Chiefs.
Elsewhere on the auction docket are a 1970 Pontiac GTO Ram Aiv IV, a 1967 Pontiac GTO convertible, a 1969 Plymouth Hemi GTX and a 1957 E-code Thunderbird.
I am thrilled to have Mecum come to Louisville! I am an auctioneer clerk at a large auto auction across the river from Louisville and I canât wait to see the action live! Looking forward to being there this Saturday!