On Feb 24, 2024 a large group of RCT and VTCI members met at Matthew's Memory Lane to view his current collection of antique and vintage cars for sale. They include a Red 1957 Thunderbird (that I personally didn't see so I have nothing to say about it), and a 1956 Thunderbird that was painted a light blue very close to Starmist Blue used on 1957's. Outside it looked pretty good, but the interior needed some work. Under the hood was a bit of a surprise. When it had been painted blue they painted virtually everything: firewall, inner fender panels, wires, data plate, hood release bar, etc. Later I decoded the Data Plate and found that it was originally a very rare color: Goldenglow Yellow. You could attend Thunderbird shows for years and not see one of those. It was priced appropriate for the condition of the car.

There was also a fairly rare Rolls-Royce there that has a bit of an interesting history. Matthews had sold the car and it was being transported to the buyer. In route the driver had truck problems and had to unload the Rolls. Later while reloading the car it was backed up near the ramps, then a winch cable was attached to pull it in. However, the transmission had been left in Reverse and the ignition was accidentally left on, the engine started and the car ran backwards into the trailer. There it hit both sides of the trailer doing quite a bit of damage to the car. Unfortunately even though the damage looks superficial the insurance company is probably going to total it. Apparently the vehicle is so rare parts may not be available, or very (very) expensive.

Dale told use that in his 45 years in business he has sold a little over 11,000 cars, averaging about 22 per month. We also found out that none of the cars there are on consignment, he owns them all. He does an outright purchase and then sells them as he can.

After viewing the cars we headed next door to Beez Holgate Station Diner. From the photo at the top of this page you can see that the owner is somewhat of a Betty Boop fan. On a previous visit there I counted over 200 pieces of Betty Boop memorabilia items before I got confused and lost count. I didn't try to count it all a second time.

Photos below courtesy Jim Sweet and yours truly.