Rising Stars: Meet Terry Gale of Elizabeth

Today we’d like to introduce you to Terry Gale.

Terry, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?

My journey as a car collector started not with ambition—but with memory. Growing up around cars and nostalgia, I was deeply influenced by my father’s 1954 Nash Ambassador, a humble family car that sat abandoned in a field for nearly two decades after breaking down. Rather than let it be scrapped, I rescued and restored it, transforming the forgotten old car into something beautiful again. That first restoration didn’t just bring a car back to life—it sparked a passion.

In the early 1990s, my life was changed from working as a handyman in my own business to a retired guy who was able to live my dream and collect cars. I began to amass more cars like that Nash—especially models from Nash, Rambler, and American Motors Corporation (AMC) that few others appreciated. What started as a personal collection quickly grew beyond a garage. Together with my partner, I established Rambler Ranch in rural Elizabeth, Colorado, as a permanent home for hundreds of classic cars, memorabilia, and relics of 20th-century Americana. Today it’s recognized as the world’s largest private collection of Nash, Rambler, and AMC vehicles and the only museum dedicated to this amazing car company, all born from that first sentimental restoration and a belief that these cars deserved to be remembered—not forgotten.

Now I have been here building my collection for 34 years. I have been featured in several magazines, TV shows, radio shows and recently on the cover of Hemmings book of the top 75 museums in Europe and America. I have had people from all over the world come to visit and many coming back with friends and family. Lots of people have said that coming here was on their bucket list none of them leaving disappointed. Besides the Nash, Rambler, American Motors, Jeep, Renault cars I have 60 other makes. My dream is to show the history of Nash from 1917 through the final car off the line in 1978. Also show the other things that the company made including Kelvinator appliances, Wheel Horse garden tractors and a 1976 AM General RTD bus, I am 12 cars short of that dream. You can also see what the inside of a 1960’s house looked like and a 1950’s kitchen, you have to visit Rambler Ranch to really understand it. There are 4 buildings with cars, the 1950’s kitchen, 2 appliances displays with another with another one in the works and the 1960’s house. I have an 1888 log cabin that is original to the property that has been restored and at times open to tour. The ranch is a 165-acre property hidden in the pine trees near Elizabeth.

I open to the public on weekends during the summer, information on days and times are on my website ramblerranch.com. I also open by appointment any day all year.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
To find so many years of cars and vintage appliances in good condition has been a challenge and traveled all over the country collecting them. Having space to display so much is always a problem and now have 65,000 sq ft of display space and still not enough. There are only 3 of us here to maintain everything and one is my mechanic that has been here for 26 years. Finding parts is sometimes hard since very few parts have been reproduced.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Building my collection has been my full-time job since 1991.I am known for my attention to detail, how clean everything is and the large collection of so much more than cars. I am very proud that I have created something that no one else in the world has done. Word of mouth has been my best advertising and guests posting pictures on their social media. My collection has cars that you will not see in other museums and seems like the majority of my guests either had a Rambler or know someone that did. There are so many beautiful cars, but grandma drove a Rambler not a Duesenberg.

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Find something that you are passionate about and will never get tired of it. The only opinion that matters is your own and not someone else’s, do what makes you happy. I have learned that a garage is never big enough so make it as big as you can and then add a little more.

Pricing:

• since I am a private collector, I ask a minimum donation of $20 to experience Rambler Ranch.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ramblerranch.com
• Instagram: theramblerranch