>> pedal-pushing primates. >> grandpa would go with a young gorilla on a motorcycle, go get a slurpee. >> grappling great apes. >> people would come and watch people box and wrestle. >> but, this whole "gorilla magilla"... >> people would come and picket the facility. >> ...is no barrel of monkeys. >> i was told "don't open this envelope until i pass away." he's a good boy. >> that sounds like an ultimatum. >> it was. game on. ♪ ♪

>> i'm jamie colby, and today i'm headed to palm harbor, florida on the gulf coast, about 20 miles northwest of tampa. you know, sometimes the strange things that people inherit on this show reflect timeless american values. sometimes, though, they tell us how much times have changed. this is one of those stories where the heir is faced with a gorilla-sized challenge. >> my name is debbie cobb. my grandmother, anna mae noell, passed away in october of 2000, leaving behind her 53 primates that i had to figure out how to care for. >> debbie, i'm jamie. nice to meet you. >> glad to meet you. >> you know, i see there's a lot of retirees here in florida. yours are a pretty wild bunch. >> well, you haven't seen the half of it. >> what a beautiful place. it's a 12-acre primate sanctuary, full of irresistible characters.

like pongo, a 400-pound male orangutan. >> he really, really likes you jamie, because he doesn't just purr for anybody. [ pongo vocalizing softly ] >> that's purring. >> that's purring. >> i can tell he's a flirt. >> oh, a big one. >> pongo's original home was a zoo in south carolina. but he didn't play well with the other orangutans. >> bye, pongo. >> these guys don't get the option of being able to go to a zoo, so they would have had to be euthanized if they didn't come here. there's somebody else i want to introduce you to, is blue -- is a spider monkey. he's 57 years old. >> what's special about blue? >> well he's a critically endangered species, and the number one thing that makes him so special to me is he's actually the same age as i am and he was around when my grandparents were here. >> debbie's grandmother, anna mae noell, is born into a north carolina family of traveling performers in the vaudeville era. as a boy, her grandfather bob joins a troop of vaudevillians

from virginia who raised him like a son. anna mae reminisces about those early years in this recording decades later. in 1931 by chance or kismet, their traveling families wind up in the same town, pamplin, virginia at exactly the same time. they combine acts for a one week variety show. >> your grandparents met pretty young. >> oh yeah. they were really teenagers. >> and suddenly, they're teenagers in love. >> grandma would always tell me "we weren't supposed to be seeing each other, but we did." [ laughing ] that's funny. they had planned this big getaway

and off they were. >> they eloped to new orleans and at first stick with what they know, vaudeville. then one day bob goes to see a man about a car. he returns, instead, with a 90-pound chimp named snookie. >> grandpa actually put up $300 to get him, and back then that was a lot of money. >> he plans to make it all back, and more by taking a new act on the road featuring the world's only athletic ape. >> so, they went from juggling and joking to monkey business? >> absolutely. yes. >> and part of this act was allowing people to go in the ring with a chimp. >> they said, "how can we do an act, not get people hurt or killed, make sure the animals have fun... grandpa would go talk to the police department and find out who was the biggest, baddest bully in the town. and then they would spread the word that this big, bad bully was gonna be there to box and wrestle with the chimpanzee. >> did any man ever win? >> no -- people didn't know what a chimpanzee was.

a 95-pound chimp can pull 850 pounds in one arm, and when they're mad 1250, so it didn't happen. >> you got to think if bob tried this today he'd be the one getting the beatdown from a disapproving public. but in 1940, it's a laugh riot. >> nothing like a chimp humiliating you. >> he wasn't the big, bad bully anymore. ♪ >> snookie is such a hit that bob and anna mae add more chimps to their show. they also add two kids -- velda mae, who would become debbie's mom, and bobby jr., her uncle who, years later, recalled the snookie routine fondly. >> for 14 years the troop follows the carnival circuit, not always to screams of delight. >> how many injuries have there been in your family as a result of dealing

