The Mecum Larry’s Legacy sale this month spotlights one of the most eclectic collections in the US. Taking place on September 19-21, 2025, the no-reserve selection is made up of the Klairmont Kollections Automotive Museum.
Larry Klairmont and his fiancée Joyce Oberlander built up more than 600 exhibits for the museum, which was located on North Knox Avenue in Chicago. It began as a home for local groups and charities, yet in time the venture grew into a museum run on a not-for-profit basis.
Klairmont’s life had traced an unusual path. He enlisted in the Marines at 16, and saw action in the World War Two battles of Saipan and Iwo Jima. After the conflict he established a laundrette business, piecing it together with salvaged parts, before moving into property and steadily acquiring properties across Chicago. He passed away in 2021, and now the remainder of the collection – around 300 cars and thousands of pieces of automobilia – are being put up for auction by Mecum.
The Klairmont Kollections Automotive Museum lots are wide ranging, incorporating custom cars, low-volume brass-era classics, microcars, a plethora of Rolls-Royces, rescued concept cars and much more. There’s pretty much everything you can think of – including an extensively restored Tatra T87 – plus a host of automobilia. We’ve picked out ten of our favourites; what’s got you tempted?
One of the highlights of the Mecum Larry’s Legacy sale is the Golden Sahara II. The car was built by Delphos Machine and Tool of Dayton, Ohio at an estimated cost of $75k, a considerable sum for the 1950s. It was derived from a 1953 Lincoln Capri hard-top that had been owned by George Barris. Barris first customised the car as the initial version of the Golden Sahara. The Golden Sahara II was later equipped with futuristic concept technologies, including an automatic braking system that used antennas in the front bumperettes as sensors and autonomous remote-controlled acceleration.
The car appeared on screen in the 1960 fantasy romance film Cinderfella, which starred Jerry Lewis, Ed Wynn and Judith Anderson. It was also featured in 1962 on the television game show I’ve Got a Secret presented by Gary Moore.The Golden Sahara II remained in the care of Jim Street until 2018, when it was acquired by Larry Klairmont. Klairmont commissioned Speakeasy Customs and Classics of Chicago to restore the car to its earlier show car appearance.
Goodyear contributed to the restoration by recreating a set of solid urethane tyres fitted with programmable LEDs to replicate the effect of the original illuminated Neothane show tyres. These tyres were produced using a mould of the correct size and tread pattern supplied by vintage specialist Kelsey Tyre. Following completion of the restoration, the Golden Sahara II was shown at the 2019 Geneva International Motor Show and later exhibited at both the Martin Auto Museum and the Petersen Automotive Museum.
This 1926 Hispano-Suiza H6B Torpedo in the Mecum Larry’s Legacy sale is believed to be one of only two built with fabric bodywork. The car is said to have been first delivered to H Rothbarth, a banker and director of Weymann’s Motor Bodies of Addlestone in Surrey. The firm held the British licence for Charles Weymann’s fabric body-construction method. The car was restored in 2011 by the late Eric Rosenau, a respected restorer and fellow H6B owner, although the front wings had already been refinished under a previous ownership in Hawaii. The engine received a newly cast block, produced by the French Hispano-Suiza specialist Eric Limpaler, as the original had been damaged by internal electrolysis.
Known as the Mod Rod, this 1968 Oldsmobile 442 Convertible was built as a one-of-one concept car for the 1968 Chicago Auto Show. The car featured a multi-colour vertical fade, running from orange to yellow and finishing in white at the rear. Its custom interior was trimmed in yellow and brown, and was created by GM-Oldsmobile for the motor show circuit. The 442 retained its original power-operated convertible roof, complete with a rare glass rear window. After its appearance on the show stand, the car was purchased by RL ‘Rooster’ Bush of the Oldsmobile-Pontiac dealership in Lenoir, North Carolina. It is believed that most of the current mileage was accumulated by his daughter while commuting to college.
This 1926 Rickenbacker Eight Super Sport is number seven of 17 Super Sports produced, and it is believed to be the sole surviving example. It was exhibited at the 1926 New York Auto Show, and the first owner, Richard Mellin of Mellin & Moran in Wyandotte, Michigan, is said to have secured the car after laying down $10,000. The Rickenbacker was later presented to Mellin’s grandson, John ‘Bud’ Mellin, as a graduation gift.
