Event Coverage The LeMay Car Museum in Tacoma, Wa. Reclaimed Rust

Ha, ha. Noticed your avatar. Plenty of oddball cars in the mix. I'll make these photos small. The volume of British cars and other Euros is huge too. Gullwing Mercedes, DB3 and on and on. I'm now sounding like LeMay's PR dept.

 

A little trivia… the white with flames 32 roadster is jet powered and The red Rambler wagon is a former “Ridler Award” winner in 2008 named Ferrambo. Also the unique architecture of the building which almost looks like a loaf of bread is very deceiving. From the main entrance looking towards the back wall it looks like you are walking downhill but it is completely level.

 

Thanks, really good.

 

Excellent pictures.

 

Dang! There are some neat cars there!
Thanks for sharing.

 

I was just there in September and would go back in a heartbeat, thanks for posting.

 

I was at the museum for our company Christmas party . The place is amazing, the cars?, well, you know.

 

Not to detract from the LeMay Museum and the great coverage above. But 25 minutes south of the Museum is the LeMay Family Museum at Marymount. The remainder of the original collection. You can easily spend a day at each, and another day if you get the tour of the residence collection.

https://lemaymarymount.org/

 

Great pictures/museum.
In my opinion the collection at Marymount and the residence are more to my liking.
Less refined, more down to earth..an honest look into Harold LeMays personal taste, and the variety of his vast collection.
All worthy of a visit, if the opportunity presents itself.

 

I always loved the Hetfield cars but that Lincoln Zephyr wow thats nice!

 

A couple of "bucket list" cars I see!!! The 65 Riv GS & the Christine style Fury (although I will look for the Desoto version 1st but would take the Mopar)

I have MANY customers up in that area & It has been a bit since I visited the Museum. My new Wife would love it, so I am pretty sure one of her vacation weeks will be spent visiting Both Museums!

God Bless
Bill
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/

 

What a great collection! Thanks for taking the time to do that.

 

The first time there 6 years ago just before Halloween, they were using an old Buick and a green screen and taking photos for free . Turned out to be one of my favorite photos. My brother (RIP) is on the left and I am on the right. My wife is behind my brother and my sister in law (RIP) is behind me.

 

Great post. Darel Deirenger Jr is a friend of mine.

 

Super!!!
I can't believe I didn't go to the museum when my kid lived in Gig Harbor.
What a terrific collection of autos.
Anybody have any info on LeMay and how this all came about?
6sally6

 

Nice pictures. WhitewallWill do you know what the power unit is in the Flamed Roadster #7

 

Harold owned a garbage business after WWII. He was listed as having the largest privately owned car collection in the world! Much of his collection is located at the Lemay residence and a former Catholic School the family owns called Marymount. I believe he only sold 2 of the cars he owned and bought one of them back. Like miker98038 said above, it is well worth the visit to see that collection of cars and other memorabilia he obtained over his lifetime!

 

Great photos, That is one of the nifty things about that museum and was a premis of it from the get go. An ever changing rotation of the cars on display.
Like a lot of other guys in the PNW I had met Harold at swap meets a few times and he had a storage building and lot close to me that a couple of my friends did work for him once in a while. he would also buy parts from my then neighbor (Jerry Rowland) who sold Mercury and Lincoln parts. He even beat me out of a 47/48 Chevy convertible body that Jerry had.
I wish I could make it over to see the Hetfield collection while it was there but quick runs over the p*** for the day and back at this time of the year don't work very well.

 

Oh boy, he should have some cool photos!!

 

Sorry, only know what I read on the plaque. Jet engine powered!! Spent quite a while staring at it and to think the guy who built it actually drove it to work! Insane.

 

Hey, uncle buck;
"the white with flames 32 roadster is jet powered"
I think you may have fat-fingered that one a bit.

It's actually a turbine. & the engineer drove it for awhile. There was a nice little article on it in one of the small-mags of the day. I always wondered what happened to this car. Glad it got saved.
Guess it doesn't qualify for real "traditional" thinking, building, or parts usage - actual time-frame be damned. Too bad there weren't more built... .
Marcus...

 

That turbine engine 32 pulled into Henry's Haulers picnic one year in the late 80's and parked across from me. Loud and pretty tired appearance wise at the time but looking just like it did in the magazine feature from the 60's otherwise.

 

Harold LeMay had a huge network of spies working for him! Actually, it was his garbage business route drivers... He put the word out to them to keep an eye out for abandoned, derelict, garaged , hidden, etc. old cars, then he followed up and bought what he could. As he collected more and more "junk", he started renovating and restoring, and organizing his "collection". It started as a curiosity, turned to a hobby, then a p***ion. He am***ed a world cl*** collection from other people's junk!! Super impressive, constantly rotating collection, with a lot of the cars being on loan from other owners/collections. A worthwhile place to visit, just don't think it will be a quick stop.... there's too much to rush through! Enjoy it if you can!!!

 

Like the Henry Ford Museum .......
A real bucket list item BTW
6sally6

 

I just always remembered it as being referred to as the “jet car” . You are correct in it actually being a turbine. Here’s a link to the car
https://lemaymarymount.org/vehicle/1932-ford-street-rod-jet-car/

 

Thank you. Always liked that car from the 1st time I saw it in a "little pages" mag. & I couldn't recreate it... ;( .
Marcus...