Classic muscle cars, vintage gas station signs, a beer garden and a barbecue trailer will fill the Great Bend Expo Complex this weekend as the F&E Collector Auto Auction returns for its 11th year. The preview is Friday evening, and the auction itself is Saturday, Oct. 24.

Organizers describe it as a regional answer to the big televised collector car auctions like Mecum and Barrett-Jackson, and say it is as much an entertainment event as an auction.

“The auction part of it is just the base of it, but it’s a show and it’s an event,” said Chad Ehrlich, who organizes the auction with Chris Froetschner of Carr Auction.

Friday preview

The preview runs from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday and is free to attend. Visitors can walk the floor and look over the vehicles and memorabilia before bidding starts. The evening includes a live radio broadcast on 100.7 FM Eagle Country, food, a beer garden, a social hour and free prize drawings.

Saturday auction

Doors open at 8 a.m. Saturday. Admission is $5 per person, and sellers get in free. Automobilia and petroliana sell first, starting at 10 a.m., and the vehicles follow at about 11 a.m.

The lineup includes classics, muscle cars, antiques, hot rods, motorcycles and a large selection of automobilia, including signs, memorabilia and parts. Ehrlich said some people come just for that section.

“Sometimes people just come out and buy a sign to hang in their garage and drink some beer and eat some barbecue,” he said.

More than 40 vehicles were listed as of this week, and Ehrlich expects 50 to 60 to cross the block, a bit below some past years. Cars roll through at roughly three minutes apiece, with an emcee describing each one as it comes up and an auctioneer working the floor. Floor bidders will compete with online bidders through Proxibid at the same time.

Ehrlich said a typical Saturday draws 300 to 500 people to the Expo, with another 200 to 300 registered to bid online. F&E has shipped vehicles to buyers across the country and as far away as Indonesia and the Czech Republic.
Food and drink

The beer garden and Floyd’s Smoke Shack barbecue will both be open for Friday’s preview and Saturday’s auction.

Ehrlich said the crowd is part of what makes the day fun, recalling a K-State-themed van that sold years ago after several groups of friends bid it up well past its expected price. “That’s what makes it an event,” he said.

For listings, online bidding and details, visit the F&E Collector Auto Auction on social media or its website https://feclassiccarauction.com/