The 1930 Éclair- just one of the museum's current restoration projects.

1. Éclair – If you’re not familiar with the Éclair, it is a one-of-a-kind, single-seater, propeller-powered car. We borrowed the only car ever made from an airplane museum in France with the understanding that we would restore the original, then make a replica for ourselves. It’s a giant task as the original is missing the engine, although we know the engine is an Indian V-twin. We have found two engines, and are rebuilding them. Also, we have restored the wheels, built a replica frame and suspension, and had new propellers made. From an outward appearance the vehicle looks very simple – a steel tube frame covered with a thin plywood shell. As we have gotten into the restoration we have discovered there are a lot of small and intricate brackets, especially around the engine area. After four years of work on the Éclairs we hope to have them finished by the end of the year.

2. 1947 Gregory – If you think of front-wheel drive, rear-engine cars, the list gets pretty short. The only two cars made in that configuration are the Dymaxion, designed by Buckminster Fuller, and the 1947 Gregory Sedan. Ben F. Gregory was an engineer that believed front-wheel drive was the wave of the future. In 1947 he had two prototype sedans built by a machine shop in Kansas City. They were powered by Continental A-40 aircraft engines that sat in the rear of the cars. We were able to purchase one of the cars several years ago, apparently the car that Gregory himself used as regular transportation for many years. Of course it was missing the motor, but we have located one, and the Gregory now sits in the restoration shop awaiting its installation, and some other general refurbishing. It’s not going to be an easy task as the A-40 did not have electric start (hand prop only) and we will have to figure out some kind of clutch mechanism. Again, we hope to have this oddball car done by the end of the year.

3. Dymaxion – The chassis has been completed and shipped to the Czech Republic for building of the body. That will start in the spring of 2011, and take 2 – 3 years to complete.

4. 1919 Leyat Replica (2nd) – Ecorra in the Czech Republic is working on the second Leyat replica. It will be done in May, and has been invited to attend the Vintage Revival in Montlhéry, France. Montlhéry is a famous racing circuit about 20 miles south of Paris. We will have the opportunity to drive the Leyat around the 4.2-mile banked oval.

5. Andy Zikmund and Mirko Hrazdira are almost finished with the Leyat Airplane Trainer. Leyat designed a small airplane-like trainer that was towed behind a car, and the trainer sat in an airplane-type structure on which one could learn how to climb and turn without ever leaving the ground. We have been able to build this replica from the only three pictures in existence. Anyone want to try it when it arrives at the museum?

6. The Folding Car – In Europe it was not uncommon to live on a street that did not allow parking (usually because the street was too narrow to have parking spaces). The fact was, if you had a car, you needed a garage to store it. Many people that had motorcycles or very small cars would drive them through their front gate, and leave them in the front yard. In 1951 a Frenchman designed a car that would fold up and go through a gate. Essentially, it was a small 3-wheeled car with one wheel in the front and two in the rear. One would get out of the car and slide the back of the car together to make it narrow enough to get through the gate, and into the front yard. We have sourced an engine, and had the plans translated into English, and John Williamson is going to build the wood parts (most of the car is made of wood). Our restoration shop is going to make the metal parts and put it together. Hopefully by year’s end we will be looking for a gate to drive through.

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These cars are part of a Nissan Exhibit that will be on display until January 9, 2012.

The Nissan (née Datsun) Z car celebrated its 40th anniversary last year, with a huge local presence anchored by Nissan’s corporate headquarters in nearby Franklin, TN. Several hundred enthusiasts from all over North America descended on middle Tennessee, enjoying our curvy roads and Southern Hospitality.

Lane Motor Museum was one of the destinations on the agenda for attendees, and we rolled out a few of the Zs we care for. We don’t have large Nissan holdings, but we are the caretaker for the Nissan Heritage Collection. When Nissan North America relocated here from the west coast a few years ago, they brought with them a diverse collection of cars, including 11 Z cars. Ranging from an early 240Z to a 350Z, most of the chassis are represented in the collection. As you may know, the Z was a very significant car in the American market – and racing successes certainly helped raise awareness of the brand.

We thought it might be interesting to see the “regular” street car paired with its racing counterpart. We’ve done a Z exhibit before, and we’ve shown the race cars before, but we’ve never paired them so an observer can look at what was done to the car to make it race-worthy. We hope that, displayed this way, you can see both the similarities and the differences in what is done to turn a sporty passenger car into a series-dominating racer.

