Do you drool over old cars? Get a napkin — and your auction number

The tires have been pumped, the engines checked, they’ve got new gas. They’ve been washed and polished inside and out. Now 59 classic cars, from a 1919 Model T to a 1976 Porsche — and cars from the decades in between — are ready to be auctioned.

The collection represents 20 years of labor and love by Cal Phillips of Paul, Idaho, who bought and fixed cars in his retirement. He loved cars of all kinds, so what makes this collection unusual is the variety of cars, from Mustangs and vintage pickups to muscle cars and Mercedes, Porsches and a Bentley.

“There’s detailers who have been around forever,” says Steve Thompson, owner of Detail Doctor. “They’ll never touch half the cars we’re touching in this collection.”

Phillips died in 2013, and the family is selling his collection. Bidding starts online at Dealers Auto Auction of Idaho before the final live auction on Aug. 26 in Nampa. The auction is attracting national attention.

This story was originally published August 9, 2017 at 5:50 AM with the headline "Do you drool over old cars? Get a napkin — and your auction number."