The Zimmerman car museum in El Segundo near LA was open for the final time on Sunday, and I had a chance to check it out before the doors closed forever. Here’s what that was like.
The closure of the “Zimmerman Automobile Driving Museum” — named because visitors can actually get rides in some of the classic cars — was covered by various news outlets including the LA Times which is how I learned about it, and likely why there were so many people there this past weekend.
It was a glorious collection of pretty much all American cars, and I had a chance to peek at it and help preserve its history. Check it out:
The details of the Zimmerman Car Museum’s closure are similar to those of the Mullin — the primary benefactor passed away, and there was nobody with enough interest/funding to continue on the legacy, as the LA Times reports:
Still, the end of this beautiful nugget of car culture is what led me to visit it for the first time, and I had a lot of fun. Here, have a look at a Pontiac Fiero and a Chrysler Laser:
Check out some old early 1900s iron, including a Detroit Electric:
Here’s a room of Auburns, Cords, and Pierce Arrows:
Some more vintage iron:
Check out the Packard straight-8!
Plus there was an engine you could spin with a crank to teach/learn how internal combustion engine cars work:
Visitors had the chance to sit in this old Overland:
Look at that Chrysler Airflow in the background:
This was a one-off “Arex Roadster.” It’s an apparently 800 horsepower three-wheeler one-off developed by an engineer who’d worked at GM, Toyota, and Harley0Davidson. Under the hood is a twin-supercharged Chevy V8 apparently capable of ripping this thing from zero to 60 in three seconds:
A Cadillac Allante, and more Fiero:
Here’s more vintage iron:
Look at this lovely Edsel and Ford Falcon:
Here’s a World War II Jeep:
Check out this WWII Dodge truck, with a Bantam next to it, and an old Crosley next to it:
The Crosley’s chassis was nicely labeled:
How about some open-top fun, with a Cadillac in the foreground and a Corvair in the back:
The Studebaker Wagonaire, with its beautiful rear top retracted:
Hey look, a Japanese car!:
I loved seeing the OG Plymouth Voyager minivan:
And the Mustang/Studebaker Vanti/Willys Jeepster/Nash Metropolitan lineup was choice!:
This museum, and the Mullin before it, have me worried about the future of car culture. So many ol’-timers have propped car culture up over the years, and while I’m all for change, I do worry about certain luxuries going away. It’s not just car museums, but also the folks who rebuild our starter motors/radiators/leaf springs/etc.
Is that era of craftsmanship going to remain?
I say this because everyone who has helped me braze a radiator or bend leaf spring U-bolts or redo my speedometer or even sell me a new-old-stock part for my Willys Jeep has been over the age of about 60. In 20 years, will we have museums to visit, parts to buy, ways to keep our old classics on the road without having to pay an arm and a leg?
Or am I worrying about something every generation before me has worried about?
