NORTH ANDOVER — Ever since he was a boy, Bill Silk has loved cars.
In fact, the North Andover resident is such an avid fan that he has converted the entire basement of his house into what he calls a "car bar."
The walls are packed with more than 300 die-cast cars, many of which are no longer produced.
"Some of these older cars are still made, but they're missing details," Silk said. "Like this 1959 Cadillac Eldorado — now it's only produced with all white seats rather than with the white and pink seats you see on this version."
Each shelf has its own theme, with groups of different car models and car companies like Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Lincoln and Packard. Most of the cars are 1:18 scale, although Silk has numerous other cars in different scales.
When the Silk family moved to North Andover from Andover, they didn't have a single die-cast car with them. Back then, there weren't even any shelves in the basement.
"The other owner before us had a kind of Western/'70s theme going on down here with the bar," Silk said. "We never got rid of that terrible carpeting, so you can kind of still get some of that '70s feel."
The bar is now covered in hubcaps and large ceramic taxi cabs that store Silk's "treats," as he likes to say.
So how did his obsession with cars start?
Silk said his collection began in 1992, the year he first arrived in North Andover.
"I'd had model cars when I was a kid, but I never really had a big collection," he said. "You know, it was kids stuff."
It was actually Silk's children who helped bring about their father's collection.
"I'd take my kids to Toys "R" Us, and I'd end up getting something for myself," he joked.
The first car he purchased was a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air. That car was the first of many. He buys many of the cars at online auction sites or from www.diecastmuscle.com, a Web site that specializes in die-cast cars.
"It's a big collection," Silk said. "But I try to get a lot of cars from when I was a kid."
One car that was a big part of Silk's childhood was his father's 1956 Ford Fairlane.
"My dad's was the station wagon, but this version is still pretty close," he said, pointing to one in his collection.
Silk said he's not thinking of expanding his collection to other parts of the house, but who knows, his basement could eventually fill up.
