A friend from the now defunct National Capital Area Volkswagen Club sent an announcement for an Open House featuring the collections of Randy & Susan Denchfield as well as Jack & Cher Gallagher. The directions to the event read like a James Bond novel involving finding an innocuous parking garage in Van Ness, taking a special parking token and driving to the bottom level! As it turned out, the collection is ferreted away in a corner of the parking garage that houses a Giant food as well as apartments and offices – There is a walled-off, secure parking area for about 15 cars. The rest are parked under covers in adjoining spaces.
Virtually all the cars in these collections are American classics. Too many of today’s collections are filled with over-restored cars that will never see the light of day because they’re too pretty. But this collection is quite the opposite, some are restored but a fair number are either unrestored or older restorations which was a nice change. Several of the cars are fairly mundane but increasingly uncommon. In particular were the mid-’70s Oldsmobile Delta 88 convertible and a mid-’70s Oldsmobile Cutlass convertible.
The majority of the cars were from the ’40s and ’50s and DeSoto was a popular marque in the collection. For those unfamiliar with the brand, DeSoto was the mid-range offering from the Chrysler Corporation, slotted below Dodge but above Plymouth. Among the DeSotos in this collection two of the most interesting were a mid-’30s fire-engine red convertible and a beautiful ’56 Sportsman – the ’56 had the same color scheme but not the massive tail fins of the ’57 that was the basis for the notorious “Christine“.
Of particular interest was a rather unassuming 1938 Plymouth Express (pickup truck). These trucks were only produced from 1937 to 1942 and in fairly limited numbers because of WW2. Time and neglect adds up to very few survivors while keeping their history virtually unknown. Even though it’s not flashy, the Plymouth Express is likely the rarest vehicle in the entire collection. Adding to the utility vehicles featured in this collection was a ’47 Ford Sedan Delivery. Another well preserved example of a vehicle that typically did NOT survive due to hard use.
Some of the more interesting cars were the unrestored ’69 Oldsmobile Toronado and the ’64 Cadillac Eldorado convertible (example below). Both were excellent examples of American cars in their heyday, filled with technology and gadgetry that remains largely today. This includes such items as automatic headlamps, automatic dimming headlamps and cruise control.
Given the number of Cadillacs in the collection, this allowed for a very unique opportunity to view a ’48 and ’49 Cadillac convertible side-by-side. This was during a time when auto makers updated the appearance of their vehicles annually to stimulate sales by quickly out-dating the prior year’s styling. It’s interesting to see just how far the manufacturers would go to make last year’s model look old.
You may recall that old adage “stop and smell the roses” … As GTM members, and as car enthusiasts, it’s important that we take any and all opportunities to view Private Collections. The vehicles may not be YOUR favorites BUT these vehicles aren’t on display for the general public. The owners/families take joy in people taking interest in their cars and I’ll guarantee you’ll be surprised at what is “hidden” from the public. True that some of them might be mundane but sitting right beside those cars might be passion stirring exotics. Much like this collection I visited in Van Ness … not very modern, nothing overly exotic or incredibly well restored BUT mixed in… a Plymouth Express, who knew?!? – and for me, that alone was worth the price of admission!
Until next time. ~Matthew.
**Note: All pictures above are from previous tours of private collections in 2019. Check out earlier articles or shutterfly for additional information**
