Rambler Ranch --A Nostalgia Collection--Part One

It all began with one car...pictured above is Rambler Ranch owner Terry Gale's father’s 1954 Nash Ambassador, which Gale rescued as a derelict that had sat abandoned for many years in his father's Colorado farm's field.  After his father died Terry acquired the car and spent three years bringing the classic automobile back to showroom quality. This sparked his passion for restoring other Rambler models in this particular era of vehicles.

It also led to an obsession that made Terry Gale become the owner of the largest collection of American Motor Corporation (AMC) vehicles in the world!  Terry is pictured in the lower left of the collage above at the beginning of a tour my husband and I made, with friends, by appointment.

The Rambler Ranch is on a 165-acre parcel of land in the hills of a pine forest in Elizabeth, Colorado.  The ranch is home to well over 800 preserved and restored classic cars of all make and models stored in multiple giant warehouses, such as the one seen in the lower right of the photo collage above. In addition, Terry has also collected some vintage buildings, such as a replica of a vintage Sinclair Gas station and a drug store, and a very large collection of the 50s and 60's memorabilia--more about that will be in my next blog post.

We self toured building after building full of vintage cars.

You will almost be guaranteed to see the same model of car that was your grandfather's, your Dad;'s, your first boyfriend's, or perhaps your first car if it was an AMC model made before 1988.  

So much nostalgia...

...and so many carefully restored cars!

It would be difficult to guess what the collection is worth--certainly many millions of dollars.  To read more about Rambler Ranch and Terry Gale click on this link.

Mr. Gale even has a vintage 1970s Denver bus and Bookmobile on his grounds.

It can easily take 2 to 3 hours to see the entire collection of automobiles and memorabilia. As we strolled around Mr. Gale and his helpers were nearby to answer questions. Terry told us he wanted to preserve as much of old-time "Americana" as he could and enjoyed searching online auction sites as a hobby. He felt too much history was being lost by our very disposable society.

One interesting aspect of his clean and meticulous showrooms are the many mannequins that are also on display that were all perfectly dressed by era or theme.

These are a few of the imaginative scenes that are set up. Click on any of the photos twice to enlarge it to see more detail.  

You must come back to see next week's blog post to see even more ephemera displays in Rambler Ranch of a vintage diner, a 1950s kitchen, and a 1960's era fully furnished house.

Rambler Ranch is certainly a fascinating place to visit!

 Rambler Ranch is a private collection--All tours are by appointment only on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday beginning at 11 AM

36370 Forest Trail, Elizabeth CO 80107

Call 302-324-6750

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