SCRANTON, ND.- Classic car collectors, rod project enthusiasts, barn find buffs, vintage tractor fans and folks looking for rare old car parts (mostly Ford) and wonderful vintage gas station and oil signs, gas pumps and gas globes need to mark their calendars for Saturday, September 18th, for the sale of the lifetime collection of Neil Krinke, at his farm in Scranton.

“The auction will be held live at the Krinke’s family ranch,” said Yvette VanDerBrink of VanDerBrink Auctions, which is conducting the sale. “There won’t be any cell phone reception, but there is high-speed Internet to the residence and online bidding is available. But it’s best to come in person and spend a beautiful weekend on the high plains of gorgeous western North Dakota. There’s more than enough to finish off that man cave or score a hot rod or collector car.”

Internet bidding is available via the VanDerBrink website.

The Krinke collection is a wonderland of amazing cars, tractors, signs and more, mostly from the 1930s to the 1960s. The property, which has been in the family for over 100 years, contains a field of dry Western metal (no rust) barn find Fords, many dating from 1932 to the 1940s, ideal for those rod projects. The rare 1932 and 1933 Ford 3-window coupes are a hot rodder’s dream.

The collection features Dearborn and AACA award winning cars that would complete any collection. While the town of Scranton was growing and updating, Neil would get the old signs that were set aside. Some he even rescued from dumpsters. He lovingly gathered all he could, mostly from a radius no more than 50 miles from the ranch, and he sold practically nothing.

Neil Krinke has been fascinated with all things automotive since childhood, when, at eight years of age and barely able to see over the dashboard, he was entrusted by his father to gather loads from the field by driving a 1928 Chevrolet grain truck; then, up to high school graduation, when he bought his first car (a 1949 Pontiac); and on into adulthood, when he got the collecting bug.

One of the first cars Neil obtained was a 1929 Ford Model A that he bought so a man in town could bury his brother. He met his future bride in a similar Model A. Later, the couple joined the early Ford V8 club and saw how much the members loved their cars and their histories. When he bought a 1941 Ford and spent six years restoring it back to factory condition, he was hooked.




Having been born in 1932, Neil was drawn to vehicles from that era, and was especially drawn to Fords. Of the 70 tantalizing rod projects in the auction, most are Fords. They include 1932 Ford Victoria two-door sedan bodies, a 1932 Ford four-door sedan, and a 1933 Ford four-door sedan.

Additional rod projects will include 1934 Ford coupe bodies, a 1934 Ford sedan for rod or restore, a 1934 Ford roadster project, 1940 Ford sedans, 1941 Ford sedans, 1946 and 1947 Ford coupes, a 1954 Ford Sunliner convertible and a 1930/1931 Ford Model A 5-window coupe body.

Ford collector cars will feature an older restore 1929 Ford Model A four-door sedan, a restored 1934 Ford Victoria two-door sedan (a Dearborn Award winner, flathead V8), a restored 1935 Ford Deluxe four-door sedan, flathead V8, and a restored 1936 Ford Cabriolet, flathead V8.

Also up for bid will be an amazing, fully restored 1940 Ford coupe with a flathead V8, a fully restored Dearborn winner 1941 Ford convertible with a flathead V8, a beautifully restored red and white 1957 Ford with a retractable hardtop, plus Ford and Dodge trucks for rod or restore.

Mercuries will include an older restore, fully loaded yellow and white 1950 Mercury convertible with a flathead V8, the 1964 Mercury Marauder two-door hardtop car that Neil and his wife Rosalie bought new with 30,893 original miles, and 1948 and 1942 Mercury coupe project cars.

Chevrolets and Pontiacs will feature a national award-winning 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible with automatic transmission and a 283 V8 engine, a nicely restored 1954 Chevrolet 3100 series five-window cab pickup truck, an original for restore 1938 Chevrolet coupe, a nice original 1950 Pontiac Chieftain convertible with an 8-cylinder engine, and other fine examples.

As for collector parts, there is a huge assortment of grills, carburetors, restored flathead motors, NOS (new old stock) parts, body panels, fenders, hoods and more. Most of the parts are Ford.

Antique tractors will include a 1940 Ford 9N/Ferguson, a restored 1954/55 Ferguson 35, a fully restored 1943 Ford 9N, a 1952 Ford 8N with Funk conversion, a rare 1940 Ford 9N with Al2 diecast radiator, a restored 1948/49 Ford 8N, two Fordson tractors, a Farmall Cub, a 1957 John Deere 420, a restored 1960 John Deere 330, a 1953 John Deere 40 and a 1959 John Deere 430.