with exotic animals? >> well, i don't know how many injuries, but you have to remember they have great teeth and they can hurt you. i remember that grandpa lost his fingers. >> grandpa bob noell tells the story again and again through the years. >> at least he wasn't also losing an arm and a leg. in fact, by 1954 the noells have socked away enough to purchase 12 acres of incorporated land in florida, a place to call home in the winter months. this is where granddaughter debbie is born to velda mae in 1959. >> how'd your parents feel about you hanging out at the chimp farm? >> well, my dad loved it. my dad was more like a son to my grandparents. my mom on the other hand, she was there,

but, i'll be honest, i think that was very hard for my mom. >> the noells certainly make for interesting neighbors. >> the animals had as much freedom as we did back in the day. >> bill stanton, a kid on a farm a stone's throw away, pals around with debbie and the chimps. >> some of them didn't actually go into cages at all. they literally lived in the houses and the trailers with people. >> was that smart? >> maybe not, but when you have grandparents that aren't normal... ♪ ...and you're playmates are gorillas, orangutans, and chimps it doesn't get better than that. >> somewhere along the way the noells' enterprise begins to shift. they're still entertainers, but with a growing focus on animal rescue. >> grandma and grandpa were one of the first in the state of florida to have a great ape license, and that's how it all began, 'cause they went from chimps to orangutans to gorillas. >> blue the spider monkey,

arrives about that time. then there's a young lowland gorilla named otto that her grandmother rescues in 1968. >> i was a child and i heard my grandmother was gonna go get this sick gorilla. he couldn't even stand up, and he had this septic arthritis and he had tb, so he had to be quarantined. >> the family nurses otto back to health, and he becomes almost a brother to debbie. >> you don't look afraid. >> oh, not at all. i felt more secure with him than with anybody in the world. >> was he dangerous? >> i never was afraid of him -- never. >> he grows up to be a fearsome sight though. so fearsome that american tourister casts him as the 400-pound suitcase abusing star in its famous luggage ads. by then debbie's grandparents have quit the carnival circuit. but they don't retire in florida. instead, they open their home to the public. they call it noell's ark chimp farm.

they're hoping all these lovable creatures can keep tourists entertained and support them and their rescue efforts. it doesn't quite work out that way. >> the attitude and the people changed. people would picket. they were being chastised. >> that's next. >> but first, our "strange inheritance" quiz question -- in 1953, j. fred muggs becomes the first regular animal cast member on a live television show. which show was it? "the nfl on cbs," "the price is right," or, the "today" show? the answer after the break. ♪

>> so, which 1950's tv show featured j. fred muggs? it's the "today" show. to raise ratings, producers cast the chimp as host dave garroway's sidekick. >> in 1971, bob and anna mae noell turned the florida headquarters of their traveling animal show into a family compound and permanent roadside attraction. they call it noell's ark chimp farm. >> everybody would come and see grandpa play with the gorilla... ♪ >> ...because that was very abnormal to see a 650-pound gorilla playing with a 250-pound man. grandpa would go with a young gorilla on a motorcycle,

go up to the 7-eleven, go get a slurpee. >> there would be chimps, orangutans, gorillas sitting up on the front wall. >> neither of anna mae and bob's kids, debbie's mom and uncle, wants a career in the family business. undeterred, anna mae devotes her golden years to the serious work of rescuing more apes. >> we have had practically no social life, because all our life is wrapped up in these animals. i don't go out to cocktail parties, i don't go to tea parties. i don't do any of that stuff. >> not that they're getting invited to a lot of parties down the block. with every passing year more and more neighbors complain the chimp farm is a smelly nuisance. >> new people come in, and suddenly instead of growing lettuce and tomatoes, there's a housing development that goes up. >> steve fiske is chairman of the local chamber of commerce. he says some new residents find the chimps a little too close to home.

