[bashton]

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Pinky Randall,a very good friend a noted Chevrolet collector,has been collecting Chevrolet,cars,parts,and memorabilia for decades.
As he aged,he was approached by many to part out his collection,so he made a list and noted what we all wanted.
He then called us up and stated what he wanted for the items we wanted.Some passed,others couldn't find their checkbooks fast enough.
I was one who was getting ready to take a trip over and come back with as much as I could carry...and then GM stepped in and changed everything.CRAP!
They personaly had a liason visit Pinky and make a list of all he had.They submited an offer in cash and Pinky accepted it,and good for him.
Said it was more money then he would've ever made from selling everything individually & slowly.I was a lil upset when he told me this,as it was very sudden and I was getting packed up to go visit him when he called.

With this news now,I hope maybe GM will keep going and sell off Pinkys collection as well.I'll be watchin for what I wanted,that's for sure..

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I was the one who handled the appraisal for GM and served as the Liason. I spent 3 full days in Houghton Lake personally going over all of the collection, which was nothing short of amazing. Pinky and his wife treated me like family and his eyes lit up often when I asked the history of many of the items.

Pinky was adament about keeping the collection intact, and also wanted to have his basement, which was set up as a dealership, put on display as he had built it over the years. His children did not share his passion for all things Chevrolet, and knowing that he was getting older, he did not want to burden his wife with disbursing the collection after he was gone or going through the rigors of an auction. He knew that there would be lots of people who would show up saying, "Oh, Pinky said I could have this and Pinky said this needs to go to me" etc etc. He is a true gentleman and his life revolves around all things Chevrolet.

I documented the collection with many photographs. Pinky knew what he wanted for the collection, and he knew the chances of having someone purchase it all, intact, would be a challenge. John Moss was the guy who convinced the powers that be that this would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for GM, and this is when I was approached. After viewing the collection, I wrote a report that basically told them the amount he wanted was indeed an incredible deal and that if they were to write me a check for even two to three times what he wanted, there is no way in the world the collection could be duplicated.

I was relieved when they came to agreeable terms with Pinky, and hopefully, this part of the GM Heritage Collection will remain intact.

BA