Axel Holm's Cars

[Milsteads Garage]

Hi there. As some of you know I was a long time friend/mechanic of Axel Holm. He passed away last year and I havent been able to contact his son or any of his family members since I quit social media. Long story short, I was camping in Patagonia AZ and it put me 15 miles away from Nogales AZ which was where he lived. Of course, this got the best of me and I decided to drop by and knock on the door just to see if maybe his son still lived there or maybe one of his family members. I was towing my 27 foot airstream and if anyone who has been to his house in the past knows how hilly the road is to get there. Well, somebody is living in the house, not sure who because I was greeted by 3 nervously barking dogs. I did see that his Ford Expedition was in the garage but it had four flat tires. Around the corner where his cars usually sit, especially his unfinished 57 Mark II was gone. What was there were 5 61-67 Lincolns that he was restoring for a customer in New York, a 52-54 Lincoln coupe and a 56 Premiere sedan. As far as who might know something would be his son, Richard Holm or his nephew Stuart Milton. I also know he had a lot on the west side of Western Ave and I 19 with all the rest of the cars he owned but again, towing a big Airstream, you dont want to end up stuck somewhere so I didnt investigate either too thoroughly even though I wanted to.

[Pat Marshall]

Axel's cars were 1802, 1577, 2364, 2704, 3549. The second picture was of his backyard Mark II boneyard (which I believe Morgan took). In the foreground is 3549 which had been Axel's pride and joy.

The first picture is Axel and 3549 in 1965 at the LCOC Eastern National Meet at Lake of the Ozarks, when he received the First Place Senior Division and Fiege Memorial Trophys. Axel had driven his car from Nogales to the Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri. He then drove his car to the LCOC Western National Meet in Santa Maria California where he won the Ford Trophy and the Long Distance Trophy (4,000 miles). Axel campaigned 3549 in 1965 and 1966, culminating in his winning the First Place Senior Division Trophy and another Long Distance Trophy at the 1966 LCOC Western National Meet in Salinas, California.

Axel had purchased 3685 in 1961 and remanufactured it at his Desert Classics Company in Nogales. By all accounts it was an absolutely elegant and stunning car.

I'm hoping that these five cars will show up, but I'm concerned that they may have been sold for scrap by the family.

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[Pat Marshall]

Actually, the two cars were together at the 1969 Eastern National Meet at Kentucky Lake. In 2012 Axel told me he went there to buy what he called the "Florida Car", but upon inspection decided not to. However, he was so impressed with the Goeppinger Car (#3190) that he decided he would make one like it (which as you report, never happened).

The attached photo is from an LCOC publication showing the two cars together at the 1969 Kentucky Lake Eastern National Meet.

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[Milsteads Garage]

22738Well, the saga of the missing cars and other memorabilia gets worse. Apparently Richie, his son, was arrested with $40,000 worth of heroin duct taped to his back and stomach while he was trying to cross the US/Mexico border in 2015. Also, playing around today with google maps I think I found the yard where the rest of the cars were sitting. A wild goose chase might be in the cards for me sometime in the near future…….. https://tucson.com/news/blogs/police-beat/2-arrested-in-drug-smuggling-attempt-at-border/article_d50c16c6-c216-11e4-a2f9-83728bbe7aff.html

[Milsteads Garage]

Well Bob Hansen and I found the cars sitting 20 miles away from my home in Phoenix Az. They are sitting at Christian Paul customs. He is known for making fiberglass deck lids for 61-65 Lincoln Continentals. He was selling the collection for $3000 but you have to take all 5 cars. I don?t have the room and all I want from all of them is 3549. 33014330153301633017