>> if the wind's in the right direction you're gonna realize it has odors. >> odors? debbie doesn't even notice. throughout high school she helps care for the apes. she then studies nursing and veterinary technology in college. >> at 21, i decided to set off and go visit 21 zoos across the united states. >> and when she does, she keeps hearing something that makes her proud. seems folks everywhere actually know of her grandmother. >> and they would say "you know mae knoll"? i had a job at the atlanta zoo just off of her name and her reputation. >> but by now, back in florida, grandma's reputation is under assault. animal rights groups put the chimp farm on a black list. >> people would come from other places in the world and even stand there and picket the facility. >> how did grandma react when there would be protesters? >> it bothered her, but even then

in her only-grandma style would bring animals out to the picket line and say "this is what you're picketing against." >> things only get harder for anna mae noell. in 1991, debbie's grandpa bob falls into a diabetic coma and dies. anna mae loses her lifelong companion of 60 years. >> if you knew anything about them two, they were a team. it was the hardest time in my life watching her go through that. >> it also leaves debbie's grandma, now in her 80s, to run the chimp farm. so, debbie stays in florida to help keep it going. >> i thought i would just come to the chimp farm and work on the weekends and visit all my friends. and then my whole world changed. >> because in 1999 state and federal authorities closed the chimp farm to the public citing its small cages with rusty or jagged edges. they can keep the animals for now,

but they can no longer charge admission. >> were they right in terms of condition? >> maybe for the enclosures, but not in love, care, and consistency in the care of the animals. >> authorities give the chimp farm three years to make the necessary improvements. 85-year-old anna mae responds by taking in yet more primates. they can live for years, a lot longer than the increasingly frail anna mae can expect to. so what will happen to the place when she's gone? one day she gives debbie a sealed envelope with an explicit instruction. >> i was told "don't open this envelope until i pass away." >> then in october 2000, anna mae noell dies at age 86. >> what would happen to the chimp farm without grandma? >> mm... >> the answer is in that envelope. debbie opens it after the break.

>> here's another quiz question for you. where is america's most-visited zoo? san diego, the bronx, or washington d.c.? the answer when we return. ♪ [female narrator] the end

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♪ >> so, which is america's most-visited zoo? it's the san diego zoo where the lucky animals live within site of the pacific ocean and captivate more than 3 million visitors a year. >> in the fall of 2000, anna mae noell dies leaving behind her life's work -- the chimp farm she and her late husband created. it's home to more than

50 primates, and it's sitting on some prime florida real estate. but if any of anna mae's heirs have plans for that land, she's about to throw a monkey wrench into them. >> when grandma died... >> mm-hmm? ...there was a brown envelope. >> [ sighs ] >> tell me about it. >> an envelope changed my life. >> inside that envelope is a document that names debbie's uncle bob, her mother velda mae, and debbie as heirs and trustees, and instructs the three of them to hold the property jointly for the benefit of the animals. >> grandma put a trust together for the animals, and it's clearly stated that as long as there was one animal and one person that came back, then the animal park would be there. >> in other words, if one of the trustees wants to keep the chimp farm alive, the other two cannot shut it down and sell off the land. anna mae must have known

it would be just one person -- debbie. >> that one thing she did changed my life forever. i had to either help the chimps or walk away. >> how much was the land worth when you inherited it? >> somebody said that it was worth about $6 million. >> here's the point where a strange inheritance splits a family apart. debbie's mother and uncle, she claims, push her to give up the chimp farm so they can sell the land. >> they told me "why would you want it and ruin your life for a group of animals when you could have $2 million in the bank, and you'd never have to work again?" >> you could do it. >> some would, but who are you going to sacrifice in that? were you gonna lose otto? were you gonna lose her oldest chimp that lived well into his 60s? which animal was gonna be sacrificed for a dollar bill? >> it was two against one. >> i knew that some of those animals had been ones that they had grown up with. could they really, at the end of the day, turn their back on them?

