Jim Lewis Collector Car Auction
Auction features cars from collection of Enid native Jim Lewis
ENID, Okla. — A car auction for the vehicles in the collection of Jim Lewis, an Enid native who collected cars for more than 60 years. Jason Lewis, Jim's son, said another auction was held in June with 115 cars being sold. He said the best cars his dad had were in the auction that ended Oct. 11, 2022
Jason Lewis said his dad had around 130 cars by the time he passed away in March. Lewis naturally was drawn to the car business with his dad's involvement, and helped sell cars online.
Lewis said his dad was "old school" in the sense his dad strove to restore cars to their original condition. He said his dad wanted things to be as close to original as possible. He also said he still has a car his father first acquired when Jason was young.
"I actually have a '67 Corvette that I keep in Enid and it has 30,000 original miles," Lewis said. "My dad got it when I was 7 years old. It was always something to look up to, and it's always sort of been my one thing in live that I could not bear getting rid of."
Jim Lewis was a collector and car salesmen for more than 60 years. There are 19 classic and muscle cars being auctioned off in various conditions. Included in the auction are a 1956 Chevy Bel Air, 1966 Cadillac convertible, 1947 Mercury, 1940 Cadillac LaSalle and 1966 Chrysler Imperial. The auction also includes several high-performance engines and more than 150 diecast car toys.
Jim Lewis grew up with 11 siblings and hated getting rid of anything, especially classic cars. Jim got started in the car business in high school while working at his brother Fred's body shop, Lewis Body & Glass. He then worked as a salesman at a dealership before serving in the National Guard. After service, he opened his first used car dealership in 1962, Jim's Auto Sales. He also owned Lewis Dodge, Lewis Nissan, DeLorean Motor Company and Bank of Hunter.
Jim and his brother Richard bought the Datsun Dealership in Ponca City in 1975. He also continued selling used cars in Enid until buying the Dodge dealership in 1977. He sold Lewis Datsun and Lewis Dodge in 1982.
His dealership was one of a few in Oklahoma to sell high-performance muscle and collector cars. In 2000, his customer based expanded internationally. Jason Lewis said his dad was known for always having several Mopars, such as Chargers, Challengers and Barracudas from the 1970s. He said his dad loved Mustangs, which were nearly half the cars he sold. He also sold a lot of Camaros, Chevelles and Corvettes.
Jim Lewis also spent a lot of time riding horses in the Enid area, saddling up Texas Red, his favorite, for the Cherokee Strip Round Up Club. His barrel racing career led him to seek faster speeds, spending many weekends drag racing with his friends just outside of Enid city limits.
"His passion was not so much selling cars, but what he absolutely loved was the case and the hunt," Lewis said. "Finding a barn find or something that no one knew about gave him more pleasure than just about anything. He lived and breathed automobiles. From the time he woke up in the morning to the time he went to bed, cars were alwas on his mind as he scoured the paper and internet for the next deal. Friends would often comment that they couldn't talk to him for two minutes before he would tell you a story about buying or selling a car. He used his stories as allegories of life and was happy to repeat stores over and over again.
The cars were at 1528 N. Grand in Enid, the location of Markee Auto Sales, which was owned by Jim Lewis. Jason Lewis said his dad would be proud to see his cars be sold to somebody who would give them a new home.
"I think he absolutely would love it. I think that his whole thing was that he never got too attached to certain cars," Lewis said. "He definitely loved the hunt. But he also just loved making the deal. There's something that's sort of amazing about finding the right car for the right person. Especially when it was the muscle cars and Mustangs and things like that. I think he would be happy that these things are going to go and have another life."