Remember these slick Indy Pace Car Mustangs? This one has only traveled 56 miles since new | Jim McCraw photos
Remember these slick Indy Pace Car Mustangs? This one has only traveled 56 miles since new | Jim McCraw photos
With 207 cars and trucks already in place, and more on the way, the NPD Collection in Ocala, Florida, must be among the largest private classic car collections on Earth.
Put together by the father and son team of Jim and Rick Schmidt, the collection traces its roots back to Jim’s basement in Cleveland in 1976. The company he started there, National Parts Depot, is one of the world’s premier producers of reproduction parts for classic American cars and trucks, a company that started making parts for the 1955-57 classic Ford Thunderbirds, branched out from there to Mustangs, and now covers just about every American classic car make and model you can think of.
What started in that basement now encompasses four regional parts warehouses, with the collection housed in part of the 360,000 square-foot building in Ocala.
Ancient Locomobile is the only car here with a tiller, and heads the brass-era part of collection
There isn’t time or room enough here to go through all 207 cars and trucks, so, with some assistance from Rick Schmidt, whose knowledge of the history in this collection is encyclopedic, we can show you some of the truly historic highlights, starting with the only car in here with a tiller, an ancient Locomobile, and then moving through the brass era to Thirties classics, and moving right on up through history.
The Schmidts like to find low-mileage, unrestored original cars, which takes lots of extra effort, but their collection boasts dozens of cars that fit the description, including a 1962 Ford Galaxie 500 owned by a Nebraska dealer that has five miles on the odometer. Five. Not five hundred or five thousand. Five.
The NPD Collection is studded with the 50 Millionth Ford, the 100 Millionth Ford, and the 300 Millionth Ford, as well as the 50 Millionth Chevrolet, a gold ’63 Impala hardtop that just happens to be a 409.
The Schmidts also have the very first Fox-bodied Mustang built, a 1979, sitting next to the last Fox-bodied Mustang built, a ’93. The 300 Millionth Ford, a yellow Mustang, is autographed by Henry Ford II, William Clay Ford and company president Philip Caldwell.
The NPD Collection is not open to the public but can be toured by clubs and other organizations by special arrangement. The Schmidts hosted an ice cream social for the Antique Automobile Club of America there earlier this year.
Here’s a 1963 Cadillac Series 62 coupe in completely original unrestored condition, with 32,000 miles on it
A pair of Pontiac GTOs lead to a legion of GM cars
Continental Mark IIs specially built for and owned by, left to right, William Clay Ford, Benson Ford, and Henry Ford II
A look at the large repair and show prep shop adjacent to the collection
This black anniversary Thunderbird was road-tested, and has only 22 miles on it
An entire row of Mustangs features a real Indy pace car, a supercharged Saleen 281, and a couple of Cobras
Grandpa Al Schmidt started this collection of Kodak cameras, film, promotional material and instruction books, reportedly the world’s largest
Here are couple of Ford car show concept trucks that the Schmidts bought at a Kruse Auburn auction several years ago
This 1973 Mercury Cougar was on a charity tour for months, signed by everyone from Jimmy Carter to Mary Tyler Moore
Gold would be the proper color for the 50 Millionth Chevrolet, an Impala hardtop 409
The Oldsmobile Toronado in front of this huge display was found locally, has only 1,300 miles on its clock
How many Mustangs are there in a passel? Many, from a six to a Boss 429
Elegance on tires, a 1924 Lincoln Model L Type 135 limousine after a 5-years restoration
Legendary racer and engineer Herb Adams keeps this Pro Touring Camaro in the collection
Here’s the prize in the Ford collection, a Galaxie 500 hardtop that has only five miles on the odometer
Usually, these ‘millionth’ cars are more glamorous than this prosaic ’59 four-door 50 Millionth Ford
Grilles, we’ve got ‘em, from a lovely 1940 Continental to a pair of early and late Packards
If you’ve never seen a supercharged 312 cubic-inch Ford Thunderbird engine up close, here’s a tasty one
Apparently Jim Schmidt has a warm spot in his heart for Mark IV and Mark V Lincoln Continental coupes
This ’57 Thunderbird was owned by one of the founders of the Classic Thunderbird Club International
A 1911 White, a 1921 Case, a 1926 Lincoln Brunn limousine and an early Dodge roadster feature in the early group
In one shot, the 300 Millionth Ford, left to right, the first Fox Mustang, and the last Fox Mustang
Jim and Rick Schmidt like to collect low-mileage, high-prestige cars like Cadillacs and Lincolns
Jim McCraw has been writing about cars, motorcycles, design, technology, car people and racing for 50 years, in such publications as Hot Rod Deluxe, Super Chevy, Muscle Mustangs, Road & Track, Car and Driver, Popular Mechanics, Popular Science, Penthouse, Winding Road, The Mercedes-Benz Star, AutoWeek, The New York Times, and a number of European publications. He was executive editor of Motor Trend, editor of Hot Rod and Super Stock. He co-holds the record for the drive from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Key West, Florida, 96:22, and has run in major events such as the Mille Miglia Storica in Italy, Goodwood, the California Mille, the Colorado Grand, the New England 1000, Forza Mille, and four One Lap Of America competitions He owns a pristine Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan.