>> neither debbie's uncle or mother would appear in this program. both denied to us they wanted to see the chimp farm closed. whoever said what to whom, there's no doubt debbie was only given two options -- put up or shut down. >> that sounds like an ultimatum. >> it was. game on. >> that's next. what's your "strange inheritance" story? we'd love to tell it. send me an e-mail or go to our website, strangeinheritance.com. [text tone] (daughter v.o.) trisha's having a sleepover tonight. can i go? (mom's internal thoughts) i wonder about luci's friends. what should i say? i know you're only 10, but one of these days a friend will offer you a drink, and alcohol at your age can lead to so many things. none of them good. so can i go to the sleepover? luci, i want you to promise me something. i finished my homework.

bigger promise. if there's any drinking, i want you to say, "no thanks, not my thing." mom. i promise you, your real friends won't care. deal? sure. really? i promise, mom. they really do hear you. did you pack your toothbrush? for tips on how to start the talk, visit underagedrinking.samhsa.gov. a public service message from the substance abuse and mental health services administration. amy twin brother jacob has an froautism spectrum disorder i remember one moment after being at school all day and i remember him getting into the car just balling... and saying: "mom, i have no friends" "why don't i have any friends?" it broke my heart. ♪brother let me be your shelter♪ ♪never leave you all alone that was the moment when i realized that i needed to do something about this.

i needed to make a difference in his life. go! and i knew that if i could help him find a friend, i could help teach other people that including people with differences is the right thing to do. ♪bring it home ♪brother let me be your shelter♪ that was the inspiration behind my non-profit "score a friend" educating people to include the people with differences is so important because when jacob's included he feels like he can succeed in life and he feels like he actually has a purpose. ♪..home

>> now, back to "strange inheritance." >> in 2000 when anna mae noell dies, she leaves behind a shuddered chimpanzee farm with dozens of apes, chimps, and critters. a trust provides that the sanctuary remain open -- so long as her son, daughter, or granddaughter debbie is willing to run it. only when it closes can those three sell the land.

the heirs do not see eye to eye. >> i had to be the person that said these animals needed someone. >> debbie says the family dispute is so bitter it ends her relationship with both her mother and uncle. >> but in the end, anna mae noell's trust for the benefit of the animals prevails. >> did the get anything out of the estate? >> they weren't supposed to get anything in the beginning. remember, it was a trust for the animals. it didn't say "a trust for debbie, a trust for uncle, and a trust for mom." it said "a trust for animals." >> but now what? the antiquated chimp farm is already on notice with authorities for its run-down enclosures. >> i already had planned on building a larger enclosure for the animals, because that was what my heart was. >> and if there's one thing i've learned about debbie, it's that the first thing

she inherited from her crazy family is heart. >> anybody who wants to help come to the chimp farm. it will change your life. it's changed mine dramatically. >> it takes nearly a decade, but her big plans become reality. >> in 2008, she reopens the animal shelter to the public as the gleaming suncoast primate sanctuary. [ ragtime music plays ] >> and to think this all started with a chance meeting on the vaudeville circuit, a boxing chimp named snookie, and a madcap bunch of bike riding apes. but not everything changes aboard old noell's ark. in fact, things come full circle when debbie marries and chooses to raise another generation... >> that's my daughter. say "hi," brandi. >> hi. >> hey, brandi. >> thank you, brandi. >> ...amidst the gorillas and monkeys

and birds and reptiles. it's a decision that affirms all that grandma anna mae worked for. >> good job. >> so, this is sort of a refuge -- hoping that our great-grandchildren will be able to see a live chimpanzee. >> this is the hardest journey i've ever been in in my life. all my blessings were restored by making sure i did the right thing for the right reason. you're my buddy. >> debbie tells me that parting with one of the primates is like losing an old friend. remember otto, the lowland gorilla from the luggage ads who would carry debbie around on his back? well, otto died shortly after his 42nd birthday party. but one of his fans couldn't bear never seeing him again, and so donated the funds to have him stuffed. debbie says if otto can go on display some day he'll continue the sanctuary's mission of wildlife conservation. i'm jamie colby.

