By Steve Temple

Even though most replicas are of cars from the 1960s, this issue of ReinCarNation highlights an interesting era of cars, from Post-WWII to 1960, when the sports car scene was just getting started. Every car guy has a favorite, but a while back we came across an unusual collection owned by Wes Abendroth. He has a yen for lesser-known cars, some that you might never have heard of, many with unusual configurations. But they have one thing in common: They all look really cool.

Formerly a Corvette dealer in Dallas, Texas, for 21 years, but now retired and active in the vintage racing scene, Wes has a thing for Corvettes as well. He even once owned a 1980 (the last carbureted model) with only 5 miles on it, as sort of a time-capsule Corvette.    

But the bulk of his private collection has consisted of some rare racers and performance machines. These have included a Fiberfab Centurion (personally acknowledged by Jay Leno), Witton Special, Mistral, Bocar, Elva Courier, LaDawri and a hybrid “Healarossa” (Austin-Healy with a body similar to a Ferrari Testarossa).

How did I come across his diverse batch of cars? Actually, that’s an interesting story in itself. One day I noticed a large storage building in the High Sierras of northern Nevada, perched on a hillside overlooking a scenic valley of pasture land. The structure’s site didn’t make sense for storing farm equipment, so I suspected it might contain a car collection.   

Oddly enough, Wes called my office a couple days afterwards to offer a private tour. Apparently we shared a connection with automotive historian Harold Pace, a good friend who passed away not too long ago.   

The current location of Wes’ collection is a fairly well-kept secret, and I felt privileged to be granted an insider look at it during an off-site display for a local TV program. Adding to my curiosity, Wes says he has a lot more cars stashed away, but he declines to reveal any more details, as he prefers his privacy, and eschews the car-show scene.

But we did manage to grab his rare recreation of a Sorrell-Larkin Special, featured in this issue, and hope to follow up with others as well.