Represented here are but three pairings – an original body style 1970 240Z; a later 1984 300ZX, and an even later still 1996 300ZX. Hopefully you can see the evolution in the bodies – certainly the family resemblance is strong from 1970-1984, but there are styling cues carried through to the 1996 model as well. Two of the race cars are only display bodies – they look like race cars on the exterior, but under the skin have simple frames and no drivetrains. The Bonneville car, however, is the real deal. With its engine modified to produce 300 horsepower, it ran an average of over 166 miles per hour, a class record that stood until 1985!

I certainly enjoyed doing the research on this exhibit. I learned that our good friend Sam Posey was closely involved in the development and testing of the Paul Neman #33 car, and I always enjoy any opportunity to talk with Sam. The “real” #33 is now in the hands of TV and radio personality Adam Carolla, and I understand it gets regular exercise. I saw this car many times in the 1980s when I began attending the Spring Sprints at Road Atlanta, and even ran into PL, as he preferred to be called when racing, in the pits many times. He was an exciting driver to watch!

I also have a bit of a connection to the #75 Millen/O’Connor car. My wife and I were at Road Atlanta in the spring of 1995 for our spring racing fix. We took a shortcut through the woods between The Bridge and the back straight, hoping to get back to Turn 5 before the end of the race. Millen was screaming around the track, running in second, and I wanted to see that car win. Unfortunately, as we were hustling along the back straight, we heard a sickening screech-thud, and were showered in Road Atlanta’s well-known red clay. Millen was out, in what turned out to be a professional career-ending crash.

We hope that you can visit while the exhibit is ongoing. The opportunity to see cars such as this side-by-side, and get a look into the “office” of the racer, is a rare one indeed.

The Nissan Exhibit “Race on Sunday, Sell on Monday” will be on display at Lane Motor Museum until January 16, 2012.

Aero Cars on Display at Lane Motor Museum

When founded in 1925, Aero mainly produced airplanes. After a decline in sales, they began producing cars from 1928-1947; introducing their first car, the Aero 10, in 1929. The Type 10 was a low-priced car that the factory workers could build yet also drive themselves.

While many of the Czechoslovakian vehicles are rarely seen outside of Europe, there were eight passenger car manufacturers in Czechoslovakia between the mid 1920s to the late 1940s: Aero, Jawa, Praga, Skoda, Tatra, Walter, Wikov, and Z. Aero was the fourth largest Czech auto manufacturer. Aeros were imported to Austria, Germany, Poland, Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria. They participated in Monte Carlo rallies and other prestigious international competitions.

After WWII all important industrial works were nationalized and the government implemented a plan for three classes of autos to be manufactured, based on engine displacement. Those companies were Jawa (smaller than 1000cc), Skoda (1000cc-2000cc), and Tatra (above 2000cc). As a result, Aero cars ceased production in 1947.

It was not until after the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989 that a new free-market environment emerged. 2005 saw a record number of passenger cars produced in the Czech Republic, with Skoda producing 500,000 and the Toyota Peugeot Citroen Automobile plant producing 100,000.

A display of the following Aero cars can now be seen at Lane Motor Museum:

1931 AERO 10
The Aero 10 was their first production car and it was a very simple cycle car with a single cylinder 500cc water-cooled engine driving the rear wheels. The Aero 10 had brakes on the rear wheels only, and electric start was extra. If a consumer did not order the electric start, there was a long rope that came through the dashboard with a wooden T-handle to give the car a pull start. Another interesting feature of the Aero 10 is that the gearbox is located in the rear axle instead of being mounted on the engine. This configuration was used in the 1970-2000 time period in many sports cars in hopes of evening out the weight distribution on front engine cars.

1931 AERO 18
After three years of production of the Aero 10, Aero introduced an updated version of this car in 1931. The new car was called Aero 18. From the exterior appearance nothing had changed, but the motor size was increased, and HP was increased substantially from 10 to 18.

1934 AERO 30
With the introduction of the Aero 30 in 1934 Aero took a giant step forward in its car business. Aero’s previous cars, the model 10 and 18, were pretty basic with technological and styling features that were very common during that time for manufacturers. The Aero 30 changed all that. The styling was dramatic and beautiful for its time, and even now, 75 years later the car still has great lines. Underneath the great styling, Aero went to front wheel drive, which was a very novel technology in the 1930s. Engine size was again increased to 998cc and HP was raised to 28 – giving the Aero 30 good acceleration and a very respectable top speed.

1936 AERO 30
When introduced, the Aero 30 made a big impression. These front-wheel drive cars used all-independently sprung platform frames with mechanical brakes and friction dampers. The longitudinally mounted engines were two-strokes, water-cooled, with light alloy deflector-type pistons. Production ceased during the war but the A30 was briefly revived–about 500 cars with redesigned grilles and a synchromesh gearbox were produced in 1946 and 1947. Annual sales in the late 1930s were around 1000 cars; they were exported to France, Belgium, Hungary, and Romania. The Aero 30 was produced from 1934-1947 with approximately 7,780 produced during this time.

