‘There’s Gold in Them There Hills!’ – The Gary Kuchner Collection

There’s gold in them there hills! The Black Hills of South Dakota are known for tales of the Wild West. The infamous “Dead Man’s Hand” and Wild Bill Hickock, Calamity Jane, Sioux Indians, and Pioneers searching for their fortunes in gold. But for Gary Kuchner, his treasure isn’t gold but iron that Gary has “dug up”, Yee Ha, approx. 80 Classic Cars.

Gary Started his search for old iron as a little kid in Nebraska. Gary’s Mother was fixing an old pedal car for him. She had just painted it and came back to find Gary had wiped off the seat and was riding it around the basement. From then on, he was car crazy. Gary got his first car, a 1942 Dodge that beat up on the local Chevrolets and Fords.

Gary built his 1^st hotrod from a Ford Model A Sportster. He cut down the top and threw on some 1946 Ford wheels and raced up and down the country roads.

VanDerBrink Auctions

After graduating from high school in 1955, Gary went to trade school and learned to be a body man. His first job was at the Ford garage as a painter. This fueled his passion to build hotrods and a means to do it. Gary had heard about the hotrod craze in California and packed up his young wife and headed to California. Gary worked as a body man and loved the car culture. But the farm was calling him back and he went back to Nebraska to the family farm. Gary took over the operation and farmed for about 20 years and still did body work on the side. Soon, he was looking for a change and sold the farm to his cousin.

Gary has worked as a body man at a Ford garage and a Rambler garage, but his favorite job was at a Chrysler dealership. From Road Runners to Challengers, Gary loved seeing the yearly style changes arriving on the trucks.

VanDerBrink Auctions

He got divorced, and well, another marriage, and he headed out to find his treasures in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Gary’s choice of home is fitting for his wild nature and interests. His home is tucked amongst the granite cliffs and tall Pines of South Dakota. Lucky for him, the Internet was coming into its own, and this allowed him to “mine the web” for his “iron” treasures. The web was full of classic cars looking for a new home.

He bought a trailer and started buying cars from all over the area and United States. Gary has had a lifetime of adventures buying cars and pulling his trailer around the United States, but now at 84-years-young, Gary has decided to sell his collection. It’s not that he is parking the trailer, but he has more cars than time and he can’t restore them all, so it’s time for them to go to other collectors and for them to enjoy. VanDerBrink Auctions will sell the cars in an Online Only Auction.

Gary is a wealth of information and a truly car crazy guy. His mind is so full of car trivia, and he favors Fords and Chryslers. The collection is full of Fords and many Chryslers including “Big Fin” cars. The collection consists of everything from older restored to projects and parts cars. There is a rare 1971 AMC AMX Javelin that has the 401 V8 and is 1 of less than 2000 built. The 1966 Ford Mustang GT Fastback would make a fine addition to any collection as well. The collection has everything from big finned MoPars to a 1955 Chevrolet Belair 2dr. ht. that belonged to family. There are approx. 80 vehicles that are being offered up in the auction. Because the cars are tucked up by Gary’s home in the Black Hills, the auction will be Online Only and can also be viewed for buyers by appointment.