Piccola's Projects: Colorado (Gateway Auto Museum)

For the record, while in Wyoming, I saw all remaining license plates (ID, WY, ND, and NM) except for HI. I do have a couple of GT buddies who might have their GTs with HI license plates in CA while I'm out there. We will see!!!! :)

Woke up early, got in the car, and took off singing: "On the road again. Just can't wait to get on the road again."

The national parks would be free for the next 3 days. CO and UT have the most amazing national parks and monuments, so I was determined to plan my route around those and hit as many as I could!

My first destination was Gateway, which is on the way to Mesa Verde. The drive to Gateway was AMAZING!!! A scenic twisty road that goes on for miles through a colorful canyon. Gateway is a very small town. In fact, if you close your eyes, you will miss it! There is one small set of adobe styled buildings with the Palisade mountain in the background. I would have enjoyed climbing it, but it's by guided tour only and costs $265!

Instead, I had breakfast at their cafe and went through the Gateway Auto Museum, which is part of John Hendricks' classic American car collection, which was quite a gem!

This is a 1932 Auburn 8-100A Speedster:

Here is a 1913 Pierce Arrow (Model 38C Brougham) with 38 hp, a compressed air starter, and full electrical system. They sold for about $4K-$5K (which is a LOT for that time period):

And here we have a 1910 Hubmobile (Model 20 Roundabout):

For those of you who like motorcycles (particularly little Luke and John), here is a 1913 Indian 61 Twin Board Track Racer with a 61 cubic inch V-twin engine with overhead valves. It spouted off 7 hp (doesn't that sound like nothing?) and sold for $250:

I love Ford, so here are a couple old ones! We have a 1914 Ford Model T Runabout (first one) and a 1912 Ford Model T Speedster (2nd one). The 1914 Model T has 22 hp and a flathead 4 cylinder engine. We all heard the Ford saying, "you can have any color you want as long as it's black." Black was the color used because it is the quickest to dry.

Here is a 1906 Cadillac Model H Coupe, with an interesting tid bid for you. The Cadillac Auto Company started from the remains of the Ford Company in 1902 by Henry Leland. There was an agreement that prohibited the use of the name "Ford", so the new car was named after the French explorer Le Sieur Antoine de Mothe Cadillac, who discovered Detroit in the early 18th Century.

We now have a 1939 Packard Super Eight Convertible Victoria by Darrin. Darrin did a lot of coachwork for famous people such as Clark Gable, Tyrone Power, Errol Flynn, and Carol Lombard. His cars are quite different from those coming from the factory. Rear fenders were removed, stretched, and remounted with a forward slant, front fenders were restyled, the radiator was cut down in size, and the hood was sectioned. They also had custom windshield frames and suicide style door.

From there you will see a 1939 Mercury Series 99A Sport Convertible. This vehicle has hydraulic brakes and a 95 hp V-type 8 cylinder engine. The Mercury (named after the Greek messenger of the gods) came from Ford to compete with the Oldsmobile and Buick, and had 4 different body styles. It was Ford's first car developed from a full-sized clay model.

Here we have a 1941 Lincoln Continental Coupe. After Ford bought Lincoln in 1922, Edsel worked with the design, and was responsible for the stunning 1936 Zephyr and Model K and L Lincolns. Built on the Zephyr's chassis, the Continental design was made, and Edsel took it to vacation in Boca Raton, FL, and from the positive response, it went into production in 1940 (both coupe and cabriolet). The one pictured below is only 1 of 404 made.

Below is a 1936 Auburn Model 8-852 Supercharged Cabriolet:

Here is a 1929 Packard Model 845 Delux 8 Roadster:

And time for one of my favorites... Classic American luxury - big, grand, and powerful. :) This is only 1 of 2 - a 1930 Model J Duesenberg LWB Hibbard & Darrin Transformable Cabriolet. The J is on a leaf-sprung ladder frame, and has a 420 cubic in double overhead camshaft straight 8 with an amazing 265 hp!! (Not a cheap car!) This vehicle was originally owned by the Marquis Luis Martinez de Rivas of Paris and Madrid, and received a concourse restoration in the 1980s.