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February 1
Bobby Rahal, Brian Redman, and Bob Garretson drive a Porsche 935 K3 to victory in the 1981 24 Hours of Daytona – the first IMSA GTP race. (image Rahal Redman…)

Brian Redman finishes both 1st and 2nd in the 1970 24 Hours of Daytona when two Porsche 917Ks he co-drove take the top two spots on the podium. 1st place was shared with Pedro Rodriguez and Leo Kinnunen, while 2nd was split with Jo Siffert. (image Rodriguez.Redman…)

February 2
The very first Cobra roadster prototype reaches the shops of Carroll Shelby in southern California – 1962.

Al Holbert, Derek Bell, and Al Unser Jr. drive the famous #14 Lowenbräu Special Porsche 962 to the 1986 24 Hours of Daytona win. (image #14 Holbert…)

February 3
Paul Goldsmith, driving a Smokey Yunick-prepared Pontiac, wins the last stock car race run on the beach at Daytona – 1958. (image Paul Goldsmith…)

February 4
Sir Malcolm Campbell drives “Bluebird” to a land speed record of 174.833 mph at Pendine Sands, Wales – 1927. (image sirbw27)

Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood drive their lightweight 2.8 liter Porsche 911 Carrera RSR to victory in the 1973 24 Hours of Daytona, besting the 3 liter entries from Ferrari, Matra, and Mirage-Ford.

February 5
Derek Bell, Bob Wolleck, and John Andretti give the Porsche 962 its 50th win in the United States at the 1989 24 Hours of Daytona.

February 6
“The Little Mexicans”, brothers Ricardo and Pedro Rodriguez (ages 12 and 15, respectively), take part in their first automobile race in Mexico, 1955. They were already accomplished motorcycle racers.

The BMW M1c, modified for IMSA GTP competition, rolls out of the March factory, 1981. (image hobbs81b)

February 7
Bruce McLaren wins the Argentine Grand Prix in Buenos Aires in 1960.

February 8
A revised Ferrari GTO Series II is granted homologation papers by the FIA thanks to some “creative” chassis numbers assigned by Ferrari, 1964. 3 cars were produced, along with 36 Series I cars – a far cry from the requisite 100 cars required by the FIA.

February 9
Carl Fisher, James Allison, Arthur Newberry, and Frank Wheeler form the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation in 1909.

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It was a fun time with the morning DJ’s Greg, Eugene and Tex!  If you missed it, click on either of the text links below to hear the audio files for part I and II of the interview.  Many thanks to our new friends!

Interview on Nashville’s Solid Gospel 104.5- February 4, 2010, Part 1

Interview on Nashville’s Solid Gospel 104.5- February, 4 2010- Part 2

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Everybody Pays Kid's Price of $2 Sunday February 7

For one day only, this Sunday, February 7th from 10am-5pm, Lane Motor Museum will allow kids of all ages to view its collection of rare and unusual vehicles at the regular Kid’s Price of only $2 per person. Kids age 5 and under will remain free! Don’t miss this great chance to see the museum for the kid’s admission price of $2- no matter what your age!

January 20
Major corporate sponsorship of professional international racing begins as Team Lotus repaints its familiar British Racing Green cars in the red/white livery of Gold Leaf Cigarettes for the 1968 Tasman Series in New Zealand.

January 21
Emil Jellinek, whose daughter Mercedes’ name graces the now-familiar Mercedes-Benz, dies in Geneva in 1918.

January 22
The legendary Porsche 959s finish 1st, 2nd, and 6th in the 1986 Paris-Dakar Rally.

January 24
Ken Miles drives his R-1, an MG special, to victory in the Palm Springs CA Desert Trophy race, 1954.

January 26
PL Newman, racer (aka Paul Newman, actor) is born in 1924.

January 28
Bernd Rosemeyer, 1936 European Driver’s Champion, is killed during a record attempt, driving an Auto Union on the autobahn near Frankfurt, Germany. He was attempting to best the earlier record, set that day, of Rudy Caracciola, whose Mercedes achieved 268 mph just minutes earlier. (1938)

Emil Jellinek, Photo courtesy Mercedes-Benz Mexico

Paul Newman, Photo courtesy Nissan NA

Fred Marriot, Photo Courtesy www.birthplaceofspeed2006.com

Bernd Rosemeyer, Photo Courtesy Audi AG

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