387: Car Specialist Jake O'Gorman & RM Sotheby's Hershey Fall Sale
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All right, so welcome to the Eclectic Car Podcast. I have a 10th time returning guest. Actually, no, I think this is your third, maybe. I don't know. But Jake, welcome to the Eclectic Car Podcast. How are you doing, buddy? Very good today. Happy to be here. Yeah, so those who don't know Jake. Your name came up from the interview I had like two weeks ago with our three weeks ago with Gord Duff, our president, and he talked about what it takes to become a car specialist at Susubi's.
He said, you need to talk to Jake because he has a really cool story. So this is a podcast episode talking about the Hershey Fall sale coming up. We will cover some of those cars. But before we get to that, if you would tell us your career path to become a car specialist with RM Susubi's. Your car deserves the best. That's why my Pontiac GTO and Porsche Boxster S are wrapped in California car covers since 1989. They've been family-owned and focused on quality,
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Absolutely. A lot of it was good timing and luck, maybe being in the right place at the right time and a little bit of persistence. I first met the whole RM crew Hershey 2012. The reason I knew about RM and RM auctions at the time before Susubi's connection was I worked in a small shop at a high school.
In Ontario, Canada, we were storing RM 16 which, funny enough, we have one of those cars that was restored by that shop coming up for sale on Hershey.
We grew up in a small town. I knew about Cruisins 1950s to 1970s kind of cars. That's what I was into. I didn't know about anything about pre-war until I worked in the shop.
We were a town of maybe 200 people. We were storing these big early 1930s cars that I've never heard of and don't look like anything else at the local Cruisins for a show called Pebble Beach, which I thought was kind of funny. You'd have a car showing a golf course. That's how I loomed about these things.
One thing that Gord said, he's like, yeah, you can get some experience working in a restoration shop. But if I work on our Jags, you're kind of limiting yourself, right?
But you were in a restoration shop to tell with Marmens. How many Jags are out there, e-types, whatever. But man, think of how many Marmens are. So you took a slice of a pile.
You cut 100 cars and then you kind of have to wait until they have to be restored again before maybe you can get your hands on one again, right?
Like if they've only been restored for 20 years, maybe it doesn't need one. So you have a very specific shop. He did other pre-war things, V16 and V12 Cadillacs and that. But his main focus was big pre-war things.
So good exposure and that's what started my love affair with early cars. And I went to a school called McPherson College in McPherson, Kansas. That's the only four-year bachelor's degree program in automotive restoration.
And you do all your other business communication classes and that.
I was there about two months, if that. And we had to write a letter as to why we wanted to go to this show called Hershey, which I heard about while I was at school, but it was a giant swap meet. There was a car auction there.
You know, it's a mecca of early cars.
So myself and other student wrote a letter. We wrote these letters. I was one of the ones chosen to go AACA sponsored the trip, which was wonderful. I feel I'm to do. So we got to go, you know, accommodations and travels paid for me my second or third night there.
The funny enough one of the, you know, kind of lead gentleman at the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center, who was on our board of the school, Mike Kuntz, he pointed out Rob Myers and which he climbed at the bar and said, hey, you know, that one guy is owns or, you know, owns RM auctions, you should talk to him.
So I went up and met Rob and said, hey, I'm Canadian. I'm going to school in the US. Can I work for you for the summer when I go back home to Canada. And he said, why don't you work two or a night and see if you're, you know, if you're worth anything.
Right out. So put me in driving cars the next night and helping out with the auction and met everybody and ended up working both of the auction nights and got to go to the after staff dinner party. And yeah, that was back in, you know, it was 20 years old.
Couldn't even drink yet legally in the US.
Couldn't legally drink it. Yes. Right. Okay. Yeah. So you asked for a summer like internship and you started working that night.
Yep. Just put you to work. See, you know, it was it was a very quick interview process.
Okay. So where did go from doing that to becoming a full-time specialist? Was there a couple steps in between?
Yeah. So I started working, so it would have been the summer of 2013, came back from school, had interview over Christmas break, met everyone in the office in Canada.
I showed up, you know, end of the school year, start of summer, 13, and I was at the office for maybe a week or two.
I was helping research because I said, you know, I want to try everything. Like I want to try research. Can I, you know, how do you like photograph a car? How do you market a car?
Like, just I want to try everything. So I kind of, I eventually bounced around all kind of all the different departments, which was a good, Louis industry.