thanks so much for watching "strange inheritance." and remember -- you can't take it with you. >> inside a farmer's barn... >> all you see is these packed-in cars everywhere, bumper to bumper. >> ...rows of classic rides. >> my jaw hit the ground. there was the rolls-royce, the bentley, pickup trucks, camaros. >> harvesting gems from junk. >> dad would take the car down to literally the bare bones and then restore them and make them these beautiful pieces of art. >> wow.sparks are flying. >> here's one of the starsw rig. >> his heirs hope to reap a fortune. >> yes! yes! yes! [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ] ♪

>> i'm jamie colby here in savannah, georgia, today on my way to meet a woman whose strange inheritance was built with blood, sweat and gears. >> my name is sherri anderson. my dad was a farmer who worked more than 5,000 acres of potatoes, beer barley and sugar beets, but his real bumper crop was growing inside his barns. >> sherri. >> hey.>> i'm jamie. >> nice to meet you.to savannah. >> oh, it's gorgeous and so great to meet you. inside, sherri shows me some old photos that tell the story of her father's 20-plus years restoring cars and trucks in his barns near paul, idaho. what variety. >> absolutely. he had cars dating from 1919 up to 1982. he got a 1968 mustang, which was mom's cruising car, a 1928 rolls-royce. >> this looks special. >> the 1950 bentley,

my personal favorite, too. >> the restoration wizard, callan "cal" phillips, born 1925. he spends his childhood working on the family wheat and potato farm in south-central idaho. cal serves in the pacific in world war ii, returns home to work on the family farm, gets married and raises six children, then gets divorced in the late 1960s. he remarries to marilyn hanshew, who has three children of her own, including sherri. it's like a blended brady bunch. >> it is. the blessing was, i got a great dad, and i got some really great stepsiblings, too. >> and, says sherri, her stepdad knows how to fix just about anything. >> you had to figure out how to fix that car or fix that engine or make it work because, obviously, time was money when it came to farming. >> in 1994, after half a century

working the fields, 69-year-old cal phillips decides it's time to hang up his farmer's hat and begin sellling off his acre. >> he was tired. he knew that his health was not going to let him do the farming as he would have liked to have done. >> but rather than quietly slipping into retirement, he surprises friends and family with news that he wants to try something completely different -- restoring and selling classic cars. >> i didn't really think that cal was the kind of guy to get into cars. >> maynard wall, who's known cal 40 years, is just one friend who's baffled. >> why do you think he took up restoring cars? >> he needed something to do. he wanted to do farm machinery collection, and i think he found out that cars were easier. >> cal has the basic mechanical skills. the rest he'll learn as he goes. his first project --

an old pickup truck. he strips it down to bare metal, patches up rust holes and gives it a fresh coat of paint. what did he love about it? >> it was something that he was discovering about himself and what he could do, what his talents were, and he put his heart and his soul into that car. >> cal finds a buyer but parting ways with his first restoration turns out to be harder than he imagined. >> he sold it right away, and after he did, he cried, and that was just too much for him. >> so he never sold any more? >> after that, no. he couldn't part with them. that was the first one that he ever did, so he left his mark on it. >> he'll make his mark on many more, like this '73 mustang, or what's left of it. he transforms it into a red-hot beauty, with fresh paint and a new white interior. how about a shell of a 1928 rolls-royce? it rolls out of his barn

looking like this. and check out this black beauty that cal restores, a 1919 model t. it's not an overnight process to restore a car. >> no, it is not. he'd take every car down to the nuts and bolts. >> how long did it take him to do this? >> usually, it would take him minimum 6 months, if not a year sometimes to restore a car. >> into his mid-70s, cal keeps turning wrenches. he gives a 1975 mg roadster a makeover from red and rusty to silver and sexy and picks up some horsepower when he restores this 1966 chevelle super sport. check out those red vinyl door panels and white bucket seats. how about some fun in the sun with this 1949 willys jeepster cal gets looking like new inside and out? would dad pick up some of these cars on the cheap? >> he'd love a bargain.

