CLASSIC CARS CONGREGATE AT SANTA PAULA MUSEUM.Byline: Patricia Hesselbach Special to the Daily News A fancy set of treads and a few flashy chassis will be featured Saturday for the grand opening of the Santa Paula Santa Paula (săn`tə pôl`ə), city (1990 pop. 25,062), Ventura co., S Calif., on the Santa Clara River in a fertile valley that yields citrus fruits, avocados, vegetables, flowers, nursery products, and walnuts; laid out 1875, inc. Transportation Museum. Classic cars, star cars and even a full-size stage coach will transport visitors to various eras in automotive history. Free tours begin Saturday at 11:30 a.m. in the Cook Tire Building, following the annual Santa Paula Christmas Parade. ``I think the museum will be a nice little diversion,'' said James Brucker. An automobile collector who was once in the business of providing unique and unusual cars to the motion picture industry, Brucker has loaned several vehicles to the Transportation Museum. Among the cars provided by Brucker are a 1971 A.J. Foyt Coyote Indy race car and the 1936 car used in the movie ``Toppper.'' Custom built on a Buick chassis, the snazzy snaz·zy adj. snaz·zi·er, snaz·zi·est Slang Fashionable or flashy. [Origin unknown.] snaz roadster co-starred with Cary Grant Noun 1. Cary Grant - United States actor (born in England) who was the elegant leading man in many films (1904-1986) Grant and Constance Bennett Constance Campbell Bennett (October 22, 1904 - July 24, 1965) was a US actress known as much for her elegant persona as for her acting career. Largely underrated today, Bennett was one of Hollywood's most luminous stars, delivering amusing, madcap, and occasionally arch . The Gilmore Oil Co. later bought the car, and the Gilmore Red Lion Red Lion may refer to:
n. Something exhibited, especially as an outstanding example of its kind. showpiece Noun 1. anything displayed or exhibited 2. at motor-oriented events throughout the country. A lion cub in the back seat and a matching trailer that housed a loudspeaker system rounded out the advertising effect at parades. The car saw many face lifts and revisions over the years. Final changes were made in 1956, when the Buick chassis was replaced with a Chrysler Imperial
The Chrysler Imperial, introduced in 1926, was the company's top of the range vehicle for much of its history. chassis, fenders were extended and Cadillac fins were added. Santa Paula resident John Sullivan
John Sullivan (b. February 17 1740, Somersworth, New Hampshire – d. loaned his 1927 Model T Ford to the Transportation Museum. ``I was with my dad when I saw it,'' Sullivan said. ``It was sitting on a street corner in Lancaster with a `For Sale' sign on it.'' Sullivan said that his father owned the exact same model car back when he was a young man. Also on exhibit will be a 1935 Studebaker Regal Landcruiser, which is rumored to have been a parade car that carried President Franklin Roosevelt. Other featured driving machines are a 1960 Cadillac Coupe de Ville, a 1957 Ford Thunderbird The Ford Thunderbird was a car manufactured in the United States by the Ford Motor Company. It entered production for the 1955 Ford Thunderbird model year as a two-seater sporty car but, unlike the similar Chevrolet Corvette, the Thunderbird was never sold as a full-blown sports , a 1935 Packard Super 8 Sport Phaeton, a 1949 Willys Jeepster, the 1922 white Model 20 and a two-ton Union Oil tank truck. A museum reflecting the influence of the oil companies in Santa Paula and the history of transportation was the brainchild of city economic development director Ken Cott. After approximately six months of planning, the automotive exhibit became a reality. ``To mitigate the impact of the downtown construction, we came up with a creative solution and decided to turn it into an attraction,'' said Transportation Museum curator John Nichols People named John Nichols include:
No one may be closer to the heart of the community than Sullivan and his wife, Santa Paula Mayor Robin Sullivan. ``This is a wonderful exhibit,'' said John Sullivan. ``It shows our community ingenuity and fits in with the city theme of restoring downtown and maintaining the old with the new,'' he added. The Santa Paula Transportation Museum is located at 851 E. Main St. The free exhibit, sponsored by Bend-Pak and the Santa Paula Community Fund, will be open to the public on the first Saturday of each month. Grand opening hours are 11:30 a.m. to dusk. Regular hours will be 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Call the Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce for more information. (805) 525-5561. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos PHOTO (1 -- color) Santa Paula business leader Richard Garcia, Mayor Robin Sullivan and curator John Nichols stand in the Transportation Museum. (2) Transportation Museum curator John Nichols demonstrates the hand crank on a 1927 Model T. Michael Owen Baker/Daily News |
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