Resourcefulness is a virtue of the most prolific junkmen, but the term junkman seems less fitting when talking about a man who probably owned more Porsches than any other in California. The man is Rudi Klein, a German emigrant who arrived in Los Angeles in the 1950s, and after a string of odd jobs, Rudi founded one of the most impressive collections of foreign cars in America.

By now it?s probably clear that Rudi?s collection is different than most, in that it consists mostly of wrecked cars?predominantly Porsches?but all manners of foreign exotics have passed through his yard. Rudi?s business was Porche Foreign Auto (Rudi omitted the ?s? after Porsche threatened legal action years back), which he operated from 1967 until he passed away in 2001, and his yard will go down in history as one of America?s best-kept secrets.
Rudi bought up and tore down all the crashed exotics he could get his hands on, from Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Ferrari and more, with their big-ticket components bagged, tagged and shelved. From transaxles to carburetors, the auto parts business started paying serious dividends in the 1970s, and Rudi expanded his personal collection to include Lamborghini Muiras, Iso Grifos, a real-deal alloy-bodied 300 SL Gullwing and a concours-winning Mercedes-Benz 500 K Coupe.

The value of Rudi?s personal cars is in the millions, and that?s before you start factoring in the regular inventory in the wrecking yard. The whole lot is being sold by RM Sotheby?s i...