Yeah, really good.
So the whole, how the machine works in 2017.
And I was interviewing for a couple big collections down in California, down in Florida.
And a spot opened up.
And, and basically, you're going to say, all right, like we have a spot going on board full time. He's like, you can come work for us, but you have to come back to Auburn, like tomorrow, basically.
We had a big collection of race cars and parts and everything. It was called the level five collection.
It was like a bankruptcy thing that we, we were, we were selling an Auburn fall. So I ended up going back to Indiana. And that was bringing a 2017 and then ever since, yeah, just started on as a junior specialist and started figuring out a consign cars.
I knew everything else in the back end. Right.
I just needed to learn how to actually consign and sell them.
Yeah, no, no, that's a great story. Yeah, I appreciate you sharing that because it just shows hard work, determination, being flexible, hopping around to where you're needed.
I like what you said about what you say being valuable or, you know, like, well, we can't lose Jake. That guy does everything.
Yeah. Yeah. That's great. All right. Well, let's move on to Hershey. Now just as a review.
Let's see, October the seventh Tuesday. There's a preview for till 8 p.m. The cookout is six till 8 p.m. Which is always a ton of fun.
Wednesday, October the eighth. The preview is nine till 5 p.m. The auction kicks off at 5 p.m.
And then Thursday, 9 a.m. same schedule, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. preview. And then the auction again at 5 p.m.
So you are one of the managers for the Hershey auction. Tell us a little bit about it and maybe a couple of your favorite cars.
Hershey is my favorite sale. So I'm very grateful. I get to manage it and kind of see how it's put together.
A little more like laid back atmosphere of Hershey. Right.
So you get a mix of, you know, you have entry level, you know, 30 grand cars to half million and million other things at the sale.
So it's kind of this wide spectrum of cars and clients that you get to interact with and help.
And it's just fun. It's a fun sale, you know, typically you're not busing out paint meters.
And there's no, you know, over rev reports on these cars, typically.
So it's just, it's a little more laid back. There's a lot of enthusiasts that come out.
And yeah, it's, it's a lot of fun. Yeah, it is really great. And there are some great entry level cars.
You know, that's something we hear a lot about collector car world is the values have been on a tear for such a long time.
It's like, well, where's the entry level stuff? And there's some really nice entry level stuff here.
So what we'll definitely call some of those out. But what are some of the bigger haters that you are not, you know, one or two, just cars that you are excited about.
I mean, the headlining car. I'm partial to merman 16s. And there is a stunning merman 16 coupe that's coming.
And that car was restored by the shop that I worked at well before me. It was restored in 2002.
I was 10 at the time, you know, massive B 16, you know, all aluminum engine, very, you know, subdued two passenger coupe bodywork on it.
You know, I'm postural to these cars because it was the first old cars exposed to.
And it has a absolutely gorgeous restoration. When these, when this car was dying, the gentleman that did it, you know, he would recast, you know, door handles, all the fixtures, everything out of bronze and then sand them, shaped them, send them back, get plated, come back, work on them more like do it three, four times.
So, like, it'll last longer than me.
Yeah. For our audio only listeners, it's a beautiful two door coupe. And it's actually tri-colored. It's got like a, I don't know, medium light blue for the top, top part, you know, along the, I don't know how to describe it center part of the body is like a beige pretty much.
And then the bottom part with the flowing fenders is more of a dark blue, so very, very cool car. Yeah, so when I interviewed Jay Leno, like a year ago or so, he doesn't have a V 16 in his collection.
And so I did kind of this or that would you rather have a V 16 Cadillac or would you rather have a Marmin 16. And I think he said, you can't say V 16 because it was copyright or something where Marmin can use it. And he picked the Marmin because he just thought, you know, he said it's a little more unique.
And every day, so I thought that was an interesting pick for sure. What's another car that you find interesting that's available at the Hershey fall sale.
I mean, again, biased towards Marmin's, but there's an earlier Marmin, that's in the sale. That's coming out of again, long term ownership, kind of a, you know, nickel era.
They call it kind of jazz age car. It's a 26 Marmin, D 74, two passenger speedster and just, it just looks cool. It's a, it, it looks like if you had someone picture a car from the, you know, the jazz age, you know, late, like mid mid late 20s, this is what it would look like.
Kind of lower windshield sleek, two passenger roadster, and it's without reserve, and it's under 100 grand.
