If you like barn finds, you might like this even better. A truck museum in California has gone bust, and now 37 restored trucks from this museum are coming up for sale. It is a wide range of trucks from the earliest, a 1906 Packet Open Cab Express, to a 1953 Sterling White cab-over, which happens to be the only surviving one in existence. 

All these vintage trucks will be sold at no reserve

The auction house Mecum will run the truck auction in March. The auction will take place in Moline, Illinois. They’re all being sold at no reserve.

A retired trucker named A.W. “Pop” Hays started the museum in Woodland Hills, California, in 1982. Called Field of Dreams, it was housed at the Heidrick Ag History Center. The museum combined farming, general history, and trucks. Hays started collecting old trucks and restoring them as a hobby. He began his quest over 40 years ago. Part of the collection was donated to the National Auto Museum in Reno, Nevada, in 2013. 

Many truck enthusiasts have never seen many of these examples

March 22-24, 2022, is when the remainder of the collection will be auctioned. Many of these trucks were produced in small quantities in most cases. So they are extremely rare. Plus, those that were saw heavy service before becoming worn out and ultimately scrapped. 

Some have recognizable names like Peterbilt, Ford, Dodge, and Freightliner. But others are extremely obscure like the Breeding steam chassis, 1916 Garford Gasoline Tanker, and 1917 Kleiber 3.5-Ton Stake Truck. But even the recognizable names represent rare trucks from the early days of those companies, while the more obscure makes were rarely seen when new. 

Some car manufacturers made trucks for a time

Some car manufacturers also produced trucks for a time. By the 1920s companies like Packard and Pierce-Arrow consolidated into car-only production, killing off the truck brands. A number of these trucks are the only existing examples. Others were the only one of a particular type that was built when new.

The early trucks like the 1903 Knox Stake Truck or the 1908 Galloway Farm Wagon, are pretty crude, even by 1920s standards. You can see how quickly trucks developed. They go from wagon wheel carts with crude motors to trucks that at least resemble those seen today. Most might be useful today as parade vehicles, but they are too slow to be driven on our modern streets. 

If you’re interested in bidding you can check out Mecum’s website with all the info you need to register. Otherwise, just go to it to check out some of the wacky and wonderful trucks. Most of them you’ve never seen before, and won’t see again. And for both car and truck enthusiasts, that is a rare opportunity.