i found several bills of sale where he may have only paid for. it was a number of different types of vehicles -- pickups, cars, muscle cars, classic cars. >> did mom participate? >> she did participate, especially on decorating the cars for the parades. she loved showing them off with my father as well and loved riding in them and, once in a while, driving them. by the late 90s cal has restored more than 20 cars. next on his list, a 1950 bentley. >> you wouldn't believe what he found with that car. >> but i'm about to find out. sparks are flying. hey, dave, are you nervous? >> oh, not yet. >> here's a "strange inheritance" quiz question. way back in 1958, chrysler offered a luxury option called autopilot. what do we call that feature today?

the answer after the break.

i want some more what's he doin? but, he can't look at him! it's just not done! please sir. i want some more more? more? more? more? please sir

he has asked for... thank you what? well he did say please sir yes he did and, thank you yeah. and thank you he's a wonderful boy (laugh) a delightful boy (all boys): thank you, thank you, thank you. ♪ >> so what was chrysler's new autopilot feature in 1958? it's b, cruise control. ♪ >> cal phillips is restoring classic cars and trucks in his idaho barn. after regretting the sale of his first fixer-upper, the retired farmer decides

to keep the rest of them. so far, there are more than 20 and counting. you know, the thing that strikes me, sherri,is he was too tired and too elderly to continue farming, but it sounds to me like with the cars, he was working just as hard. >> in some ways he was, but i think he found a second wind and a second love. >> cal takes a '66 thunderbird down to bare metal and transforms it into this mean, green machine with a black vinyl top and white-walled tires. and this rare 1961 studebaker champ pickup -- cal tunes it up, refreshes the interior and finishes it in cool blue with lots of chrome. >> you're opening this huge barn door, and all you see is these packed-in cars everywhere. >> kandice little is cal's granddaughter. >> he always would take me show me what he was doing. >> kandice has her eye

on this cherry-red 1968 mustang convertible. >> he knew that i loved that mustang. every time i went to visit, i asked to ride in it. >> so on one visit, cal just puts kandice behind the wheel. >> he wanted to teach me how to drive, and i was only 14, so i think he knew that that would be something special for me. he had a way of making you feel like you were the most important person in the world. >> one car cal is excited to restore -- this 1950 bentley that his daughter sherri found for sale on the roadside. what kind of shape was it in? >> it was in okay shape. the engine was perfect. the body needed a little work. >> what did he pay for that? >> seventeen thousand dollars. >> was that a deal at the time? >> it was a very good deal at the time. >> really? but how does that old saying go? if it's too good to be true... >> he took it down to literally the bare bones and found out there were holes that were almost 5 inches wide stuffed with tinfoil

and covered up with mesh and painted over, so consequently, he had a lot of work cut out for him. >> to see what it takes to fix someone else's botched job, i meet dave lester, owner of a restoration shop in boise, idaho. he's been building hot rods and classics for more than 40 years. >> this fender has had damage on it in the past, and it was restored by somebody that wasn't real experienced in bodywork. >> we can do better. >> yeah. take this grinder. >> okay. got it. any risk of me going too deep here, you know? >> no. we want to get down >> wow. sparks are flying. hey, dave, are you nervous? >> oh, not yet. >> grinding down a classic takes some guts, but it reveals how this 1946 lincoln continental, like cal's beat-up bentley, is hiding a heap of bad bodywork.

excess body filler was used to mask the damaged metal below. >> i can just restraighten this metal until we don't really need very much body filler. >> we clearly have a long way to go on this baby. stripping off some more paint, properly applying body filler, sanding that down -- just a few of the steps cal would have taken on that 1950 bentley. and after more than a year of painstaking dedication, he gets it looking good as new. ♪ ♪ it's just one of more than 50 cars he goes on to restore. in 2012, at age 87, health problems slow cal down, but he never quite yields. >> he was sick for quite a few months, but even in his worst shape, the man was still trying to find parts for cars.

