HomeMediaCollection grows from fascination with 1932 Chryslers

Collection grows from fascination with 1932 Chryslers

Kansas banker’s family wasn’t aware of how many of these Plymouths, DeSotos and Dodges he’d acquired

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Yvette Vanderbrink and her VanDerBrink Auctions are known for their eclectic dockets of Midwestern farm-found car collections, but the Adair Collection is even unusual by her standards. Being offered November 14 at Atchinson, Kansas, is a collection of primarily 1932 Mopar vehicles.

At least 15 of the vehicles on the docket are Chrysler, Plymouth, DeSoto or Dodge models from the 1932 model year.

“1932 was an iconic year for the automotive manufacturers,” VanDerBrink Auctions says in its flyer for this sale. “Body Style changes, motor changes and more. The 1932 Mopar’s were no exception. They had a unique classic body design all of their own. 

“Mr. Adair saw these unique features and it fueled his passion to collect and buy any 1932 Plymouth, Desoto and Dodge that he could find. His particular taste was for the 1932 Plymouths, and the collection has many including rare models.”

The text goes on to inform that Paul Adair, who was born in 1945 and died in 2019, was a banker for 47 years, and after he retired, he focused on his collection or cars and parts, which he kept hidden away in storage units and in former salt mines in the Kansas City area. (In various communities across the US, former mines have been converted into storage facilities that offer constant temperature and humidity numbers.)

According to his obituary, Paul Adair had a degree in English, was chairman of the board of the Exchange National Bank, the oldest bank in Kansas, and was a Civil War and Pony Express history buff. 

Although not mentioned in his obituary, his family knew he was collecting vintage vehicles but didn’t know the extent of his collection until after his death. In fact, it was only recently that his widow viewed the entire collection, a trove of vintage Chrysler cars and parts, plus such others as a 1979 Glen Pray Auburn Boattail Speedster replica, a 1970 Samco Cord replica, a 1970 Mercedes-Benz 280 SE sedan and a 1984 Chevrolet enclosed car transporter.

The 1932-model-year vehicles on the docket include five Plymouth Sport roadsters, a Plymouth street rod, a 4-door convertible, a South African embassy car, a 3-window coupe, a sedan and a convertible coupe. Plus two DeSoto roadsters, a DeSoto convertible and a Dodge sedan.

Also on the docket are a 1929 DeSoto Model CK and a 1931 DeSoto roadster.

And all of it and numerous parts will be offered at no-reserve.

For more information, visit the VanDerBrink Auctions website.

Larry Edsall
Larry Edsall
A former daily newspaper sports editor, Larry Edsall spent a dozen years as an editor at AutoWeek magazine before making the transition to writing for the web and becoming the author of more than 15 automotive books. In addition to being founding editor at ClassicCars.com, Larry has written for The New York Times and The Detroit News and was an adjunct honors professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

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