HURON, Ohio – When we first took you inside the George Conrad Collection a couple of years ago, it proved to be one of the most popular car collector / photo gallery postings that ever graced the Enthusiasts section of FordPerformance.com. And for good reason: This little-known private collection of mostly high-performance Mustangs and Shelbys could easily have been considered among the finest in the country – if not the world.

The North Coast Mustang Club of Ohio had been visiting club member George Conrad’s private stash of cars every June for the past several years by invitation-only – one of the highlights on the NCMCO’s calendar each year, beyond its annual Mustang & Ford Show held at Nick Abraham Ford in Elyria, Ohio, in July. We had asked George if we could stop by and take a few photos of his cars and then later share them with you on FordPerformance.com, and he agreed. After seeing the photos, several clubs from around the region began contacting George to inquire about arranging a private viewing of their own, and he again agreed.

One such private club tour took place last September 9, when our own roving photographer, Ford Marketing retiree and super-enthusiast Bill Cook, tagged along with his local club for a visit. “If I told you a private collection like this existed, you probably wouldn’t believe me,” Cook wrote after seeing Conrad’s cars in person.

“On Sunday, as a member of the Mustang Owners Club of Southeastern Michigan, I was privileged to visit the stunning George Conrad Collection in Ohio,” Cook continued. “I spent 6 full hours there and would make the 5-hour round-trip from Detroit again this week if I could get back in. Here, 150-plus rare show-quality vehicles are displayed in his state-of-the-art 50,000 square-foot facility, with some 25 more cars in another building. The collection has been assembled over 30 years, and the majority are from Ford Motor Company. I've never seen such an amazing display of Ford Performance vehicles of this magnitude in a private collection: 50 Shelbys; 7 Ford GTs; 12 Boss 302/351/429s; 24 Mustangs; 7 Torinos; 12 Cougars; 2 Cyclone Spoilers; 1 Pantera; and much more. Rare iron from Chrysler, GM and a mind-blowing slot car race track built by Slot Mods. Unreal.”

Cook took tons of photos while touring spectacular collection, so we picked some of our favorites to share with you in the gallery below:

FORD PERFORMANCE PHOTOS / COURTESY BILL COOK