175-lot Ron Jones Collection headed to GAA sale

The GAA Classic Cars auction scheduled for April 22-24 in Greensboro, North Carolina, will feature 175 no-reserve lots of vehicles, memorabilia and other items from the Ron Jones Collection.

Featured vehicles in the collection range from a 1924 REO Speedwagon and 1926 Rickenbacker roadster to a 1970 Plymouth Road Runner Superbird and a 2016 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, and with much in between.

Jones was born in 1946 in the mountain town of Greeneville, Tennessee, and worked for more than 20 years at the Eastman Kodak facility in Kingsport. But he was always an entrepreneur and tinkerer who started his car collection with a Ford Model A coupe.

Jones founded his own company, RPC Specialty Coatings, and the business’s success allowed Jones to expand his car collection.

“Ron and his wife of 38 years, Donna, travelled extensively in search of rare and highly sought-after vehicles of all types and manufacture,” according to GAA Classic Cars. “Eventually, Ron’s focus shifted to high-performance vehicles produced primarily by the Chrysler Corporation, but he continued to seek top of the line examples from the Ford Motor Company as well as General Motors.

“Ron chose to live a humble life and did not widely advertise his achievements or his prized automobile and antique collection. However, many in Eastern Tennessee will always remember the man behind this collection as a true community leader through his active participation in numerous charitable organizations and helping to build the identity of Greeneville.

“Unfortunately, Ron passed away in August 2019 having never fulfilled his dream to open an automotive museum with his family and circle of friends that would set a standard that would be hard to match.”

Now, his collection is going to auction.

Featured vehicles from the collection include a 1924 REO Speedwagon; a 1932 Ford Custom convertible with a 1948 Ford V8 engine; and a 1926 Rickenbacker rumble-seat convertible with a straight-8 engine.

Also, a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air V8 convertible in turquoise, and with factory fender skirts and power disc brakes.

Among highlighted Chrysler products are a 426 Hemi-powered 1969 Dodge Charter R/T with a 4-speed manual transmission; a 1970 Plymouth Road Runner Superbird with a 440 V8 topped by triple carburetors, automatic transmission and a dashboard autographed by Richard Petty; a 2016 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat in Plum Crazy with a 6-speed manual transmission; and a 2018 Dodge Demon equipped with a Mopar race package and roll bar.

And yet another featured vehicle — a 2006 Ford GT driven only 11 miles since new.

For details on the entire Ron Jones Collection, visit the GAA Classic Cars auction website.