Don Damon nearly bought a new '58 Pontiac as a young man, but opted for a '58 Chevy instead. "Back then, if you were a kid and you didn't have a Chevy, you were nothing," he says. Since winning $96.6 million in the lottery, he was able to track down this beautiful chopped purple and white '58 Pontiac Star Chief, making that long-ago dream come true.
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Another eye-catching convertible is this red and white '55 Ford, fully restored and ready to roll. All of Damon's collector cars are run regularly, with batteries topped off by trickle chargers.
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"Corvettes right now are probably our best-sellers," said Damon, who has both this red '91 model and a graphite-colored '90 ZR1 for sale at his collector car dealership.
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A 1967 El Camino caught Damon's eye at an auction. It's been re-engined with a 350 Chevy V-8, with black spoked wheels setting off the smooth orange paint job.
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"When I bought this car, I thought the color couldn't be right, but it was," said Damon. The lime green and black convertible is a 1951 Ford Crestliner.
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A cool street cruiser, Damon's 1960 Chevy Impala convertible is another 348-powered car, this one equipped with an automatic transmission.
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Damon's wife, Kathleen, has her eye on this spectacular Volkswagen convertible, which features stunning black paint with red pearl metalflake.
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Damon has a small collection of VW Beetles, most of them bought with the idea of offering local drivers fuel-efficient collector cars. "That car also came with a bicycle painted the same as the car," he said.
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A super-low-mileage 1963 Impala hardtop is powered by a 340-horsepower 409 V-8. The car, with barely 5,000 miles on the odometer, is unrestored, original. Its original owner died overseas, and the car was maintained by his family until it was finally sold at auction to Damon.
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Restored to absolutely showroom stock condition, this 1948 Chevy pickup was one of three trucks bought by Damon at a single auction.
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"Pickups are getting very expensive," Damon notes. This nifty 1960 Ford half-ton features immaculate paint, a modern 302 V-8 and automobile-style 4-speed transmission.
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Looking like one of the world's nicest shop trucks, Damon's '67 Chevy pickup is V-8 powered, with a 4-speed transmission and the nostalgic OK Used Cars logo on the doors.
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"I wanted a street rod," Damon said. So he bought this chopped, rose-colored 1935 Ford Tudor, powered by a tunnel-ram 421 Pontiac in full chrome dress.
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One of the most desirable cars of its day, this bright red 1962 Impala SS hardtop boasts 409 power under the hood.
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One of the surprises purchased by Damon was this nicely restored silver-blue Austin Healey roadster. "I didn't look at the engine until later ... and found out it had a 302 Ford under the hood," Damon said.
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One of the MoPars on display is this bright green 1970 Roadrunner equipped with a flamed pro-stock-style hood scoop. "It came up toward the end of the sale and it was going very reasonable ... so I bought it," said Damon.
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Damon has bought several special vehicles at the Barrett-Jackson auctions sold for charities, including this Rusty Wallace custom-built motorcycle. It's not uncommon for him to resell charity vehicles, donating the extra money raised to the organization.
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As a longtime truck driver, Damon has a soft spot in his heart for old trucks. This Model A roadster pickup in dark green with black fenders was a natural addition for his collection.
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This jet-black '58 Impala hardtop shares the showroom floor with the Pontiac Star Chief and a '58 Impala convertible. It is customized, with a 454-cubic-inch Chevy V-8 providing motive power.
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One of the true classics in the Damon collection is this beautiful blue 1948 Packard convertible, powered by a high-torque straight-8 engine. "Our sales manager told me this is the smoothest car he's ever driven," Damon said.
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If this black-and-white police cruiser looks familiar, it should. The 1962 Ford 4-door carries the Mayberry sheriff's badge on its doors and is equipped with the big red cherry on top and the long police radio with whip antenna, as used by Andy and Barney in the classic TV series.
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The showroom floor at D&B Motors in Great Bend does include a couple of classic 1958 Chevy Impalas, including this beautiful red convertible, powered by a 348 V-8.
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Damon bought a former GM dealership in downtown Great Bend to house part of his ever-growing vintage car collection. The '64 Ford Galaxie convertible in the foreground, a big block V-8, 2-4 barrel, 4-speed car, is one of his favorites to drive.
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