Here we have a 1928 Cadillac Series 341 Dual Cowl Sport Phaeton. It's interesting to note that back then, Chevrolet was the only company to offer such a wide range of cars - from a $500 Chevy to a $6000 Cadillac. This Caddy had 90 hp and 208 lb-ft torque coming from it's L-head V8.

Getting back to motorcycles, this is a 1940 440 Scout Indian (78 cubic inch inline 4, 3-speed):

This is a 1954 Ford Crestline Skyliner (Hardtop Coupe). Reminds me of the movie Grease. :)

And this one is another beauty. It's a 1953 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible. GM was already celebrating their 50th Anniversary, and as a result, the Skylark, Fiesta, and Eldorado were built. The Eldorado has a wraparound windshield, fine leather on the inside, chromed wire wheels, and an automatic transmission from a 331 ci overhead valve V8 making 210 hp. Dwight Eisenhower was driven in this vehicle in 1953 down Pennsylvania Ave to his first inauguration as President of the US. The one shown below is #287 of 533.

Then we have a 1954 Buick Skylark Convertible (with a cool ad in the background):

This is another beautiful car from the 50's. A 1956 Ford Fairlane Sunliner Convertible:

Time for the best car in the museum. :) It's a one of a kind 1954 Oldsmobile F-88 Concept car that Hendricks "won" at Barrett Jackson for $3.24 million!! This car is a 250 hp with a lightweight fiberglass body, a 324 ci V8 engine, 4-speed transmission, and even power windows.

A little note on the designer... Harley Earl was hired in 1927 by GM to style the LeSalle and Cadillac. He pioneered auto design, creating works of art and putting processes into place that still exist today. Earl was known as the "DiVinci of Detroit" and his cars had things like classic chrome, 2-toned paint, tail fins, hard tops, and wraparound windshields.

"More than one car history buff has wondered how history might have turned out differently had Oldsmobile been allowed to bring its sports car to market." (Jeff Sabatini from SCM)

The car museum wouldn't be complete without a 1957 Ford T-Bird (that I'm sure Kevin will love):

And then we have a 1961 Chrysler 300G Convertible Coupe.

We all love good old American muscle, so let's bring a few of these into the mix...

Here's the 1981 Pontiac Trans Am "The Bandit" Special Edition. Trans Ams were at the forefront of the muscle car generation, along with the Camero and Cougar. The 1981 Trans Am was the last of the 2nd generation of the famous Firebirds. The one shown below was inspired by Burt Reynolds "Smokey and the Bandit" and is 100% original.

Here's another one of my favorites. This is a 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT-500. Ford's GM (which most GT owners are familiar with from the GT40s), Lee Iacocca, wanted Ford to have a more youthful image. In 1964, the Mustang design was introduced. Car constructor and former race car driver Carroll Shelby from TX had already been having success with his Cobras, and he offered to bump up performance on the Mustangs for Ford. The first was the 289 Shelby GT-350 (Hertz remade this for car rentals as well a few years ago). In '67, Shelby then offered this 428 ci V8 GT-500 version of the newer and more aggressive looking Mustang. 1967 was the last year these cars were actually built by Shelby American (even though some of the later years through 1970 still carried the Shelby name).

Here are a few more, including a 1970 Plymouth Barracuda "Hemi-Cuda" (which is another beautiful example of American muscle) and a 1968 Camero SS/RS Convertible (one of my true loves).

There are a lot of films with great driving scenes starring the Pontiac GTO (Bandits, XXX, Faster, The Last Ride, Are you Afraid of the Dark?, Painted Hero, Overhaul'n, Dazed and Confused, The Walking Dead, Hideaway). Even The Monkeys crazy car was a GTO!!! Hendricks also has one. His is a 1971 Pontiac GTO Judge Coupe. The name "Judge" came from from the catch phrase "Here comes da Judge" from the TV show "Laugh-In". It has a 370 hp engine displacing 400 ci. It goes 0-60 in 6.2 and the 1/4 miles under 14 seconds.