The National Automobile Museum (The Harrah Collection) in Reno, Nevada, opened on November 5, 1989. It was established to preserve a significant portion of the massive vehicle collection amassed by William F. "Bill" Harrah, the founder of Harrah's Hotels and Casinos. I think everybody has heard the name Bill Harrah.
Bonhams is having an auction of some of their cars on June 13th. The link is here:
https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/32353/the-national-automobile-museum-auction
There are some crazy cars in this auction that you never see available. I wanna highly a few in the replies below.

First is this Franklin V12 from 1933. They only made 200 total V12 Franklins and the Victoria Coupe is the best body style. There are only 3 or 4 known cars. The 12 never is for sale and don't think a Coupe has been available in 40 years.
https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/32353/preview-lot/6132230/1933-franklin-series-17-b-club-brougham-serial-no-73-10334-l21-engine-no-x5319/

@alsancle A.J., there are 3 that I know of besides this one. Nethercutt has one, Franklin Museum has one and the museum in Arizona has one I think. You never see a V12 Franklin in the wild.

@Rambler0155 here is the one in The Franklin Auto Musem in Tucson. Mr Tom Hubbard’s estate

@JohnBloom Thanks John. I think that makes 4 cars total known. I'm sure a Franklin guy can confirm like @mattgoist

These were in my phone from last August but don't remember the show and it was not Pebble. So somebody sent them to me or I'm losing my mind.


@Rambler0155 Another 12 Cylinder Franklin Brougham in the Northeast Classic Car Museum in NY

12 Cylinder car in the Gilmore Museum in Hickory Corners Mich.
With a multi-cylinder horsepower/luxury race in full swing in the fine-car field, Franklin was not about to miss an opportunity to show what air-cooling could do. The result was the astonishing 150 horsepower, forced induction, 12-cylinder air cooled automobile engine. The ‘Supercharged’ Franklin V-12 introduced more ‘firsts’ for the nation’s leading air-cooled automobile manufacturer. Intended for Franklin’s flexible, lightweight chassis, bank-appointed management instead built an entirely new car with ultimate luxury in mind. African Mahogany interior trim, Aircraft style gauges, dash operated adjustable shock absorbers and 90+ mph performance with factory equipped two-speed differential were not enough to sell the ‘High-End’ luxury car during the Great Depression. With less than 200 hand-built V-12’s sold over 3 years, they are highly sought after today.(Small photo caption:)
Amelia Earhart with her Lockheed Vega airplane and her Franklin V-12 SedanDonated to the
FRANKLIN AUTOMOBILE COLLECTION
by Alexander Marshall Family - St. Louis, MO

My guess on this car is 150k. I'm always optimistic so watch it sell for 75 grand.

Second is the 1937 Lebaron bodied Cord. They build 4 or 5 of these in different configurations. I believe as precursor to a 1938 model. This was E.L. Cord's personal car. The convertible coupe was available a few years ago for a million bucks. The only time in the last 50 years one of these has come to market. This car needs a lot of work but is very special.
https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/32353/preview-lot/6132212/1936-cord-experimental-limousine-chassis-no-50a-engine-no-fc-2297/

@alsancle Wasn't this car at Pebble Beach a few years ago? Looking at the engine shots they could not have been driving it?

@Rambler0155 I took a picture of it in the truck lot. I will try to find it. I did not see it running on its own power.

I say 275k on the Lebaron bodied Cord.

Third. I LOVE the body on this Marmon. I'm a sucker for the 4 passenger coupe. This car needs a LOT of work but is very very cool and Marmons of this vintage were known for quality and speed.
https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/32353/preview-lot/6138457/1923-marmon-model-34-four-passenger-coupe-chassis-no-15230240-engine-no-12735/

@alsancle Love it. Well, aside from the interior color. But a 340ci 84hp ohv six in that body style? Yes, please.

@Hupp31 I know, it is crazy cool! But looking at the engine shot and the valve cover I was getting a little scared. Maybe those are not cracks?

