Mike McCandless has a thing for MoPar and, interestingly, gravitates to the era before the Muscle Car invasion. It might have something to do with his father, legendary drag racer Herb McCandless, or it might have something to do with individual tastes, or it might be a combination. Either way, he’s built one of the largest, if not the largest, collection of pre-muscle car Road Art in the country.
“There are over 1,000 signs, neons, posters, banners, clocks and so on in the collection,” Mike said. “It always starts out innocently enough, but once the bug gets a hold of you, it’s hard to find a cure.”
For Mike, it started with the cars. He began arranging the cars as a museum and realized how much more visually appealing the entire scene would be if the cars were surrounded by some great signage and neons. So, he started buying those.
“It made sense to accentuate the walls, but those items had to set the time period, and for me, that period is somewhere between 1955 and 1961,” he said. “It started with one sign, and it’s never going to stop.”
The first sign was a Chrysler-Plymouth vertical shaped like an upside-down T. With a collection spanning into the thousands, it’s got to be tough to pick a favorite, and it’s true for Mike. But he loves the graphics, that’s what really sells him, to find a piece with extraordinary artwork.
“I love paper art, I think it’s unappreciated and likely to begin climbing in value soon. You’ve got to think, wood, metal and porcelain pieces have a much higher rate of survival over paper products. So to find something from back in the day made of some kind of paper, especially if it’s got stunning graphics, that’s great. And, they are generally less expensive to enjoy,” he said. “I try not to worry too much about the value, but I do appreciate it when it’s on my side. One of my favorite signs was found by Jordan Richmond, it’s an NOS Chrysler Used Cars Highline Motors sign, literally never used.”
Richmond found the piece in five original boxes, unopened, complete with the assembly instructions from 1953. Mike was able to get it assembled and hung and lit and it is hung above his 1957 Chrysler 300C Convertible, which happens to be the first 300C built for 1957.
“My dad was also a huge influence on collecting the signs,” he said. “He was a drag racer back in the day, his name is Herb McCandless, and he was known as Mr. 4-Speed. It’s fun to go to a Mecum Road Art sale and see his face light up. He tells me about the signs he’s looking at, remembering them from when they were new. That, to me, is the magic.”
Mike says that Mecum has been instrumental in finding pieces for the museum.
“In just about 3-years, I’ve gotten maybe 20 pieces through Mecum Auctions,” he said. “Their ability to bring entire collections to the market has been really helpful. For example, the Juliano Collection brought a lot of non-muscle car era stuff and it was interesting, he was the MoPar Godfather of automobilia, so there were a lot of pieces that I was able to take on. With Mecum bringing large collections to the market, people can pick and choose what they want easily and make their own collections out of other people’s collections.”
Nicely, Mike appreciates the less expensive stuff as much as the more expensive stuff.
“I really like the paper products and think they will become more collectible over time,” he said. “They are also infinitely obtainable, you can spend $200 for a brilliant old paper piece and enjoy it, same with something like a battery display or poster.”
Mike’s thought is follow your budget, but no matter what, buy the best quality you can find, stick to what interests you.
“I suggest to many, partake in a Mecum Road Art sale as a spectator. See what’s on offer, see what looks good to you, and see what it sells for. If it’s in your budget, keep it in mind, and keep studying the market. Follow the pieces you like. The beauty of a Mecum Auction is that it’s like hitting 20 swap meets and car shows in one day, you’re for sure going to find something you like, but before you hit their Kissimmee sale or another of their bigger events, follow the trends, see what’s in your budget, see what looks good to you, and no matter what, always buy the best condition you can find.”
Mike looks at road art as an investment arm, just like most collectors look at cars.
“If you look at the appreciation in signs over the past decade, as a percentage of growth, it outpaces the collectible car market. Some of the rarest and best pieces will now fetch well into the six figures.”
According to Mike, a Mecum event is a great place to study the market and learn what you like, don’t like and want to surround yourself with. It’s also a great place to get started in collecting, he said. Mike really appreciates that a Mecum Auction is truly a family event, it’s something you can enjoy with your kids and grandkids and they can start thinking about what they might like to buy into for themselves at some point.
“For me, it’s a little backwards, I take my dad and live through his eyes, his memories of the pieces that come up for sale,” Mike said. “It is really great hearing his stories of remembering a certain brand of soda or a restaurant that he knew back in the day and seeing his eyes light up as he sees the sign come up.”
