Who is Bob Carlson?
Bob Carlson started collecting cars in Riverton, Wyoming in 1951. He was raised on a farm outside of Riverton, and like all farm kids, learned to drive tractors, cars & trucks when he was very young, probably 8 or 9. The first one he ever drove was his Daddy's 1936 Ford V-8 and it was then that he fell in love with V-8 Fords & Mercurys and began his lifetime journey of collecting. With a kid's limited budget he was not able to afford a V-8 at first, but instead managed to buy a Model A when he was 13 for $10. And he's been collecting old cars ever since.
Most of the cars he's collected over the years are Fords and Mercurys. If they were relatively rust-free, had two doors instead of four ... and were restorable ... he wanted them. It didn't matter that he didn't have a garage to put them in. He could always find a friend or relative with a barn or pasture who would allow him to "park" his old cars there.
After a stint in the army and getting a college degree in Denver, he moved to California in 1964 to go to work for the federal government and bought some land north of San Francisco for his little "hobby". He joined the local Early V-8 club and started a Ford parts business which he operated on weekends.
When his job moved him to Dallas in 1978 he loaded up his cars and his car parts and made several trips back and forth across the southwest before he got it all moved. At present most of his collection of cars, trucks and parts is warehoused near Riverton, Wyoming. Four cars plus a lot of parts and all of his old Ford literature is located at his homestead in Nevada, Texas, near Dallas.
If ever there was a dedicated, consistent collector of restorable old Fords, that person is Bob Carlson. For over 60 years he has persisted in trying to save old cars that he considers to be a beautiful, interesting and valuable part of the history of this great country.
Now it's a family effort to share all our pictures with you, to hopefully sell a few cars and make a few new friends.