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Calgary Herald

Vulcan County man auctioning off part of large collection of vehicles

Gord Nelson says it will lighten his load to sell a portion of his vast collection of vehicles. Article content Article content The Vulcan County man is getting rid of about 60 vehicles, plus parts and farm equipment, in a six-day no reserve online auction that begins on Monday. Article content The 63-year-old, whose collection has grown for decades, said Thursday there were just too vehicles on his property, with every one of them taking a little work to maintain. Article content Nelson is selling some of the higher-end cars he never drives, as well as some project vehicles he knows he won't get to. Article content A 1966 Dodge Charger 426 Hemi — on which Nelson has spared no expense — is among the jewels of his collection that he's selling. With Nelson not wanting to drive the muscle car on gravel roads — he's put about 240 kilometres on it — he says he would need to load it onto a trailer before taking it for a spin. Article content A 1970 Cougar Eliminator, 1971 Ford Mustang and a 1962 Chevrolet Impala are also among the 'nicer' vehicles he's selling. Article content 'As I get older, I don't like tying them down,' said Nelson of the high-end vehicles, which he's put a lot of time and money into. Article content Article content Even after the auction, Nelson says he will still have more than 200 vehicles left, with no immediate plans to sell those. Article content 'We'll still have a dozen or so nice ones, so that's more than enough,' said Nelson, who's driven all the good ones — about 25 to 30 vehicles — in his collection. Article content Article content He said he and wife Kelly, a Vulcan County councillor, try to take a car to a couple of parades each year. Article content With the auction proceeds, Nelson, a farmer, said there's always equipment that could be bought for the farm, or the money could be put away for retirement. Article content Nelson spends his winter fixing up and maintaining his vehicles. He takes his coffee to his shop in the morning and starts 'puttering.' Article content 'Winter is when I make the progress,' he said. Article content Nelson is currently working on several projects, including modernizing the drivetrain of an old school bus from Lomond, a village in Vulcan County. Article content 'I'll leave the outside looking just like it did when they were hauling kids around,' he said. Article content Nelson's auction is unique due to it being an 'eclectic' collection of many different types of vehicles and items, said Todd Schwindt, president and CEO of Sylvan Lake-based EG Auctions, which specializes in selling classic car collections and is running the auction. Article content 'They're not all muscle cars. He's got classic trucks, he's got restoration vehicles, he's got hot rods, he's got trailers, he's got toys and motor bikes that he's selling,' said Schwidt.