>> cal phillips dies in june 2013 at age 88 and leaves his wife marilyn the 59 cars that he'd lovingly restored and couldn't bring himself to sell. nearly 4 years later, when she passes away, the cars are handed down to their five children. sherri and her stepbrother, randy, are named executors. was he specific about what he wanted to happen to his collection? >> he was very specific. he wanted those cars to be auctioned off. >> really? >> why? >> well, i think for the fact that we have so many beneficiaries in the family, it seemed like the fair thing to do so that no one would have to be squabbling or, you know, upset over who got what car or what. >> so it's time to call in the experts. >> my jaw hit the ground. there was the rolls-royce, the bentley, model t, a mustang, pickup trucks, camaros. he had them sandwiched in there so close you could barely walk.

>> but how will cal's cars appraise outside the barn under the light of day? >> was his goal to make it up to factory standards? >> i think he wanted to be to cal's standards. >> here's another quiz question for you. the most miles ever driven in a single car is over 3 million. was it... the answer when we return. ♪ there's no place like home for the holidays ♪

♪ 'cause no matter how far away you roam ♪ ♪ if you want to be happy in a million ways ♪ ♪ for the holidays you can't beat home sweet home ♪

♪ ♪ >> so what make of car holds the record for the most miles ever driven at more than 3 million? it's b, volvo. the record is held by a american urban gordon and his 1966 p1800.

♪ >> sherri anderson and her four siblings are putting their strange inheritance up for auction, 59 classic cars lovingly restored by their late father, cal phillips. steering the process, brittney edward at dealers auctions of idaho. what's your first reaction when you walk on somebody's property, and you see how many cars? >> my jaw hit the ground. i couldn't believe what we were looking at. in one barn, there was a model t, the rolls-royce, the bentley. it was crazy. i couldn't believe what we saw. >> would one of the determining factors in this auction being a success be the diversity of the collection? >> i think that definitely is the case because it'll bring in a whole variety of car buyers. >> was his goal to make it up to factory standards or something less? >> i think he wanted to be to cal's standards. a collector who wants a museum-quality car,

that's probably not what's in this collection. >> brittney tells me cal's collection will likely attract a big crowd of enthusiasts looking for cars they can still put their own finishing touches on or drive to the local car show without breaking the bank. appeals auction definitely to the average car collector. if you've ever thought about collecting a car, now is your time because there's going to be a car in your price range there. >> that price range starts at about 6,000 bucks for a car like this little hudson metropolitan all the way up to 60,000 for the 1928 rolls-royce. >> we think the collection is going to bring anywhere between 550,000 and 650,000. >> really? that's a nice day's work. >> yes.>> well done, cal. but it's bittersweet for sherri, as she watches her father's cars leaving his barns. >> [ crying ] it was a huge piece of dad. >> i understand. >> sorry, guys.

>> in august 2017, the cars go up for auction in nampa, idaho. >> as you can see, these cars were a labor of love for my dad. take them home. enjoy them and know that there was a man that loved those cars. >> first to cross the block, that 1957 hudson metropolitan. >> eighty-seven now, sold your car, sir, it's sold, 8,700. >> it hammers in at a better-than-expected $9,000. cal's oldest car, that 1919 ford model t coupe... that 1919 ford model t coupe... >> wow. >> wow. >> sold, 9520, 16.5... >> ...fetches 16,500. this '52 chevy truck goes for 11k. >> can i get a 10,? >> remember that '68 mustang that cal taught his granddaughter to drive in? >> here's [indistinct] at 1968. look at that mustang. 21,000... five? sold right there, went and got her bought,

21,000 bucks. >> wow, 21k! how about that '66 chevelle super sport? it revs up to 25k. in comes that elegant bentley that cal spent more than a year restoring. >> yes, sir, here's one of the stars of the show right now, a 1915 bentley vi. >> the bids quickly jump to 20,000, 30,000, 40,000. how high will it climb? and meet the surprise bidder next. whoa, whoa! what's your "strange inheritance" story? we'd love to tell it. send me an e-mail or go to our website, strangeinheritance.com. i joined the army after 911,

