Paul Stern Collection

[Bill Boudway]

Hi,

We have a 1926 Chrysler Model G-70 sport phaeton, and are trying to establish some history on the car.

Does anyone have information about the Paul Stern collection of Chrysler autos. He was located in Manheim, PA in the 1960s.

Listing of cars in the auction catalog, date of the auction, etc.?

Any info will be helpful and welcome.

[Restorer32]

Paul Stern was an interesting fellow. While working full time as a school teacher he started Manheim Auto Auction which went on to become one of the largest used car auctions in the Country. When he was well into his late 70's, maybe early 80's he came to look at at '49 Chrysler Highlander Conv that we had purchased out of a local back yard. This was in the late 1980's. He had a small antique car showroon on Route 72 in Manheim. Not sure when the cars were auctioned but I'm sure someone will come forward with that info.

[hokrod]

in the paul stern collection was a 1932 ch chrysler imperial sedan could anyone tell me about this car

[Guest Richard Sills]

I believe Paul Stern died in the early '80s, and Leo Gephart handled the disposition of his collection. Leo is still active in the collector car business in Scottsdale, Arizona.

[Guest ChrisSummers]

The Blackhawk Collection (as in, the original Ken Behring one) wound up with a lot of his cars.

[Guest 1929model75]

I sure would love to know what happened to his 29 Chrysler roadster. Paul was a Chrysler dealer back in the day. I always thought that was the roadster he took on his honeymoon. Not another restored to look like it.

[StillOutThere]

The '29 Chrysler roadster may be one of the cars that ended up in the collection of Jay Stream, Wayne Newton's manager, in San Luis Obispo, CA. Jay had owned some 20 cars but sold 10 before he passed away in 2006. The roadster and a '60 Crown Imperial limousine by Ghia were two of the ten that remained. I know for certain that the limousine had been in the Paul Stern collection and its sale handled by Gephart. They all were sold by Jay's widow this past summer. I purchased the limousine.

Photos of Stream's roadster and limousine attached. If that is the roadster, with a little work I can find the new owner.

[Dave Mellor NJ]

Another possible buyer of that 29 Roadster was Al Todd of Glassboro,NJ. Al was regarded as the formost old car mechanic in those days from this area. He was Partial to Chrysler corp. once when stopping over he showed me a newly acquired 29 Roadster in a heated building. It had a senior badge. I remember two tone blue but shaded towards aqua. Al is long gone but his son Frank would remember if that was a Paul Stern car.

[Guest 1929model75]

The roadster in the pic is not a 29 but a 28. Dave if you can find out about the one in New Jersey I would love to know.

[Dave Mellor NJ]

The old case of "good news'bad news". I went down and talked to Frank Todd today. The 29 Chrysler 75 roadster his father had was,indeed, from Paul Stern but he doesn't know where it is now.Apparently a few years before he died Paul decided to start selling off a few cars so he called his friend,Al Todd who came and got the roadster. It was more of a turquoise than blue. The bulk of his collection wasn't sold until after he died. All Frank knew was that some rich guy from Cherry Hill or Moorestown bought it,probably in the mid to late 80s. I don't know if NJ DMV would be any help but that's not that long ago. I am including his business card if you want to call him. Frank is a good mechanic and has a lot of NOS small mechanical parts for all cars but primarily Chrysler Corp.

[Carnut72SS]

Hello. My dad bought some cars from Mr Stern in the mid 70s. At the time we picked them up, in May 1975, I remember seeing the Imperials and others that he had in the shop at the time.There was even a Corvair that he (or someone) had converted to an El Camino type thing. I remember he priced the Imperials to my dad and later, we talked about how the price was probably fair, but it was just far beyond our reach at the time. I'm thinking probably in the $20,000 range maybe? But that's a complete guess. Mr Stern was very nice to us while we were there and I just remember him as a kind older gentleman, very polite and proper. Anyway, dad bought a 1933 Dodge 4 door sedan and a remarkable 1935 Chrysler Air Flow sedan from Mr Stern. That Air Flow was all original and had 5,000 or 6,000 miles on the clock. It drove like a dream. Mr Stern also steered dad to find a reportedly rare 1935 Chrysler Air Stream convertible that was supposed to be one of 8 prototypes that made it out of the factory. Not sure how true that is, but it made a great story! If anyone knows anything about any of those cars I mentioned, I'd be interested in talking with you.

[motoringicons]

Paul Stern had other great cars besides Chryslers! Here is a rare, 1926 Stearns-Knight Model 6-S (six cylinder) Roadster that he owned and restored in the 1970s. This car was purchased from Paul in 1970s and has been in long term storage since. It just came out of storage and is now running again. It is believed to be the only existing roadster on the large 130" wheelbase. It is believed that the original owner of this car was F.B. Stearns (the Stearns family) from Cleveland.

[Guest proscriptus]

If anyone's still watching this thread, I have a Paul Stern question. Both known Chrysler Thunderbolts went through Stern's hands, but I can't figure out how he got them. Richie Clyne says the one he bought (the black one) came out of Mexico City. I'd appreciate any insight or leads!

[StillOutThere]

Old threads never die, they just slide on back with the calendar unless revived. Those who post, subscribe and guys like me still have the '60 Imperial Ghia limo. M'lady enjoys going to dinner in it.

[Guest V12]

Hello,

Saw this thread about Paul Stern. I understand that he had the Verrill Wolf Wagon in his collection. Does anyone remember anything about where the car came from or the man who built it? Any information will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[Guest Marauderjoe]

I was born and raised in Manheim, PA. Paul Stern sold my grandfather Chryslers for many, many years. Paul was the wrestling coach for many years, even when my dad was in high school in the lat 30's. He taught me to play tennis in 1960 and he ran the tennis club for many years.

We moved to Los Alamitos, CA in 1961 when I was a Junior in high school. Paul came to California in the spring of 1963 and stayed at our house. He flew to the San Francisco area and bought one of his Thunderbolts from an individual. He then bought a Chrylser, had a hitch put on it, bought a trailer and towed the car to our house. He talked about the Thunderbolt in Mexico, but thought it was in too bad a shape to repair. I did not hear of him buying that car, but he could have.

He spent a few more days with us and towed the car back to PA. He had the car completely restored. He had PPG make a new windshield using the info he got from Chrysler.

There was another man who owned a Thunderbolt and claimed that he had the only one in existence. The story I heard was that Paul took his TWO perfectly restored Thunderbolts to a car show and put them on display. The other owner was very much surprised. After Paul retired, he sold his dealership and put his collection on display in a building on South Main St in Manheim. I remember visiting it with my father.

I don't know when the cars were sold or who bought them.

[mercer09]

Regarding the Thunderbolts,

possibly the Kanter Bros of North Jersey might have some info on those- they collect factory one offs.....................