TRAVEL TALES : FREE-WHEELING L.A. HISTORY IN HIGH GEAR AT PETERSEN.

Byline: Carol Bidwell Daily News Staff Writer

It's as if you'd stepped back into the 1930s.

Here's a Helms bread truck, waiting to deliver its load of bakery goods. Across the street is a Richfield service station, next door to a drive-in restaurant shaped like a big dog smoking a corncob pipe. Down the block is an auto insurance office, a drive-in market, an auto showroom featuring the latest Chrysler models with shiny grilles and rounded fenders.

But you haven't wandered into a time machine - just through the doors of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, a concrete and steel chronicle of not only the American automobile, but the car's role in the Los Angeles lifestyle back as far as 1900.

Jim Olson, the museum's designer and its acting director, said the last thing he wanted to establish was a collection of cars that only car buffs would enjoy seeing.

``This is a journey through time in the history of L.A.,'' Olson said. ``That was the goal from the beginning - to appeal to people on all levels, to communicate with everyone. If you don't care about cars, there's so much history here, the cars are incidental.''

While many auto museums simply display row upon row of cars, relying on the chrome and steel to dazzle museumgoers, the Petersen puts most of its 200 or so cars in context: A 1911 American Underslung Model 50 Traveler is stuck in the mud while a duster-clad lady in a fancy hat frets in the back seat; the sounds of a hammer striking steel echo from a blacksmith shop turned into an auto repair facility; a mannequin dressed as a traffic cop waits with his motorcycle behind a billboard for the next speeder.

The city street, though, is sure to be the favorite spot for those who can remember Los Angeles in the '30s, as well as for younger nostalgia buffs.

The asphalt that makes up the street - complete with raised curbs and gutters, cars parked alongside - is also a paean to the auto.

``When you're walking through the street scene, you're walking on recycled tires,'' said Gina Ward, media relations director for the museum.

The rarest and finest of vehicles - '30s Franklins, Deusenbergs, Packards, Studebakers and Cadillac limos, with paint and chrome so shiny they're nearly blinding - are also fun to see, and an alcove just outside their display room is the parking spot for an Indy car that kids can climb into for a photo-taking session if their parents bring a camera.

You also can get a look at celebrities' cars: a 1925 Lincoln limo owned by Greta Garbo, a 1956 Mercedez-Benz that belonged to Clark Gable, a 1953 black Cadillac coupe once driven by Rita Hayworth (the interior was red - to match her hair, no doubt).

And there's a small lounge, fitted with sofas, where you can rest your tired feet and watch a collection of clips from TV shows that prominently featured cars: the Batmobile from ``Batman,'' the 1928 Porter from ``My Mother the Car,'' the ``Route 66'' Corvette, the ``Munsters'' hearse, the ``Beverly Hillbillies'' bedraggled truck - even ``The Flintstones'' foot-powered rock car.

This being the movie capital of the world, there are also photos of some of the greatest movie car chases ever filmed - including Keystone Kops chases through the streets of Los Angeles.

And the fun's just started. ``It's going to get better,'' Olson promised. ``The vision I had from the beginning was to make the museum a family attraction. By next spring, we'll have a discovery center for kids that will let them learn as they enjoy the museum along with their parents.''

The new center will occupy the museum's third floor art and motorcycle gallery, and will feature hands-on exhibits that show how tires are made and how centrifugal force works, cutaway exhibits that show how a car's motor works, a computer kids can use to design their own car and interactive exhibits, including a park bench with wheels driven by pistons kids can push on with their feet to make the ``vehic`le'' go.

Where, when to rev it up

The Petersen Automotive Museum is at 6060 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles; open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays and Monday holidays. Admission is $7 for adults, $5 for seniors 62 and older and students, and $3 for children ages 5-12. Daylong parking is available for $4. Information: [phone].

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Photo: A monster pickup truck perched high above Fairf ax Avenue tells visitors they've found the Petersen Automotive Museum.

Carol Bidwell/Daily News

Box: Where, when to rev it up (See Text)