cuz, um, i thought that was what i needed to do. we got our orders to go overseas and i went to baghdad, iraq. we were transporting a bomb sniffing dog to the polling stations. we rolled over two anti-tank mines, it blew my humvee up, killed my sergeant. after the explosion, i suffered a closed head injury, um, traumatic brain injury,

loss of a limb, burns to 60% of my body. when the doctors told me i reached my plateau, i did not want to hear that because i do not believe i have a plateau. so, i had to prove 'em wrong, which i am doing to this day and i will still do until the end of my days. i've gotten to where i am at because of my family. and, the wounded warrior project has helped me more than i can ever imagine. they have really been there to support me in my endeavors. my number one goal, basically, is to get close to where i was. i am more than ready to work hard to get to that goal. i am living proof to never give up and i will never give up.

>> now back to "strange inheritance." >> august 2017, sherri anderson and her siblings' strange inheritance, 59 classic cars and trucks

all restored by their dad, are rolling across the auction block in south-central idaho. >> it's been real emotional. these were dad's cars. some of them were just pieces of metal that he took in and made something so beautiful, and it's something that all of us enjoyed at one time or another. so it is a very bittersweet moment. >> the auction house estimated that cal phillips' collection could bring in 650,000 bucks, and the way things are going, that number might be in reach. >> sold at 25,000. >> woo! >> one car receiving a lot of attention, cal's 1950 bentley. it quickly passes 30k, then 40. >> now 40,000, 40,000. now 42.5, now 42.5 again. >> yeah! >> now 45, now 46,000. 46. now .5. we have sold! 46,000, 9541, 46 thou, 9541, one. >> woo! yes! yes! yes! >> and here comes another

british beauty, cal's 1928 rolls-royce. >> can i get 50 grand? fifty, now 54,000, anyone for 54, 54? fifty-five thousand? now 6, 56,000? sold 57,000. sold $57,000. >> woo! >> in all, the sale of 57 of cal's cars brings in just under 600 grand. sherri tells me she and her four brothers and sisters will divide up the profits among themselves with a little going to each of cal's grandchildren. >> i think it went very well. dad would be doing the happy dance right now. this will be the last time we see a lot of these cars, one last look, one last goodbye. >> but is it goodbye or "see you later"? ♪ wait a minute. whoa, whoa. you bought the bentley? >> yes, we did. there was no way i was going to let this car go.

>> you see, before the auction, sherri and her siblings had agreed to sell all the cars, so if any of the heirs wanted to keep one, they'd have to bid on it themselves. >> it is really beautiful. i am so excited to get a good look at it. >> we're not going to just look at it. we're going to ride in it. >> you're taking me for a ride? >> i am taking you for a ride let's go. >> all right. >> i would have thought it woul. it kind of rides smooth. >> it's actually a very, very nice car. this is a classic. >> did you pay more than you thought you'd have to? >> slightly more. our limit was 40. we went up to 46. >> sherri tells me she has big plans for the bentley, along with two other classics she and her husband purchased from her dad's collection. >> we plan on opening up a vintage limo service here in savannah. it's the number-two wedding destination in the nation, so what better way to ride in style than riding in something like this for your special day?

in honor of my dad, we've decided to name the business callan's classics. >> i can just imagine how proud your dad must be, his little girl behind the wheel, making a business out of it. >> i think he would be so thrilled and so honored and so happy. >> was dad a classic? >> dad was an incredible classic. >> sherri tells me that even though her mom supported her dad's car hobby, there was one time she put her foot down. cal was hot on the trail of a 1930 ford model a that came up for sale in a neighboring town. he was in love, but his wife, marilyn, told him he had enough cars and shouldn't spend money on another one. he was upset for months, that is until christmas morning when he found that very car waiting for him outside, red bow and all. it had been her plan to surprise him with it all along.

thanks so much for watching "strange inheritance." and remember -- you can't take it with you. ♪ >> it's a little bit early that we are out of the woods. >> have the biggest the biggest one-day gain in history yesterday. the shot up over 1,000 points. futures are now still under pressure. the prices are jumping nearly 9% yesterday. forty-five dollars and 10 cents per barrel.