Jim Graves living estate sale to be held May 2 in Kan. The living estate of trucking industry pioneer Jim Graves will be sold Saturday, May 2, in Overland Park, Kan., by Mayo Auction & Realty. Offered will be vintage cars, die-cast collectibles and more.
(OVERLAND PARK, Kan.) - The living estate of trucking industry pioneer Jim Graves one of the founders of Graves Truck Line, Inc., known throughout the Midwest for its big rigs with the bright red cabs will be sold Saturday, May 2, at 10 a.m., by Mayo Auction & Realty, based in Kansas City, Mo. The sale will be held in a building Mr. Graves owns, on Merriam Lane in Overland Park.
Mr. Graves is a legend in the true sense of the word, said Robert Mayo of Mayo Auction & Realty. He helped build a hugely successful trucking company from the ground up, and was a dedicated collector of vintage cars and trucks. He owned and operated a vintage cars and trucks museum in Kansas City, while his brother Bill also operated a vintage cars museum in Salina, Kansas.
The brothers sold the museums in 1989, but not all of Jim's vehicles were included in the deal. Two from his earlier museum that will be sold include a 1911 Model T, red, beautifully restored, with 28,900 miles on the odometer since the restoration, a Bosch magneto, engine #51877; and a 1930 Model A roadster, tan, fully restored, with just 1,121 miles on the odometer since the restoration, complete with rumble seat.
Also offered will be a 1926 Model T touring sedan, green, fully restored, with 10,698 miles on the odometer since the restoration. The original engine was replaced with a rebuilt 1926 Ford engine in 1998 (#14876416). That vehicle was not from the museum and was acquired later on. Many of the museum cars were purchased by Mr. Graves from the Jerry Smith Collection. Mr. Smith was an area auto dealer and legendary vintage car collector.
Also to be sold will be a 1926 Ford Model T, converted for use as a tractor (a common practice at the time); a 1955 Howe Defender fire truck, with an original, older Waukesha engine and a Chevy chassis and flat-bed for a rear; a Model T engine and drive train; and other items, to include tools, a parade trailer; die-cast collectibles, Graves Truck Line signage and memorabilia; and Model T and Model A parts.
Newer vehicles will also cross the block. These include a 1979 Chevy Silverado Big 10 truck; a 1988 GMC 3500 SLE Sierra truck; and a 1995 Ford Bronco. Restoration information, special features, vehicle histories and modifications are available by calling Mayo Auction & Realty, at (816) 699-9883. Photos of the vehicles to be sold and other items are shown on the website, www.AuctionByMayo.com.
Mr. Graves today is 90 years old, retired and living in Prairie Village, Kan. It was in 1935, at the height of the Great Depression, that Jim (then a teenager), his father, William Preston Graves (who had just lost the family farm) and Jim's three brothers (Bill, Dwight and John) formed Graves Truck Service, which hauled crops, vegetables, livestock and coal in the Salina area. Their lone asset: one 1933 Dodge truck.