It subsequently became part of Harrah’s Automobile Collection, where it remained from 1973 until 1983. The car was later restored to its original condition by the workshop of Eric and Vivian LaVine in Nappanee, Indiana. Prior to joining Larry’s collection, it was part of the Bob Pond Collection and was formerly displayed at the Palm Springs Air Museum.
This car, the 1962 Vortex X-2000 Speedster, was custom-built by famed car builder Jerry Woodward over six years at the back of glassmaking company. The Vortex was displayed at the 1962 Grand National Roadster Show, where it was also featured on the event’s promotional materials. It later appeared in the June 1962 issue of Car Craft and the November 1962 issue of Customs Illustrated. The construction included a tubular-steel front frame and a hand-formed body. Power was supplied by a rear-mounted 1952 Lincoln V8 that had been bored to 345ci. This was paired with a ten-inch Auburn clutch and a 1950 Lincoln three-speed gearbox.
This 2002 Lincoln Continental Concept was designed for the 2002 Los Angeles auto show, largely as a styling exercise for the 2006 Zephyr/MKZ and MKX SUV. Underneath it had an Aston Martin V12 and rear-wheel drive.
Among the large collection of very small cars in the Mecum Larry’s Legacy sale is this 1951 Crosley Hotshot Super Sports Roadster, America’s first post-war sports car. The collection contains several Hollywood Candy Company promotional cars, and this was used to promote the brand’s Zero candy bars. The car was driven in period by Max Bronstein, who was known by the nickname ‘Zero, the Little Hollywood Candyman’. It also appeared on the ABC television network programme Hollywood Junior Circus.
One of Larry’s major passions was Rolls-Royces, with 14 up for grabs at the Mecum Larry’s Legacy sale. These include a one-of-14 Phantom I Brewster Trouville Town Car, a 1949 Phantom V, a Mulliner-bodied Silver Wraith Limousine, a Barker-bodied 1921 Silver Ghost Landaulette, a Hooper-bodied 1927 Phantom I Brougham, a RHD 1935 20/25 Saloon and a 1983 Silver Spur with what’s believed to be one million crystals in the exterior. However, one of our favourite lots is the above 1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom II with Honduras Mahogany Boattail Skiff bodywork by WB Carter Coach and Boat Builders of Cambridgeshire, England. Around 3000 hours were spent honing the body, and it was brought to the US by James C Leake. It has passed through the collections of Millard Newman, Raymond Lutgert and Dean Becker.
Other British items of interest include a 1960 Armstrong Siddeley Star Sapphire Limousine used as a parade car to carry Princess Margaret of the British Royal Family to the opening of Princess Margaret Hospital in Swindon, England in 1966. There’s also a 1949 Bentley B Special Speed 8 built by Racing Green Engineering Limited.
This 1982 Dodge Turbo Charger concept car served as a pace car for the PPG Indy Car World Series in 1981 and 1982. It was also displayed at the Chicago and Detroit Auto Shows in 1982. Originally finished in silver and red, it was later repainted in silver and blue. The car was fitted with an extensive range of aerodynamic modifications over the donor car, and its suspension was re-engineered with a wider track at both the front and rear together with special anti-roll bars, uprated springs and dampers, and improved braking. Power was provided by a turbocharged 2.2-litre inline-four engine.
This 1960 Ford Fairlane-based Spaceliner Custom Concept was designed by Gene Winfield and Darryl Starbird in 1963. The doors were welded shut, and instead you enter the blue fur-lined cabin via the hinged roof pods. The rear lights were donated from a Cadillac, and the reversing light has a rocket nozzle-like design. It was hidden for around 50 years before being restored, and it was put on display at Art Basel Miami in 2017, where it was awarded Judges’ Favourite by the late Paolo Pininfarina.
There’s a plethora of spectacular custom concepts at the Mecum Larry’s Legacy sale, including a 1956 Continental Mark II Custom Bubble Top by Lee Wells in the 1960s, and the Richard Fletcher-built six-wheel 1950 Studebaker Ice Princess XF58.
Further details
The Mecum Larry’s Legacy sale takes place at the Klairmont Kollections Automotive Museum on September 19-21, 2025. More details can be found here.