Let me apologize to my listeners for picking two Marmin's out of the gate for those who like horses.
Yes.
We know some marmin's for passion. Let me call one out for you. So how about this 1959 Mercedes Benz 220 s cabriolet pontoon 90 to $130,000.
This thing is stunning. It's like a, I don't know, almost like a metallic maroon. I mean, it's just really shines in the sunlight with beige interior, tan interior.
Now these are interesting because you really want to buy a restored one of these, right? Because I know like the trim pieces and stuff are like unobtainium, right? So what do you know about this car?
So this one, it's, say a couple, it's been in the collection. It's coming from for a couple of years. And basically he's trading, you know, these types of cars for actually more pre-work cars.
You know, which is, I know usually it's the, you know, sometimes the other way, but it came out, you want to say Oklahoma, and where it was restored by a couple of different shops down there, but, you know, beautifully done, very, very nice, you know, paint color on it.
I don't think it's original, the paint color to what it was born with.
Yeah, it's really cool. And it's a four-speed manual transmission. And I'm going to assume, yeah, it's column shift. So driving this with the top down column shift, that thing's pretty cool.
Let me call it another one here. Now, 1916 America LaFrance Speedster. Now again, on the higher side of affordable, $9,220,000, I picked this one just because it's just cool. Like if you think about it, my, I'm not a pre-work guy.
I think about like, what would be a really cool car to drive? I would want, like, some type of Speedster thing, you know? Have you ever driven a car like this?
I used to give a spreadsheet of all the cars I had driven when I was in college when I went to auctions. I'm like, I drove a, you know, 250 TR, or I drove a, you know, whatever.
But by driving, I would go first and reverse inside of a hotel lobby, which is different, right? Like, yes, I drove it. I haven't really driven one of these. I've driven similar Speedsters.
Like we had a recreation Stutz Bearcat a couple of years ago. And it is, yeah, these Speedsters, they just, they look cool. I see why a lot of people turned, you know, American the France fire trucks into these Speedsters because they have massive engines.
Big wheels, chain drive, it makes tons of noise, slings oil around. It's just a big car. And fairly quick, but mostly it's just, it's torque. So it just feels like you have a locomotive just pushing you, right?
They look cool. And they appeal, like you said, if you don't know much about pre-work cars or not really into them, this still looks attractive to you.
Just like, I've seen it with Auburn Boat Tail Speedsters. Like guys will have collectibles, collectibles will have modern European collectibles, ferries and porches and etc. And then they'll have an Auburn Boat Tail because it kind of transcends, you know, the generations, because they just, they nailed the design so well. And it just looks like something that you could produce today and still has that sort of appeal and, you know, elegance to it.
Yeah, that's a great way to put it. Yeah, cars that transcend, there's a, there's a handful of cars that really, really do. All right. Well, let's go to a very affordable car. I'm jumping to the 1966 Chrysler 300 convertible.
We don't have to talk in depth about any of these, but if you have any personal experience with one of these, I love this car because it's dark green over 10 convertible.
It won an AACA Senior Grand National first prize in 08. So you know the restoration was done incredibly well.
383 bulletproof engine automatic, just a gorgeous car. I mean, this is for boulevard cruising, right?
Absolutely. And it's straightforward enough that most local, you know, shops can work on it. Like, there's not much to go wrong with this era of cars.
It's, it's usually little things like, okay, you go through the brakes, you put tires on it, maybe it needs a tune up.
If you let it sit with all gas in it, you know, if you owned it and, but other than that, I mean, yeah, they're just, they're straightforward, good, comfortable cars.
Yeah, and it's, it's stunning and it's no reserve and it's 30 to $40,000. I'm like, talk and you can fit your family in it, which I really like, you know.
You could not touch it with a pink gun for like that estimate.
Right. Right. Yeah. Yeah. That price is a paint job nowadays.
Easily. And it's, it's, it's much better to buy them, you know, majority of cars buy them done.
And you'll save yourself much more money in the long run.
Yeah. Well, let's talk about a car that will definitely grab attention as you pull into the local cars and coffee.
The 1922 walking man pioneer circus wagon. Now you can sign this car. So I'm assuming, you know, a little bit more about it.
And what is going on with this thing? And did you drive it? Because I'm like, how do you see around the man in front of you?
Yeah. So I drove it several years ago in a parade locally here. Yeah, you can kind of see around them.
