NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Texas — As the host of a nationally syndicated radio show, John Clay Wolfe loves to talks about cars. But not long ago, he stumbled upon something that left him speechless.
“Yeah, I was pretty shocked,” Wolfe said. “I never anticipated she had this type of metal hidden behind a wall.”
Before he started in radio, Wolfe founded a company in North Richland Hills called GiveMeTheVin.com.
Over the past 30 years, he’s bought and sold more than a half million cars, but the one car that led to his amazement was a 1996 Porsche with only 600 miles on it.
He bought the Porsche and a virtually new 1997 Corvette last year from a woman in Alabama.
“And after we did that, I was like, ‘There’s got to be more,'” he said. “And she said, ‘There’s several more.’”
“Sixty-three Deville, ’55 210 Chevy, ’66 C10 Chevy truck three on the tree short bed, a new Camaro, ’86 Grand National... ” Wolfe said.
He continued listing off cars for several minutes.
“I don’t know how many that is, but, 24,” he said.
All 24 were owned by a mechanic named Earl Trammell. Trammel died last year after a lifetime of buying cars and each one he acquired, he put in a barn and never touched again.
Many of the cars have never been driven and some are still wrapped in plastic.
It’s one of the most pristine, mint condition car collections Wolfe has ever seen. What are the odds?
“One in a million’s a loose term, but one in a million,” he said. “I’ve been doing this 30 years and I doubt I’ll ever see anything like it again.”
For that reason, when Trammel’s widow was ready to sell his collection, Wolfe agreed to purchase all 24.
He hopes, eventually, they’ll end up in a museum, but for now, he’s keeping them.
He says after decades of buying and selling cars, he was starting to lose some of his passion for it.
That’s why this collection wasn’t just a holy grail. It was a blessing.
“These cars definitely got me feeling excited,” he said. “Excited, young, scared, nervous fun all over again.”
Clearly, he’s found what drives him.
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