Cool Car of the Day: Ron Pratte's custom 1956 Chrysler wagon

Published Jan. 13, 2015 2:49 p.m. ET

Tom Jensen

Here’s the deal: Under the best of circumstances, picking one Cool Car of the Day during Arizona auction week is challenging. But on the day that most of Ron Pratte’s collection crosses the block at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Collector Car event? Fughettaboutit!

Pratte, an Arizona construction magnate with an estimated net worth of $350 million, spent the last decade or so amazing an astonishing collection of the very best of the best cool cars — everything from stock classics to resto-mods, motorcycles and pickup truck. You want a Russian Tupelov gullwing boat? Pratte’s got one. An NHRA Top Fuel dragster? Check. A Crosley hook-and-ladder fire truck? Yep. A 1908 Ford Model T Tin Lizzie? Got that, too, along with assorted muscle cars, 1950s classics and old Ford Woody wagons.

Tuesday night, the first 100 or so cars in Pratte’s collection will sell — television coverage on Discovery and Velocity — and, really, any one of them could have been the Cool Car of the Day.

But I had to pick one, so I’m choosing a beautiful custom 1956 Chrysler Custom two-door sport wagon, Lot 2024.

According to the catalog description, JF Kustoms in Osyoos, British Columbia, spent more than 11,000 hours building this truly jaw-dropping station wagon, the only two-door ’56 Chrysler wagon in existence. Under the hood is a high-performance 5.7-liter Chrysler Hemi engine with a custom Hilborn fuel-injection system.

Other features include a pair of one-piece aluminum grilles, custom-built gauge cluster, unique double floorpans, hand-built maple headliner and Foose wheels. The paint is DuPont Hot Hues custom mixed Revolutionary Yellow.

This car was exhibited in the lobby of the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas a couple of years ago, and we got a chance to see it up close. It’s real and it’s spectacular, a true world-class resto-mod good enough to be the center of any collection. It’s won a bevy of awards, and no wonder: It’s just that good.

Pratte bought this car at Scottsdale in five years ago for $170,000 plus fees, which was a screaming bargain, considering everything that went into it. It will be interesting to see what it fetches tonight.