Ragtops Motorcars

Ragtops Motorcars is a vintage car dealer, small automotive museum and event space in Lake Worth Beach, in Palm Beach County, Florida. Founder and owner Ty Houck started the business in 1980, and he describes it as a "selling museum": the cars on display are part of the attraction, and most of them are also for sale. After more than four decades and several moves around the county, Ragtops now operates from the corner of 7th Avenue North and Dixie Highway.

From a gas station to a Palm Beach fixture

According to the company's own history, Ragtops began in 1980 in a gas station with three cars that Houck brought with him from Maryland, cars he still owns. With partners Frank and Graham Loving, he bought a corner lot at Lakeview and Olive in West Palm Beach that housed what the company calls the oldest gas station in Palm Beach County, and launched Ragtops there.

In 1988 the business moved into another converted gas station, and about a year later it began renting space in a historic three-story building on Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach. The company says it eventually took over the entire building, adding a "memory lane," a soda bar and a drive-in theater, and hosted up to 120 private and corporate events a year. It later downsized, moving first across the street and then into two smaller buildings, before landing at its current Lake Worth Beach address. Its own blog places Ragtops at 701 N. Dixie by mid 2022, and the About page says this location is meant to be the last move.

How the business works

Ragtops buys and sells cars on its own account. Its homepage says the company is "regularly selling and purchasing vintage automobiles," and a July 2025 Florida Weekly feature described Houck buying cars he thinks will look good on the floor, including a 1935 Ford rumble seat convertible bought out of Cape Coral. We found no consignment program on the Ragtops website. Owners with a vintage car to sell can call and ask whether Houck is interested in buying it.

The same Florida Weekly article put the number of cars at the location at up to 26 at any one time, and the museum stock changes as cars sell and new ones arrive.

What Ragtops sells

The inventory leans toward prewar and postwar American cars, convertibles and affordable European classics. In early October 2026 the for-sale page listed 14 cars, including:

• a 1937 Chrysler Imperial Convertible Sedan and a 1939 Pontiac Silver Streak Deluxe Six woodie wagon
• a 1950 Packard Deluxe Sedan and a 1950 Plymouth Special Deluxe Coupe
• a 1954 Volvo PV444, a 1963 Volvo 121 wagon and a 1972 Volvo P1800E
• air-cooled Volkswagens, including a 1969 Beetle, a 1971 Karmann Ghia and a 1973 Thing
• a 1978 Mercedes 450SL and a 2001 Plymouth Prowler

Listed prices ran from about $13,800 to $54,500. A "sold" archive of roughly 70 cars gives a sense of what passes through: Ford Thunderbirds from the 1950s and 1960s, Austin-Healeys, MGs, Mercedes-Benz SLs, Volkswagen convertibles and the occasional modern collectible.

Buying from Ragtops

The Ragtops website does not mention financing, shipping or inspection services, so buyers should expect to arrange those themselves. The company says pick up and delivery are available, but it lists that alongside its storage service, so ask about delivery terms for a purchased car directly. Because the cars are on display at the museum, an in-person look is straightforward, and a buyer from out of state can hire an independent inspector to visit the showroom. The basics still apply: confirm the VIN and title, ask about any recent mechanical work and get condition details in writing. Our guide to buying from a classic car dealer walks through the process.

Museum, events and storage

Ragtops is also a place to visit. The museum displays vintage cars alongside signs, posters, neon and other memorabilia, and the company encourages visitors to take photos. A shop called the Gift Garage sells Ragtops apparel, neon and automotive books and manuals.

The company says it has hosted events since 1990 and now handles bookings with an outside event management company. It also supplies vintage cars for photo shoots and weddings. For owners, Ragtops offers air-conditioned storage that it says can hold up to 15 cars, and it advises calling to check for open spaces.

Reputation

Ragtops has operated under the same name and owner for more than 40 years, and it has been covered by local media, including the Florida Weekly feature and a PBS segment on the Palm Beaches. Its BBB profile, filed under Ragtops Motorcars, Inc. and still showing an older West Palm Beach address, says the business is not BBB accredited and shows no complaints closed in the past three years. The reviews quoted on its own site are positive, though they are the company's selection, so it is worth reading independent reviews as well.

Visiting Ragtops

Ragtops Motorcars is at 701 N Dixie Hwy, Lake Worth Beach, FL 33460. When we checked, its website listed hours of 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Thursday through Saturday, with the other days marked closed for summer, so call 561-379-6500 to confirm before you go. For other dealers and private sellers in the state, see Florida classic cars for sale.