by Connor Capar | Apr 28, 2023 | News
There has been a lot of work done lately on our 1925 Gerin Aerodyne to get it museum ready! Most recently, the Aerodyne has been in the hands of our body specialist, Steven White. Steven has been busily redoing the Gerin’s nose to get it more accurate to Jacques Gerin’s vision for the automobile. As pictured, the front of the Aerodyne has a very curved nose that spans out to the wheel wells.
Drawing of front of 1925 Gerin Aerodyne
The original nose that was designed did not curve out, thus not accurately depicting Gerin’s drawings for the Aerodyne. Therefore, Steven made the decision to redo this body piece, and it has made a world of difference in helping the flow of the vehicle’s body.
Another thing that Steven has been working on for the Aerodyne is manufacturing the gauge panel for the inside of the automobile. After the vehicle is painted, more of the interior will continue to be assembled.
Overall, as the Gerin Aerodyne stands now, the car should be ready to paint in about 3-4 weeks. Steven has been meticulously combing over each body panel to ensure they are smooth and accurate to Gerin’s drawings. We’re excited on the progress of the Gerin Aerodyne made thus far, and are even more excited looking at the steps ahead. We hope to see the Gerin Aerodyne finished up very soon so we can show this magnificant engineering work to the public at the museum!
Aerodyne with original nose
Aerodyne with redone nose
by Connor Capar | Apr 25, 2023 | News
We are excited to announce that our 1929 Tracta A will be heading to the Le Mans Classic this year! From June 29th to July 2nd, the Le Mans Classic hosts thousands of classic cars, with many having appeared in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. For the 100th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year, our Tracta A was invited to the event as it raced in the 1929 and 1930 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Our Tracta A has had to go through a few steps to get prepped for this historical event. First, we had to apply the car for a license from the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), specifically a Historical Technical Passport (HTP). This document allows us to race this car in historical motor sport events, which the Le Mans Classic falls under.
Within the next week or so, our Tracta A will be shipped to France to give it time to get to its destination and prepped for the event. We look forward to seeing our Tracta A at the event and on the track and will keep you updated on the results! For more information about the Le Mans Classic, visit https://www.lemansclassic.com/en/. To learn more about our 1929 Tracta A, check it out here!
by Connor Capar | Mar 24, 2023 | News
Restoration efforts have begun now that our 1909 Daimler TB22 Drophead is at the museum! A main goal of ours at the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum is to have each of our cars as close as possible to how they originally were coming out of the factory. Depending on the age of the model, this can be a very tedious process. Tons of research is involved when researching a car’s original specifications and how a particular example came out of the factory, especially before the time of vehicle identification numbers (VINs). With this in mind, we always strive for perfection during our restoration process and find it important to keep these cars historically accurate to how they originally were. Since our 1909 Daimler TB22 Drophead is the only one remaining and likely to be the first one produced with a Knight engine, it is essential that this car is historically accurate.
Our restoration team, consisting of Andy, Jeff ‘Smitty’, and Steve, have been hard at work on our 1909 Daimler. Since originally receiving the car, our team has found out quite a bit about this car and have made significant progress in restoring it to original conditions. First, the Daimler has been completely stripped down to its frame, sanded, and had any bad pieces of wood replaced. All metal parts on the car have been cleaned up and the rumble seat is currently being rebuilt to its original specifications. Additional bodywork is waiting to be completed as well as we wait for custom pieces of wood to come in.
Next on the list is to prime the car and get it ready for painting. When Olivier purchased the Daimler, the car was red with a black leather rumble seat. Our team has found that this is probably not the original color of the car and has since found an alternative that is a lot more accurate to its original specifications. What color is it, you ask? Check in with us next month to see for yourself!
by Connor Capar | Feb 24, 2023 | News
We have exciting news! Recently, one of our collectors, Olivier Cerf, found a 1909 Daimler Model TB22 Drophead and secured ownership. Daimler, a British car manufacturer, was the first company to implement Charles Yale Knight’s innovative sleeve-valve Knight engine concept. The two worked together to create a modified version of Knight’s vision, creating the ‘Silent Knight’ sleeve-valve engine. This engine was then put into Daimler models starting in 1909 and used by the company until the 1930s.
What’s interesting about this particular Daimler model is that it is the first Daimler car to utilize the Silent-Knight engine. In fact, it is believed that our model is the earliest example of the TB22 and the most complete example. Currently, only two other known examples are located in Australia, both incomplete.
Our newest acquisition utilizes a four-cylinder sleeve-valve engine making 22 horsepower, hence the ’22’ in the name ‘TB22.’ The body of our car was made by Hewers Car Bodies Ltd. of Coventry, but will need extensive restoration.
We are excited about our latest acquisition and the historical significance it has on the history of sleeve-valve engines. We will keep you updated on restoration progress and cannot wait to share with you the full history behind this car!
For more information about our 1909 Daimler Model TB22 Drophead, check out its collection page here. Additionally, for more history about the Daimler Company, check out its page on Wikipedia.
Our new car: 1909 Daimler TB22 – Photo by Bonhams
by Connor Capar | Feb 24, 2023 | News
New car alert! We have recently added a new car to our collection: a 1951 Reyonnah 175 Prototype. Created by Robert Hannoyer in France, the Reyonnah was designed to be able to fit into small spaces. Built in post World War II France, this car definitely embodies its time period as it was built with fuel efficiency in mind and minimal materials.
The unique thing about our example is that our Reyonnah is the prototype model. This means that this car was tweaked before the final product went into production. Ultimately, the Reyonnah would be produced for only a few years, from 1951 to 1954. However, this car was definitely a unique innovation within the automotive world as its front wheels could be folded up underneath the car. This feature allowed for drivers to park in smaller spaces or have the vehicle take up less space when stored. The lack of a manufacturer backing this project forced Hannoyer to shelve the project after producing 16 cars by 1954.
Everyone here at the museum is excited to get this latest acquisition to its new home! Upon arrival, our Reyonnah will undergo our restoration procses, bringing it back to how it originally looked in 1951. We will continue to update you through this process and cannot wait to share the history of this vehicle to musuem goers very soon!
For more information on our 1951 Reyonnah Prototype, check out its collection page here. Additionally, for more information about Reyonnah in general, check out its Wikipedia page.
Our newest car – 1951 Reyonnah 175 Prototype
by Connor Capar | Jan 27, 2023 | News
Our friends over at the Vero Beach Museum of Art have a new exhibit on display featuring automobiles unique for their design and aerodynamic efficencies. This exhibit, titled ‘Rolling Sculpture: Streamlined Art Deco Automobiles and Motorcycles’, is a joint project between the VBMA and former Executive Director of the Petersen Automotive Museum, Ken Gross, who served as the Guest Curator. Together, the pairing worked to highlight vehicles that proritized aerodynamics and style over conforming to a certain standard.
‘Rolling Sculpture’ consists of two motorcycles and twenty cars, one of which is our very own 1938 Panhard Dynamic. Our Panhard, like many of the other pieces in the collection, was chosen for its art deco styling and intricate detailing.
The Vero Beach Museum of Art will be running this exhibit from January 28th to April 30th. This is truly an exhibit worth seeing in-person and gives visitors a unique perspective into automotive styling. The Tampa Bay Automobile Museum is honored to have a piece on display at the exhibit and appreciates the work put in to give the public a further glance into automobile history. The Vero Beach Museum of Art is open Monday-Saturday from 10 AM to 4:30 PM and Sunday from 1 to 4 PM. Tickets are just $12 for adults and free for children 17 years and under, so check out this exhibit while you can!
