The National Corvette Museum, the Revs Institute (Collier Collection) and the GM Heritage Center will display eight Chevrolet Corvettes at the inaugural Chattanooga Motorcar Festival scheduled for October 11-13 in eastern Tennessee.
The cars are: one of the 300 original 1953 Corvettes, the 1959 Stingray racing prototype, a 1963 Z06 split-window racer (one of six produced), a 1963 Grand Sport (No. 4 of the 5 produced), the 1969 Manta Ray concept, the 1972 Reynolds Aluminum mid-engine XP-895, the 2009 centennial concept car also known as Sideswipe from the Transformers movie series, and an eighth-generation 2020 Stingray.
Miles Through Time Museum is moving
Having just closed for the season, the Miles Through Time Museum is moving from its location in Toccoa, Georgia. It will reopen in 2020 in the Old Clarkesville Mill in Clarkesville, Georgia. The Mill is the site of the largest antique mall in northeast Georgia, as well as a bowling alley, restaurant, bar and event space.
“The Antique Mall is split between two separate entrances at the mill,” reports car museum founder Sean Mathis. “The entrance on the back left of the mill will be the new entrance to the museum. If you love antiques, don’t worry, the antique mall will still be there but you will be able to purchase admission to the museum through the antique mall and the museum will be in a large separate room inside the heart of the mill.”
Mathis said the museum will benefit from doubling its display space and over the winter will build a replica service station, a blacksmith shop and other exhibits. The museum also will be able to expand its hours of operation to 7 days a week from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. on a year-around basis.
LeMay team restoring 1930 Model A cabriolet
The ACM Collections Team at the LeMay – America’s Car Museum in Tacoma, Washington, is working with the Gallopin’ Gerties Model A Club to restore the museum’s 1930 Ford Model A cabriolet and needs some help.
“The car has never been on display and was in need of repair,” the museum said. “Luckily, all the important and hard to find Cabriolet components are present.”
However, there are some parts yet to be found. If you think you might have some, or want to send a cash donation, visit the museum’s Model A restoration webpage.
Bicester Heritage begins expansion
Construction has begun on eight new buildings that will extend the Bicester Heritage campus, a vintage vehicle commercial and exposition center on a former Royal Air Force base in England.
“The new buildings not only enable us to meet demand but also allow Bicester Heritage to evolve while growing its Centre of Excellence for Historic Motoring,” Bicester Heritage managing director Daniel Geoghegan is quoted in a news release. “We very much look forward to opening in 2020, just 18 months since planning permission was unanimously granted.”
Special events this weekend
The 1962 Chevrolet Corvette restored after being swallowed by the sinkhole that opened beneath the Skydome at the National Corvette Museum will be displayed October 5-6 on the flight deck of the U.S.S. Lexington aircraft carrier on Corpus Christi Bay near the Texas State Aquarium. The aircraft carrier is hosting its 11th (and final) show featuring more than 300 cars on its flight deck.
The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles stages its 25th anniversary gala on October 5 with a theme of “Celebrating Silver, Going for Gold.” The Ford family and Ford Motor Company will be honored at the event. The event will include the auctioning not only of a new Ford GT, but of a 2011 Roush Mustang GT refurbished by 15 LA-area high school students who were part of the museum’s new Teen Auto Workshop program.
The Audrain Auto Museum in Newport, Rhode Island, will host the inaugural Audrain’s Newport Concours & Motor Week from October 3-6 with car collector and new Newport residence owner Jay Leno as chairman of the inaugural motor week and with his TV show partner and well-known vehicle valuation expert Donald Osborne as chairman for the concours. Also during Motor Week, the Newport Car Museum will have extended hours, open from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. daily from October 2-6. The museum will host the New England Corvette Club at 10 a.m. on October 6.
The Seal Cove Auto Museum in Maine hosts Arcadia National Park artist-in-residence Rob Pollen to stage a “Sketch A Ride: Drawing Class” on October 5.
The California Automobile Museum in Sacramento hosts the CruiseFest on Fulton Avenue event October 5 from 3 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
The Murphy Auto Museum in Oxnard, California, resumes its “Muscles & Mojo” morning car shows on October 6.
