Posted on 07/25/2015 10:24:14 AM PDT by smokingfrog
Nestled in a north Georgia forest, over 4,000 classic cars decorate 32 acres that have been turned into a junkyard museum. Owner Walter Dean Lewis’ parents started the business in 1931 as a general store that also sold auto parts. Lewis grew the collection, which had just 40 cars in the ’70s, over time.
“The only thing I ever knew was cars and trucks,” Lewis says. “I like to say I work for tomorrow, always thinking about the future. Someday they would be valuable.”
Lewis stopped selling parts about six years ago, soon after realizing he could sustain the business more as a museum, charging $15 for visitors just looking, and $25 for photographers. He estimates that 95 percent of the people who come through the six miles of trails are photographers.
Visitors are greeted by various artworks and hand-painted messages. On occasion, Eddie McDaniel, who goes by “Fast Eddie,” a childhood friend of Lewis, plays blues piano next to a shotgun and a bear mounted on a wall.
In the 30 or 40 years that many of the cars have never moved, trees now grow through them and, in some cases, even lift them off the ground. One of Lewis’ more popular vehicles is a 1946 Ford truck used in “Murder in Coweta County,” a 1983 film starring Johnny Cash and Andy Griffith.
“It’s history. I saved them when other people were crushing them,” Lewis says. “I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t get up every morning and look at old cars.”
(Excerpt) Read more at klfy.com ...
From the photographs Ive seen, there are some tremendously well cared for 50’s automobiles tooling around habana.
Later
I am surprised epa hasnt tried to take this and away from him for pollution reasons, oil and gas and other fluids dripping into the soil.
My thoughts as well.
They might have some value in their own right but as classic collectibles they’re too patched up and not original. Parts were hard to come by, so they made do with what they could get. Engines, transmissions, all manner of parts on those cars are going to be other than OEM.
I understand the best of the old American cars were expropriated by Castro’s government in the 80s and sold in Europe for hard currency.
Kind of like me too, but without the beard. Good thing I don’t have 32 acres to collect junk.
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All FReepers look alike.
Do you see the sign in the middle of the tree? A town in Texas named Ding Dong? Not that I have ever heard of! How about you?
Lol! No wonder I missed it, I think I blinked.
In my youth here in Douglas county, ga...there used to be a couple hundred acres of ww2 era jeeps. There were thousands...and many still ran. It was called “Juniors Jeeps”.
Sadly...it has long since been traded out for a subdivision of McMansions.
My best friend in this world and I had vip access. We gave them jeeps hell...and they gave it right back. Came real close to meeting my maker several times in that place....the worse and last of those incidents got us cut off from that place when I was 14. Found out those jeeps in fact did not share the ability to do dukes of hazard jumps as a dodge charger did. No sir.
I’m surprised I hadn’t heard of the place in the OP before.
Ditto bro....ditto.
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