Mike Hall is a bit of a living legend in western Canada. The man has even gotten his own multi-season History Channel show out of his legendary status. Mike Hall has amassed a truly historical collection of many hundreds of classic cars ranging from the 40s to the 70s. “Rust Valley Restorers” follows Mike Hall and his friends and family as they try to keep his classic car restoration business afloat. The collection of vintage MOPAR, Ford, Chevy, and much more valuable and rare cars, is the company’s heart, and now Mike Hall is selling the whole lot. 

“Rust Valley Restorers” star Mike Hall is selling hundreds of rare classic cars

MotorTrend reports that Mike Hall’s collection contains more than 350 cars in various conditions. Some cars are museum-quality trailer queens, while many others form a sea of brown shells littering the fields of his property. 

If you’ve ever watched “Rust Valley Restorers,” you’ll plainly see that Mike Hall is a one-of-a-kind cat. The dreadlocked Canadian ball of energy isn’t someone who has hundreds of cars because he is a billionaire. He has this collection for one reason alone; he loves them. For this reason, his business (at least as it’s portrayed on History Channel) seemed to be struggling. Hall couldn’t seem to stop himself from buying the next classic car that crossed his path. 

If this weren’t endearing enough on its own, he also seemed to routinely give people price breaks to help them see their dream project through. This practice clearly hurt his standing as a businessman but clearly encased him as a tender and generous member of his community. 

In a recent interview, Hall reluctantly admits that he has continued to grow his collection even after listing his life’s work for sale last year for a little over USD 1 million (1.4 million Canadian dollars.) After being poked and prodded by the interviewer and Mike’s own crew, he admits to buying “about 40 cars” since listing his collection for sale. 

Why does Mike Hall want to sell his cars? 

As with the most recently “about 40 cars” that “Rust Valley Restorers” Mike Hall has acquired, he says that as things cross his path, even sight unseen, he tends to buy. Needless to say, this method of car buying has grown to a burdensome amount. 

In the same interview, Hall said, “A friend of mine who was in a similar situation—he spent his inheritance on a car collection—died at 65, and his wife sold everything off at pennies on the dollar. It really made me think that if I drop dead tomorrow, I don’t want to be that guy. My own wife would curse me for leaving her with that burden.”

As reported by MotorTrend, Mike Hall does more than just collect and restore classic cars. He sites his rock scaling business as the main pressure point for wanting to sell his horde. His business keeps him on the road so much that he is left with little time to work on his cars. 

What does the beloved History Channel star do now? 

The MotorTrend interview with Mike Hall ends with a contemplative sigh of realization that this story and ones like it are increasingly scarce. There simply aren’t many people in the world left like Mike Hall, a hard-working stiff who was able to wrangle his love of cars and actually buy these rusty treasures before the entire world became potential competitors. 

Collections like this are waning due in part because of time and money. Both have become an increasingly valuable resource as the world has coalesced into a singular community reachable by no more than a mere click of the mouse. Not to mention, the classic car and truck markets have really blown up over the last few years.

While Hall seems to be sure of his decision, his love for his collection has never let its foot off the throttle. referencing another interview with Carol Ott of CBC radio, Hall said, “She asked me, ‘Mike, how are you going to feel when they’re all gone,’” he says. “I’m sitting there in the shop looking out at all those cars, and I just started to cry…I realized it was like her asking me, ‘how would you feel if we killed your kids right in front of you?”