Mark your calendar
Bonhams will stage its eighth annual collector motorcars and automobilia auction on October 7 at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Philadelphia. For details, visit the auction website.
The AACA Library in Hershey, Pennsylvania, is holding a yard sale from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on October 8 in conjunction with its move to a new building. All book prices will be reduced 20 percent during the sale, and several special bundles focusing on a particular make or model year have been created for the sale.
The AACA Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania, will present its Automotive Heritage Award to Carlisle Events founders Bill Miller Jr. and the late Elliot “Chip” Miller at the Night at the Museum gala October 9.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum will feature Bobby Rahal in its Distinguished Speaker Series for Fall 2019 on October 9. Michael Andretti will be the speaker on November 6.
The Newport Car Museum in Rhode Island hosts the Porsche Type 356 Club at noon on October 11 and the Corvette Club of Western Massachusetts and the Yankee Open Pontiac gathering at 10 a.m. on October 13.
The Seal Cove Auto Museum in Maine hosts a two- and three-wheeler Cars & Coffee event from 9 a.m. until noon on October 12.
The Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum in Cleveland opens a special exhibit, “Electric, Steam or Gasoline: The past, Present, and Future of Alternative Power,” on October 12, when it also hosts at Crawford Coffee & Cars cruise-in beginning at 8 a.m.
The Racing History Project continues its racing history series with a presentation beginning at 10 a.m. and running until 2:30 p.m. on October 12 on the Paramount Ranch and San Fernando Dragstrip at the Valley Relics Museum in Van Nuys, California.
The Blackhawk Museum in Danville, California, stages its Night at the Museum gala on October 13. The theme is “Diamonds in Danville.”
It’s the “Tractors & Brews” party night at 6 p.m. on October 18 at the California Agriculture Museum in Woodland.
A special exhibit featuring 11 vehicles and additional items opens October 18 at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Germany as part of the 40th anniversary of the G-Class. The exhibit runs through April 19, 2020.
Autobooks-Aerobooks in Burbank, California, hosts author Patrick Kelley and his Imagine! Automobile Concept Art from the 1930s to the 1980s from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on October 19.
The Newport Car Museum in Rhode Island will welcome more than 150 vehicles for Euro Car Day & New England Wrapup from 9:30 a.m. until 2 p.m.
The Ford Mustang “hero” car from the movie Bullitt will visit the Mustang Owner’s Museum in North Carolina on October 20. At 1 p.m., car owner Sean Kieman will offer a talk about the car. For ticket information, visit the museum website.
An All-British Motor Show will be staged October 20 at the Blackhawk Museum in Danville, California.
The Revs Institute and Collier Collection in Naples, Florida, will host its inaugural Cars & Coffee at Revs from 7 a.m. until 11 a.m. on October 26.
October 27 is the third annual Legends Day at the North East Motor Sports Museum in Loudon, New Hampshire, where Ollie Silva, Bentley Warren and Ed West will be honored in a ceremony beginning at 11 a.m.
The British Motor Museum at Gaydon hosts the 11th “Large Model Aircraft Show” on October 27 with more than 100 large radio-controlled model aircraft on display in the annual indoor showcase. Modeling workshops also will be offered.
The Seal Cove Auto Museum in Maine closes for the winter season on October 31, but reports a nearly 25 percent increase in attendance during 2019.
“Legends of Speed,” a showcase of nearly two dozen historic racing cars, opens November 2 at the Phoenix Art Museum.
The California Automobile Museum in Sacramento joins with the Sacramento Area Miata Owners Association to offer “An Evening with Tom Matano, The Father of the Miata” at 7 p.m. on November 2.
The National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, hosts its annual Vets ’n Vettes event November 7-9 offering rides around the NCM Motorsports Park, a showboat cruise, road tours and the Bowling Green Veteran’s Day parade. Visit the museum website for details.
The Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, will offer free admission to veterans from November 7-11.
The LeMay Collections at Marymount in Tacoma, Washington, stages its annual benefit dinner and sock hop dance from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on November 16.
Does your local car museum have special events or exhibitions planned? Let us know. Email [email protected].
