http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/ Latest blog entries from America's Car Museum en-us Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:35:10 PST Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:35:10 PST LeMay - America's Car Museum CMS http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/to-craft-finest-automobiles-in/ The 1956 Continental Mark II "To craft the finest automobiles in America" - was the motto of short-lived Continental Division of Ford Motor Company, and during its two year production run, the division produced the Continental Mark II series.  Our newest addition to the collection is this 1956 Continental Mark II, donated to America’s Car Museum by Steve Boone, owner of Northwest Harley Davidson in Lacy, WA.  Steve, who has been a tireless LeMay- America's Car Museum supporter, is a member of the Museum's Board of Directors and the Chairperson of ACM’s Collection Committee. The Mark II is a beautiful display example of Ford’s forward thinking in engineering design and attention to quality.  When Steve acquired the car he said it caught his eye for its sleek look and luxury interior. “I thought it was just a beautiful car!”, Steve tells us. ... Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:09:00 PST http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/lemay-americas-car-museum-named/ LeMay - America's Car Museum named one of 8 big openings in 2012.  Click here to read the full article. ... Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:10:00 PST http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/avanti-rescue-update-green-sparkle/ After 40 years, the First Avanti is no longer Green Sparkle and is on its way back to its original Avanti White. Over the past couple of months, ACM’s Avanti has undergone some major changes and our monthly updates on the ACM’s Collection pages have been showcasing the recent progress. The car has been completely stripped by our all-volunteer rescue team in Bellingham, Washington, under the direction of James Bell of the Bell Studebaker Museum.  In final preparation for paint removal, James and his crew cleared out everything under the car-- the driveline, brake and fuel lines, exhaust, etc. so they wouldn’t be in the way of soda blasting the frame. The volunteer crew, who are all members of the Whatcom County chapter of the Studebaker Driver’s Club, have meticulously dismantled the car taking care to label and bag all parts. The rear end was swapped out with a temporary one and the refreshed rear-end, new leaf springs plus suspension from the A-arms out in front will be replaced once the car has returned for re-assembly. Read More ---> ... Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:47:00 PST http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/beautiful-bullet-nose-coupe/ 1951 Studebaker Champion StarlightAmerica's Car Museum received an extra special gift in our stocking this year from Dick Hannah of Vancouver Washington.  This 1951 Studebaker Champion Starlight Coupe was lovingly restored by Dick Hannah Dealerships (under Mr. Hannah's direction) in 2009 and was frequently on display at the dealership's showroom.Designed under the direction Studebaker's legendary Raymond Loewy and final designs executed by Virgil Exner, the daring 1950-51 Bullet-nose Studebaker has become one of the most iconic American automotive designs. ... Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:14:00 PST http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/hot-rod-shop-deuce-delivery/ 1932 Ford Sedan Delivery...is our newest addition to the collection generously donated to America's Car Museum by Gerald Greenfield and Family, of Lake Tapps, Washington. By 1931 sales of the aging Model A were plummeting. Ford knew that they needed a modern design to revitalize the company. Working around the clock they designed and built the first economical V-8. The first of what was to become the "Deuce" models rolled off the line in April of 1932. The Sedan Delivery truck was only produced for the last two months of the year and only 402 were built making it one of the rarest Fords of all time. This car's story has been featured in the June, 2009 edition of Rod and Custom Magazine, CarTech's America's Coolest Rides Station Wagons, and has won many awards including the 2011 Goodguys Pacific NW Best Commercial entry. ... Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:12:00 PST http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/move-to-new-museumone-car/ After two years preparing the collection for our new museum, it was finally time to move from Collection Management’s temporary home in Fife to our new 165,000 square foot building in Tacoma!  Our first day of car moves into the museum was primarily all of the pre-war vehicles we had ready and waiting at our warehouse.  I selected these cars because many are open cars with delicate interiors and exteriors, and it was looking like our first day was going to be excellent weather for moving them safely. ... Mon, 07 Nov 2011 15:56:00 PST http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/acm-volunteers-things-happen/ Without the skilled and tireless efforts of our dedicated team of volunteers, we would not have been able to transfer operations from the temporary headquarters in Fife to the new Museum campus nearly as quickly or smoothly. Working in two teams of four to six people each, our volunteers helped with the office move and both days dedicated to moving vehicles. Judging from the smiles on the faces of the volunteers in these photos, it's safe to say the effort, though hard, was also a lot of fun. ... Fri, 04 Nov 2011 17:15:00 PDT http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/americas-car-museum-gives-sneak/ LeMay America’s Car Museum (ACM) opened its doors Saturday night during a one-night only sneak peek for 650-plus partygoers at the “Hard Hat & High Heels” fundraiser, the first event to take place on the nine-acre Museum campus. ... Sat, 24 Sep 2011 11:09:00 PDT http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/slice-history-on-auction-at/ Hard Hat & High Heels attendees will have the unique opportunity to bid on a painting of the gala’s “Guest of Honor,” a 1927 LaSalle. Tacoma artist Carolyn Burt’s painting of the Museum’s Mille Miglia conquering car will be one of many items and experiences on auction at the September 24th event. ... Thu, 25 Aug 2011 14:31:00 PDT http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/oldsmobile/ Car collectors are the same world over.  Recently, I was contacted by the son of Mr. Peter Gifford of Dunlop Australia who restored ACM’s 1926 Oldsmobile Holden 4 door touring car in the late 1970’s.  