http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/ Latest blog entries from America's Car Museum en-us Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:17:16 PDT Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:17:16 PDT LeMay - America's Car Museum CMS http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/2012-bank-kirkland-concours-delegance/ This 1933 Marmon V-16 Convertible Coupe owned by Aaron Weiss of San Marino, Calif. was named "Best of Show" at the 2012 U.S. Bank Kirkland Concours d'Elegance at LeMay - America's Car Museum (ACM) today. The event, which raises money for Seattle Children's Hospital, featured more than 120 cars, motorcycles and boats on the Haub Family Field at America's Car Museum. ... Wed, 12 Sep 2012 14:02:00 PDT http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/story-lemay-museum-video/ LeMay Museum: Part 2 from eGarage on Vimeo.Thanks to the folks at eGarage.com for producing this excellent video for us. ... Thu, 30 Aug 2012 16:26:00 PDT http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/piece-american-history-uncovered/ Researching the cars here at ACM often reminds me of genealogy research, where you look at people’s ancestry, birth date, marital status, immigration, residence, military, professional, fame/infamy, and, finally, death records. Similarly, vehicles have very comparable records, a birth date, place they were created, licensing history and, perhaps, histories of being moved from state to state (or country!). There are records showing ownership changes and whether the car has been restored. The titles are just like our own birth records and can tell us volumes concerning past owners and, hopefully, the vehicle’s “family” pedigree.While researching the records for ACM’s 1917 Crane Simplex Chassis No. 2358, I found a small reference that the car had possibly been owned by the J.D. Rockefeller Family. John D. Rockefeller founded and built the Standard Oil Company empire in the late 19th century, eventually becoming one of the most prominent and wealthiest men in the country, so it was likely this fine luxury automobile built in New York might have been in his stable.I went looking for concrete evidence to make sure this claim was true. ... Mon, 12 Mar 2012 18:30:00 PDT 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.Studebaker's design team created the Starlight under the direction of  legendary Raymond Loewy and final designs were 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/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/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/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/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/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/strictly-continental/ The first Continental was a customized Lincoln Zephyr built in 1939, at the request of Ford Motor Company President Edsel Ford.  The car was built to be for his use at his vacation home in Palm Beach Florida. As the story goes, upon returning from a trip to Europe, Edsel went to the Ford Company’s head designer, Bob Gregorie and asked him to build a “strictly continental” car for his personal use. ... Tue, 22 Feb 2011 15:40:00 PST http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/tech-tip-cold-starting-vintage/ HARD STARTING COLD By Paul Kelly, President Gig Harbor Cruisers Automotive ClubDifficulty starting a vehicle that has been allowed to sit for a number of days (that will then start well the rest of the day) is often caused by modern fuel.  Modern fuel begins to vaporize (evaporate) at a much lower temperature than fuel that was available before the 1970’s. So, once the engine is shut off, the fuel in the carburetor bowl begins to evaporate through the bowl vent. If there is no fuel in the carburetor, the engine will not start. Pumping the foot-feed during this time simply prolongs the agony, as the accelerator pump will pump the fuel into the engine, but in amounts insufficient for starting.If you have this problem, try priming the carburetor by using an eyedropper and filling the carburetor bowl through the bowl vent prior to cranking the engine. If you do not wish to prime the engine, crank the engine for 15 to 20 seconds WITHOUT PUMPING. Then stop cranking, pump the foot-feed 3 or 4 times, release it, and then reattempt to start the engine. Priming the carburetor eliminates excessive wear on the starter. ... Wed, 19 Jan 2011 13:15:00 PST http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/retrieving-cars-impossible-locations-thats-1/ For the last 25 years there have been about a dozen 1923 to 1931 cars perched on the bleachers in the old gym at Marymount. Seven of them were cars donated by the LeMay family to the museum. Following a meeting with Doug LeMay, the Museum was given a green light to access the cars provided a ramp could be used rather than a forklift in order to protect the new carpeting in the gym. ... Thu, 13 Jan 2011 08:44:00 PST http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/collectors-foundation-2010-award/ Collectors Foundation 2010 Collections Management Internship Grant AwardedAlex McMillan, South Seattle Community College ... Wed, 05 Jan 2011 16:45:00 PST http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/1947-packard-clipper/ This 1947 Packard Clipper Deluxe Eight sedan is our newest addition to LeMay-America’s Car Museum Collection. The car was donated by Club Auto Member, Christopher Bayley of Seattle. Mr. Bayley states “To me the Dutch Darrin designed Clipper is the most beautiful "modern" Packard. Some of us even think the Silver Cloud I Rolls Royce and comparable Bentley mimicked the look of these cars.” ... Tue, 16 Nov 2010 18:22:00 PST http://www.lemaymuseum.org/blog/teeny-tiny-productions-starting/ Starting from the Beginning…In 2009, Burt Richmond & Diane Fitzgerald, long-time residents of Chicago’s historic Old Town neighborhood and car enthusiasts, had their first exhibition of microcars and minicars.  In conjunction with the 60th Old Town Art Fair, which was just 2 blocks away, Diane and Burt displayed eight small cars (complete with information plaques) in front of their home and received an overwhelming response.  The small, fuel-efficient cars attracted so much attention that Diane and friends Rebecca Hoffman and Wendy Jarchow, decided to produce small car events - exhibitions and invitational car shows - to piggyback with Chicago's summer festival season – and Teeny Tiny Productions was born. ... Wed, 06 Oct 2010 15:37:00 PDT