Charles Gillet loved stylish, well-built automobiles, and was passionate about them being at their best.

He was vocal about it—having shown up at the offices of burgeoning Road & Track in 1954 with a copy of the magazine that he had edited for typographical errors, and suggested boldly to editor John Bond that he make his publication “ The New Yorker of the automotive press.” Bond made Mr.

Gillet an associate editor on the spot, and he held that role until 1957 before returning to Maryland and other business ventures, most prominently a very successful Volkswagen dealership.

Reflective of that catching passion for quality is the Gillet 1931 Cadillac V-8 Convertible Coupe, one of the longest-term denizens of the collection, bought in the late 1980s in Olathe, Kansas, ahead of a planned auction.

It had, however, begun life here in Pennsylvania, with its factory build sheet indicating it was born with this coachwork and engine, finished in Hessian Maroon with dual sidemounted spares a...