You can kind of go this way or this way. And it has a big lever beside the steering wheel to actually lower the man down.
So it looks like he's actually walking on the ground in the, in the first photo. He's a little bit kind of he's up right now.
Yeah, you actually put them worries, you know, just off the ground.
And it's run by an electric motor that's in the middle of the, of the wagon and has almost like looks like a model T talk tube kind of driveshaft that runs up into his back.
And then that's what turns, it makes the wheels go and then it's got another piece like a handle to make his head spin back and forth.
And he has a loudspeaker in him and you can yell at people. You know, there's an inner calm.
This sounds like the perfect car.
It's hilarious. And it does.
It does 40, 50 miles an hour. I would not do it. I think 40 was the max ish that it was pushed to one of our mechanics was driving it.
This is years ago after Chris was prayed.
But yeah, it's hilarious. And it has a modern, modern, like AMC Jeep four cylinder in it.
And with a four speed and hydraulic brakes all around. So you can stop. You can go.
If you're going 40 does is that now they're running man or does he maintain the same pace? He's a fixed pace.
Okay, like a son tree man.
I would not want this in a manual. I would want this in an automatic honestly.
So for those of you who are listening audio only picture a late 1800s like circus wagon.
That has four wheels on it. And there's a I don't know what 12 foot tall man on the front.
That is looks like he's pulling a cart basically is the way it was designed. Do you know why this was originally created?
Yeah, so this this gentleman had these pioneer shows. So beforehand there was a patent on this type of novelty attraction.
Someone took a patent out on this out of putting a giant man on front in the front of a car.
That's, you know, pretends to walk or like, you know, is driven by motors to walk.
And this one was built for a brewery in Milwaukee in the 20s.
And they never took delivery of it that went bankrupt something happened and they ended up.
This gentleman who ran these pioneer shows, kind of like circus event shows, but pioneer.
So, you know, western themed shows in New York ended up with it. And he used it for a long time.
There's photos of it at this show back in the, you know, back in the late 20s or 30s of the walking man and the wagon.
And I think a lot time it was on. It's maybe an overland chassis. And then it was transferred to a plum with chassis.
Okay. All right. Well, I do want to talk about. I think it might be like my favorite car in the sale, which is really funny because it's a four door car.
But I want to talk about this in pala.
Let's see what yours is. 1961 Chevrolet and pala four door. Now the reason I love this car is such a cool design to begin with.
No reserve. So it's going to sell estimates 20 to $30,000. So if you want to talk about an entry level car.
I know today the younger generation yourself included four doors are not as big of a stigma as they have been in the past.
And this thing is possibly totally unrestored with like 8,000 miles on it. It looks brand new.
It's got arbor green. So it's like a light metallic green with a white stripe and a green interior.
Just like I can't find anything not to like about this car. You can make the argument the four door aspect of it. Sure.
But you can fit your fans your friends in there. You know, your family. So what are your thoughts on this thing?
That's that's just it. I mean, this is the type of car that.
Again, if you're entry level and you want to get your first old thing, I mean.
This is fantastic value for what it is and how nice it is. And the point you made about, you know, feeding the kids in it.
Most people, you know, some most people my age, they have, you know, a family, they have two expectations.
You know, they're not, they're not going to buy a, you know, two passenger race car and then go on a tour for 10 days, right?
Like, they're not just, that's not what's in the cards of them right now in their life.
So getting something in this price range that is usable and you can take, you know, the family with you somewhere or friends.
Like, that is a much better value proposition than a two passenger thing that only you and one person can run.
Because I find that it's very fun to have. I do enjoy sports cars, but you have to have other friends with two passenger, you know, smaller cars or two passenger sports cars to then go do something.
If it's just you, it's much better to have something you can take your friends around and let them drive it.
Yeah, yeah, and what's interesting and if you've been paying attention and looking at our Monterey sale and even our online sale before that, this location in which these have been photographed has been pretty consistent.
So I do not know, I haven't asked, I'm going to assume it's from the same collection potentially, but the other cars were absolutely unbelievable.
Great quality, great maintenance, a couple of them broke records, if I remember correctly, like the KR and Monterey was crazy record and stuff.
So quality all around really, really cool car, really curious to see what this one sells for.
All right, I'm not going to go through more cars because I think we probably talked about, but I do want to give a call out.
We have a Cunningham Cathedral funeral car, which is really weird.