After several fun email exchanges between son Michael and Peter’s wife Connie, I received a package in the mail with photographs of the car’s restoration, along with documents, and the Canberra collector license plate which was on the car in many of the photos included with the package. The following from Mr. Gifford was also enclosed: “Six months ago an old friend rang me and said he had seen the car in a museum in America. This of course started my son Michael tracking this information until finally locating it. It is a credit to those people who have owned the Olds since I sold it in 1981 to Darrell Cawthorn in Sydney. ... Tue, 02 Aug 2011 14:56:00 PDT http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/cant-be-missed-events-on/ Two can’t-be-missed” events are on tap at America’s Car Museum… ... Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:03:00 PDT http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/students-an-eye-on-cars/ Since LeMay-America’s Car Museum’s collection spans over 100 years of automotive history, we offer unique opportunities to introduce students to various educational activities that are designed to enhance a student's experiences with this important part of our American heritage.  Education has been (and will always be) a key component to the museum's interests. During the summers of 2010 and 2011, the 'Coffee Cruise-in Open House', events held at our Fife headquarters, allowed members of the Fife High School Key Club to have a chance to participate as judges for something we call the “Favorite Three” pick of the morning. The goal is to expose the students to the sport of car collecting. ... Wed, 15 Jun 2011 16:01:00 PDT http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/1962-volkswagen-karmann-ghia-think/ This post comes from our own Autobiography article of OpenRoad; our quarterly publication for members. If you would like to receive this award winning publication, sign up to become a member today! Otherwise, you can download the full article from OpenRoad, here. ... Tue, 10 May 2011 13:37:00 PDT http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/whats-an-iowa-police-car/ LeMay - ACM had an exhibit set up at the New York International Auto Show last week that sparked quite a bit of press coverage for the Museum. Here's one of many great stories posted on the New York Times blog last week: ... Mon, 25 Apr 2011 13:55:00 PDT http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/introducing-avanti-1001-rescue-project/ ACM has launched the "Avanti #1001 Rescue Project" to restore our 1963 Studebaker Avanti (which is #1001/body 101), the first production Avanti in America.  If funds can be generated, the museum will cosmetically restore the car to display condition and complete a full mechanical restoration on the world’s first production Avanti. ... Thu, 21 Apr 2011 11:43:00 PDT http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/drafting-dream-architect-alan-grant/ Rome wasn’t built in a day, so it shouldn’t be a big surprise that a massive undertaking like LeMay – America’s Car Museum (ACM), has taken nearly a decade to complete. “That’s not unusual for a museum project,” says Alan Grant, the chief architect of the 165,000-sq.-ft.  museum complex in Tacoma, Wash. Grant, co-owner of the architectural firm GrantPrice in Los Angeles, has designed structures around the globe, but ACM presented a variety of new challenges for him and his company. With ACM construction now more than halfway complete, Grant reflected on the “deceptively difficult” process of designing and creating a museum built principally through philanthropy that will serve “as the heart of world’s automotive culture.”   ... Wed, 20 Apr 2011 14:56:00 PDT http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/fabulous-wailer-mobile-in-memory/ In 2010, Tacoma's homegrown musical heroes, The Fabulous Wailers, generously donated their beloved “Wailer Mobile”,  a 1976 Cadillac 4 door Brougham, to LeMay- America's Car Museum.Last month, founding Wailers Kent Morrill and bassist Buck Ormsby dropped by to see the car.The LeMay Museum is very sad to announce that on Friday, April 15th, 2011, Kent Merrill succumbed to the cancer he had bravely battled for the last four years. Kent was 70 years old. He and his wife Toni had six children together, and were grandparents to twelve grandchildren. ... Mon, 18 Apr 2011 14:27:00 PDT http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/construction-progress-update-3-14/ With Winter officially ending in about a week, so too comes the completion of the concrete structure of the LeMay Museum.  Little did we know that this Winter would bring with it bouts of snow accompanied by atypical high winds and heavy rains which our project team has managed to stay safely on schedule while building a truly impressive structure.  With Spring around the corner, we welcome the Heavy Timber Structure crew that will create the arched curve profile of the roof.  In addition to the construction of the building’s shell, excellent progress continues within the building’s interior.  Wall and soffit framing is underway and the mechanical and electrical crews are busy installing the building’s infrastructure.  Stay tuned for more updates and keep your eyes peeled for the assembly of the magnificent arched roof. ... Wed, 16 Mar 2011 15:47:00 PDT http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/collection-management-volunteer-staff-shifting/ Anticipating the completion and move into the new LeMay-America’s Car Museum building and the exhibits for the Harold E. LeMay Exhibit (including, as well, all other Americas Car Museum Exhibits), the museums vehicles have been going through several levels of conservation and careful display preparation. Cars, trucks and motorcycles will need to be fully assessed, cleaned, dressed and conserved. Much of this work is being accomplished through the generous support of our museum volunteer staff.Recently, two volunteer staff training classes were conducted on Vehicle Assessment and Vehicle Detailing. Attending the Vehicle Assessment class were twelve volunteers, conducted within the Museums facility at Fife by the Director of Collections, Renee Crist. This class covered processes concerning vehicle authentication, research, and display assessment. Using all of the information gathered in this process, the Collection Management team can better plan for a cars preservation and conservation needs. ... Fri, 11 Mar 2011 17:27:00 PST http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/david-madeira-lemay-auto-museum/ Here's an interview from March 3rd, with our President & CEO, David Madeira talking about the progress of the Museum, how it started and why it's being built in Tacoma. Don't miss it! http://missmotormouth.com/2011/03/david-madeira-of-the-lemay-auto-museum-joins-autoline-after-hours-tonight/  ... Tue, 08 Mar 2011 10:45:00 PST http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/2011-event-series-hosted-traveling/ Whether you live in the Pacific Northwest, the Southwest, or the East Coast, LeMay - AMERICA’S CAR MUSEUM is actively hosting and attending events throughout the country - and now, the world! Here’s a sneak peak at the exciting events happening in 2011. Click here for more details on these and other events. ... Mon, 07 Mar 2011 13:51:00 PST