Old Cars, It’s A Family Affair: The Born Family Collection Auction

There are many people that don’t understand the classic car hobby. Those people look at an old car and think about how uncomfortable and well, how old it looks. But the classic car hobby is more about memories associated with cars. When collectors look at a classic car, they see a memory, like the car they got married in, the car they had in high school, or the car that Dad had. For the Born family it is a generational love of old cars that has endured four generations.

Grandpa Born was on vacation in Gonvick, MN and didn’t plan on starting this generational love of old cars, but he did. He bought a service station that tunred into an auto and restoration shop. The old cars followed and started the collection. His son, Doug Born, was also involved in the collection and business. 1978/9, the Borns had their 1^st auction and headed to Colorado. Home of the dry, western metal and cars. They set up base in Greeley, Colorado. Rocky Mountain Relics and TA & V8 parts were formed. The Born family traveled all over the United states looking for old Fords, Plymouths, and mostly pre-war classics.

The Business really took off with the private purchase of the RAS collection in Iola, Kansas among others. The Borns and Vern from Classical Gas made many trips bringing back amazing 1932 Fords and more along with a HUGE amount of parts. This really kicked off the collection and business of selling pre-war parts. The Borns traveled to swap meets and auctions all over the US and were a fixture just over the bridge at the Hershey Swap Meet. I remember seeing that old Ford dually pickup and trailer pulling into my auctions and it was always good to see them. The Borns were also a wealth of knowledge about the Pre-War cars and parts and sold parts all over the world for collectors to finish their builds. The Borns have, and still, ship parts all over the world. They were known in the industry for their vast knowledge of the pre-war cars and trucks. The Borns were fixtures at many auctions, and in fact, Doug Born and his family were part of my first bidders at my auctions and eventually became friends as well a resource for helping with questions on old cars.

The internet kick started selling parts on eBay, and the business for parts has steadily increased after 2020 and continues today with the kids and Rocky Mountain Relics and other avenues. Today they don’t travel to as many swap meets and their presence is mainly online within the hobby.

But just like old cars, time and change is inevitable. Grandpa Born passed away in 2009, and sadly Doug passed away in 2024. The patriarchs of the family had passed and the family questioned what was next. It was a big decision, but the family has decided to sell part of the Born Family Collection.

VanDerBrink Auctions will sell the Born Family Collection at auction Live onsite with online bidding on Sept. 19^th, 2026 at the family property. The portion of the collection that will be sold at auction consists of approx. 300 Classics from the family collection. This enormous collection has vintage Fords, Plymouths, Chevrolets, cars, pickups, trucks, and more that have been stashed away for years and treasured by the family.

There is something for every collector. Bidders can bid on everything from an old school 1932 Ford hot rod to rare Ford and Chevrolet 3-window coupes, restored 1937 Fords, pickups, trucks, and more for restore, hot rods, projects and parts. This is truly an amazing collection, and you won’t want to miss this amazing and rare opportunity to bid on hard to find classics. For more information, pictures, and other auctions check out www.vanderbrinkauctions.com.

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