Ah, the golden age of the American automobile, when engine size was measured in cubic inches rather than European-style liters. And when customers cared more about miles per hour than miles per gallon.

The automobile collection of former New Hampshire businessman Michael Dingman grasps that era of the American automobile. And a memento of that era can be grasped, literally, this weekend, for those with a few hundred-thousand dollars or so to spend.

Dingman has put nearly 50 collectible automobiles on the block. Many are expected to draw bids in excess of $100,000, and the auction house running the sale said bidders from across North America and as far away as the Middle East are interested.

Immaculate and fastidiously restored, the offerings range from a 1934 Ford Phaeton, with running-boards and spoked-wheels, to a 2005 Ford GT, a 550-horsepower muscle car that was the second off the assembly line. Ford reserved it especially for Dingman, who sat on the Ford board of directors for more than 20 years.

Also up for auction: more than 1,000 signs from the American automobile era. Most dazzling are lighted signs that advertise companies such as Pepsi-Cola, Studebaker and Budweiser as well as long-forgotten bars, ice cream stands and gas stations that coaxed in customers with the commercial glow of neon.

Six years ago, a similar auction of Dingman-owned automobiles and signs generated nearly $8 million in sales.

According to RM Auctions, Dingman, who is retired, wants to pass on the responsibilities of owning and maintaining his collection.

“If you just imagine the time and effort to maintain the collection, it's a huge time commitment,” said Amy Christie, a spokesman for RM.

The auction will take place at 363 Exeter Road, Hampton, the storage location for the cars and signs. Only registered bidders can participate in the auction, but a preview is open to the public today, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Preview tickets are $30 each, or two people can get in with the purchase of a $100 catalog.

Auction registration is $150, which includes the catalog and admission of two people to the preview and the auction. For the auction, potential bidders must supply a valid photo ID, credit card and bank note or credit card authorization of $2,000.

Christie said Dingman's collection has a reputation for high quality.

Many feature flattop V-8s, the single-cast engine perfected by Ford when Chevrolet was championing an in-line six-cylinder, according to a history of the engine prepared by RM Auctions.

Several of the cars are “woodies,” station wagons of the 1930s and 40s that featured exteriors and interiors of highly finished wood, much of it from the Ford-owned forest in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan.

Several pre-war Lincolns are also up for auction, massive cars with convertible tops and V-12 engines. Rhapsody in Blue is the name of a 1940 Lincoln Cabriolet, which features a lush blue body paint with deeper toned ragtop and interior. It is a tribute to a similar model customized for Paul Whiteman, a legendary American bandleader.

“I've been a student of Ford history,” Dingman said in a video posted on rmauctions.com. “Henry Ford was an amazing person for a host of reasons.”

Dingman was a successful businessman who founded and ran several corporations, including Wheelabrator-Frye Inc., Signal Companies Inc., AlliedSignal Inc. and its Henley Group Inc. spinoff, according to his alma mater, the University of Michigan.

He also invested in Russia, former Soviet satellites, the Czech Republic and China.

In the early 1990s, Dingman lived in the Seacoast area, and he contributed to many causes, including campaigns of New Hampshire Republicans, according to previous newspaper accounts.

He also funded a study that compared the New Hampshire tax structural favorably to that of Vermont.

In 1994, Dingman gave up his U.S. citizenship for the Bahamas. At the time, financial press reported about several American executives who renounced their citizenship to avoid high estate taxes.

Christie said Dingman held the 2006 auction because he was in poor health. “He started collecting again and remains in good health but simply wants to sell the collection so he can devote more of his time to other pursuits,” she said.

Dingman will be at the auction, she said.

Outside of the Ford realm, other automobiles include a 1989 Aston Martin Vantage, two Porsche 911s, a 1990 Prevost motor home, and a 1986 AC Autocraft Cobra.

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Mark Hayward may be reached at mhayward@unionleader.com.