Another car really kind of fell in love with this is 72 Chrysler Town and Country 9 passenger station wagon owned cherished by its first owner for almost 50 years.
Now the 30 to 45,000 dollars.
I'm sorry, let's talk about this one for a second because again, four door, but it's a wagon. It's pretty cool. What do you know about this car?
So yeah, it's again, super original car.
And it has the wonderful rear facing seats in the back.
I was looking actually at it earlier, I was actually showing it to a gentleman.
We've been a couple of weekends ago, I was at the old car festival in Dearborn, Michigan.
And we were talking about Hershey and I was showing them, hey, you know, here's a thing you're not going to.
Again, you will up to any cars and coffee, you're not going to see another one.
That's this nice, especially.
Yeah, it's, it's a very beautiful thing that usually these were used, right?
They were driven, family in it, kids in the back, like they were used as a car, but this one being, you know, just over 10,000 miles.
ACA historic preservation award. I mean, it's super cool.
And this is something that I could see doing very well against its estimate just for how, how nice it is.
Yeah, it's covered up with options when you look at the data tag.
And I love the fact that, you know, to help you with getting the luggage on the roof of the car, there's actual handles on the back and plate.
You know, foot pads, you know, I was a step on the bumper and grabbed the handle and loaded up.
So yeah, just an incredible car. So again, this sale is coming up soon.
You know, I'm a Mustang guy and I can't help but mention there's a very nice vintage burgundy Mustang convertible that's also there.
I'm like, that's a convertible. It's got, you know, AC. It's got the fog light from the GT package.
It's super nice. It looks like a super clean car interior. I think this was a four-speed car.
If I remember, yeah, four-speed car console. It's got the wood. It's got the rally pack.
I'm like, this is another great little car that is 40 to 50,000 dollars, but again, offered without reserve.
So anything else you want to mention? I mean, thanks for putting together such a great job.
Great auction here with Roger. Any other things you wanted to mention before we sign off.
For Hershey, come out. It's a wonderful show. Again, you'll, we have a barbecue on the Tuesday night, the week of Hershey.
So that's free. So come out to that. And yeah, it's a wonderful show.
We have some great product to offer and nearly 80% of the sales without reserve.
So, you know, guaranteed that much.
Yeah, yeah, that stuff always sells great. Awesome, man. Well, thanks for being on the collector podcast yet again.
Thank you for having me.
About this episode
Jake O'Gorman returns to discuss his journey to becoming a car specialist at RM Sotheby's and the upcoming Hershey Fall Sale. He shares insights on the auction process, highlights unique cars like a stunning Marmon 16 coupe and a 1966 Chrysler 300 convertible, and emphasizes the event's laid-back atmosphere. The episode features engaging anecdotes about classic cars, restoration stories, and the importance of entry-level options for new collectors. Listeners will appreciate the blend of personal experiences and expert advice on navigating the collector car market.
Original notes
In this episode of The Collector Car Podcast, I sit down with Jake O'Gorman, Car Specialist at RM Sotheby's, to talk about his journey into the collector car world and what it takes to succeed in this highly competitive industry. Jake shares how his passion for automobiles evolved into a career with the world's leading collector car auction house, offering insights into the day-to-day life of a specialist and the skills required to connect the right cars with the right collectors.
We also dive into the upcoming RM Sotheby's Hershey Fall Auction, a cornerstone event for pre- and post-war classics. From Brass Era treasures to Full Classics, Jake highlights some of the standout consignments and explains why Hershey remains a must-attend auction for serious collectors and enthusiasts alike.
Whether you're curious about starting a career in the collector car market, or you want a preview of one of the most important auctions of the year, this conversation delivers stories, expertise, and insider knowledge straight from one of the industry's rising stars.
#TheCollectorCarPodcast #RMSothebys #HersheyAuction #JakeOGorman #CarSpecialist #CollectorCars #ClassicCars #CarAuctions #PreWarCars #BrassEra #FullClassics #CarEnthusiast #CarCulture #AuctionLife
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Join RM Sotheby's Car Specialist Greg Stanley as he brings over 25 years of experience and keen market analysis to the world of collector cars. Each week, Greg dives into market trends, interviews industry experts, and shares insights—with a little fun along the way. New episodes drop every Thursday and are available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Learn more at www.TheCollectorCarPodcast.com or email Greg at [email protected].
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