The JC Daniels Estate Lincoln and Mark II Auction February 2003 Pampa, Texas

There are many mentions of the JC Daniels auto auction throughout the Forum and in the individual cars involved in our Registry Histories. However, I am taking the opportunity to bring this together in one place.

I'll begin by quoting some JC Daniel's background history from the RM Auction advertisements for the auction:

"...As a 16 year old in 1937, his sister got him a job at the Pampa City swimming pool as a life guard...That fall he moved to Pampa and ceased his public education by taking a job at the body shop of Tom Rose Motors, the local Ford dealership. Soon he opened his own body and radiator repair business that he ran in the evenings after his day job at Rose Motors...One day in the late 1930?s, he knocked on Mr. Rose's door and boldly asked if he could buy his dealership...(instead) Mr. Rose helped young Daniels acquire the local Lincoln/Mercury dealership! When he returned to Pampa in 1946 after a south Pacific stint with the army he found himself in one of Texas? many oil-boom periods, a state which helped to establish his Lincoln/Mercury dealership as the largest in the Ford Motor Company's regional division...In 1961 J.C. Daniels sold his Lincoln/Mercury dealership and got into the oil business. Now a wealthy man, he returned to his first love of Lincolns in the 1970?s as he began to amass what is likely the world's large single collection of the marque."

What followed was a relentless pursuit of Daniels of Lincolns and Continental Mark II?s and apparently condition didn't matter. Daniels liked to tinker with the cars, changing colors and interiors and modifying them. The most surprising example was a Mark II that he converted to four headlights and painted lavender with a white and lavender interior.

Attachment 25228
Daniels died in 2000 and the hoard of cars remained in the family's possession until they were sold by RM Auctions in 2003. The following is an auction description by RM.
Attachment 25226 Attachment 25227

"The world's largest Lincoln car collection will go under the hammer on February 20-23, 2003 in Pampa, Texas. RM Classic Cars has been appointed by the Estate of eccentric oil man J.C. Daniels to auction, entirely without reserve, a mind-boggling hoard of Lincolns many of which appear to be in excellent and usable condition.

Included are 130 4-door Continentals, 47 rare Continentals MK II?s, 33 4-door convertibles, 42 Lincolns from the 1950?s, 8 mid-1940?s Continentals and 6 pre-war Lincoln Zephyrs...according to the Estate Administrator, he bought three final Lincolns from his hospital bed that were delivered the week after he died, much to the surprise of his widow!"

The following are photographs taken at the auction.

THE CONTINENTAL MARK II's
Attachment 25229 Attachment 25232 Attachment 25230 Attachment 25233 Attachment 25234 Attachment 25235 Attachment 25236 Attachment 25237 Attachment 25248

THE LINCOLNS
Attachment 25238 Attachment 25239 Attachment 25240 Attachment 25241 Attachment 25242 Attachment 25243 Attachment 25244 Attachment 25245 Attachment 25246 Attachment 25247 THE LINCOLN WHEEL COVERS - Attachment 25249