Staff Editor
When this Alabama mechanic passed away in 2022 at the age of 88, little did anyone expect him to have a massive secret hidden away in an old barn on his ranch. After his death, it was discovered that he had an impressive car collection worth over $1 million.
When Earl Trammell from Warrior, Alabama passed away in May 2022, the world was unaware of the extent of his $1million vintage car collection. After uncovering it, buyers were shocked to find that many cars in the portfolio were near-pristine condition – all thanks to his love for cars and hard work ethic.
Earl Trammel was known for having a special interest in Corvettes, so much so that he would buy them brand new and store them in basements or a barn. But what nobody knew before his death was just how far this passion went – until now.
In 1960, he dropped out of school to financially support his family but quickly found success when he realized he had an eye for fixing cars. Soon after, he opened up his own auto shop called Foreign Car Paint & Body which gave him enough success to buy his dream building in Birmingham where he stayed until retirement at age 88.
He truly embodied the phrase “Do Better Be Better” as he pushed those around him to reach their full potential – something we can all learn from today.
John Pierce and John Clay Wolfe were more than surprised when they heard about the collection owned by late Earl Trammele – especially since Patricia wanted it all sold off instead of keeping any part of it as memorabilia. So they negotiated with her and sent payment right away – only upon arriving did they realize why Patricia wanted it gone so quickly.
It turns out that each car was stored properly without fluids, fuel or oil because these vehicles will most likely end up in museums or collections forever. Some standouts included a purple Indy pace car with yellow interior (which Wolfe described as obnoxious yet good) along with a white Stingray with red leather interior still encased in plastic and original window sticker intact.
All 22 vehicles purchased between 1970s-1990s had unbelievably low mileage on them – two 1988 35th Anniversary Corvette and 1990 Corvette ZR1 even having just 25 miles on them.
This truly is one of the biggest finds that Pierce has seen throughout his 31 years career…yet both men are conflicted about what to do next with such an incredible collection; should they sell or keep?