@alsancle They sure look like cracks to me. I imagine whatever mystery alloy of aluminum they were using at the time was quite poor. That would really concern me on an engine like this with an aluminum crankcase.

@Hupp31 I know. Unfortunate. I think I like it more than the Nash we talked about. But the Nash might be a safer bet. My understanding is the engines are more sturdy.
https://app.rumbleseat.com/marketplace/listing/8995919
@alsancle Really attractive car but I agree with the sentiments on the engine. These are all museum cars so you need to keep that in mind.

@alsancle it’s funny how much taller the Nash looks with those big wheels. As far as aesthetics, the Marmon is definitely better looking right now, but ditching the whitewalls would go a long way in improving the Nash.

I expect this car to be practically free. 15k.


Looks like the same car except the spokes. Prefer the spoke wheels. That auction is today so the results will be interesting.

How about the holder of the land speed record for steam cars? I posted this in the Doble Society. Missing its engine and steam generator it is still a tremendous piece of garage art.
https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/32353/preview-lot/6130036/1977-steamin-demon-steam-streamliner-chassis-no-sd-1/

@alsancle Saw this in the other topic. Amazing!

@alsancle I read up on it a bit. Not a steam guy but I guess it was a total loss system that would run for 10 minutes, long enough to go down and back.

If you don't want a Steam car record holder, how about an electric?
https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/32353/preview-lot/6131091/1973-battery-box-electric-streamliner-motor-no-796c624-1/

@alsancle Great garage art to park next to your Tesla! Calling @TeslaFan01

1926 SVC (Stanley) Steam car. The last gasp of the re-organized Stanley business. They tried to make a number of improvements with a smaller car and didn't quite hit the mark. It does have 4 wheel juice brakes. But the engine was not as tough as the last Stanley model. However, this is a very nice cosmetic car and would be great for putting around town if not touring.
https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/32353/preview-lot/6138467/1926-stanleysv-model-262-5-passenger-sedan-chassis-no-26008/

50K on the Stanley.

Big Daddy Ed Roth was a god in the 1960s during the fantasy hot rod movement. This was built later in his career but screams Big Daddy.
https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/32353/preview-lot/6130035/1992-roth-fink-mobile-motorcycle/
@alsancle Ok. I want this. I wonder if it runs?

348 Cubic Inch engined Cole. I have never seen one before. I like the styling a lot.
https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/32353/preview-lot/6139226/1920-cole-870-aero-eight-tourster-chassis-no-61374-engine-no-x38708/

My friend George Cole @gtcole sent me an email about this car. He has the same car. Here is what he said: All Coles from 1916 have a 346 cu. in. V8. Cole had the 2nd production V8, 3 months after Cadillac debuted the first one, a 322 cu. in., in 1915. They were both made by Northway. Each of the companies had their own engineers embedded in Northway to design and produce their own engines. Cole and Cadillac engines had nothing in common…totally different designs.

One off Brooks Stevens creation in aluminum. Not really a fan of Brooks but if you want something nobody else has. This was to highlight the use of aluminum in car construction.
https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/32353/preview-lot/6139226/1920-cole-870-aero-eight-tourster-chassis-no-61374-engine-no-x38708/

@alsancle Ouch.

@mparadise Not the pretties thing I've seen today.

Last one for now. One off 1947 2 door Kaiser specially built for the factory manager.
https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/32353/preview-lot/6132072/1947-kaiser-k-100-2-door-sedan-pinconning-special-chassis-no-016889-engine-no-56505/

@alsancle Looks like they just took a sedan and leaded in the rear doors?

@mparadise I've seen that trick with 1950s Chevy Sedans. The proportions usually don't work but this one looks ok to me.

This is an important early car from some famous collectors. Should be eligible for London to Brighton and with a 3 cylinder 12HP engine be one of the faster cars. I cannot figure out how to steer it? You move the lever left or right?
https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/32353/preview-lot/6138271/1903-duryea-three-wheel-phaeton-chassis-no-861-engine-no-210/

My buddy Bob Swanson happened to have this photo. Taken in the 30s it clearly must be this car.

I expect this to do very well. Lets say 200k?
