DUESEY
ISSUE NO 39 - OCTOBER 2012
education
.
restoration
.
preservation
w
Duesey: Issue 39
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The official magazine of the Haynes
International Motor Museum Charitable
Trust No 292048
1.
Building work update
2.
New display space
3.
New kitchen receives top rating
4.
Trustees agree £250,000
for new children’s zone
5.
Visiting car clubs
6.
Education
7.
Visitors from Chernobyl
8.
Restoration - GT40
9.
Restoration - Jaguar overhaul
10.
Preservation
www.haynesmotormuseum.co.uk
Editor: Caroline Coombes
Haynes International Motor Museum
Sparkford, Nr. Yeovil,
Somerset. BA22 7LH
01963 442797
[email protected]
The Haynes International Motor Museum is
located at Sparkford near Yeovil, Somerset,
just off the A303 and 30 minutes from Junction
25 of the M5. The Museum is open every day
except the 24th, 25th,26th December and
the 1st January. From the 2nd March to 31st
October, 9:30am - 5:30pm 1st November to
1st March 10:00am - 4:30pm (School summer
holidays open until 6pm).
11
Museum life:
Jubilee and Olympic celebrations
13
Workshop news
Building work up-date
Building work is progressing steadily but as with any major project and
particularily with the complex design of the new frontage of the museum
the schedule is constantly being reviewed. Factors such as the weather and
delivery of materials have a large impact on timing for completion. Delays in
one area mean that other areas can be worked upon ahead of schedule and
much work has been carried out inside the Museum.
The outer cladding is now in place on phase 1, or as museum staff fondly
call it “The black box”. This was originally scheduled to be completed at the
beginning of June this year, but because of bad weather and other unexpected
delays work was transferred to other areas of the site. The Black box now has
a roof and at the beginning of August contractors laid the floors. This two
storey extension to the museum will provide extra space for displays. The first
floor will house a new motorcycle display and a viewing window overlooking
the museum test track thus providing a stunning viewing area during events.
Steel-work has now been erected to provide the new museum entrance and
gift shop and work is progressing steadily in this area.
Leading on from the museum will be the new cafe’, seating approximately
150. It will provide a full range of hot and cold meals and snacks, including the
extremely popular ‘home made cakes’. The cafe’ will lead on to a landscaped
garden area which will provide additional seating.
“A r c h i t e c t d e s i g n e d n e w f a c a d e t o M u s e u m ”
“ S we e p i n g c u r ve s w i l l e n h a n c e t h e n e w e n t r a n c e”
Page 1
More room for new displays
Having more display space gives Museum Curator, Micheal Penn an
opportunity to create new exhibitions as well as being able to re-plan
existing displays. With over 400 cars and motorcycles currently in the
collection the addition of more space is a wonderful opportunity to redesign and re-interpret the collection.
The first phase of the museum redevelopment consists of the “Black Box”,
a massive new two storey display space. The upper floor will become the
permanent home of the museum’s motorcycle collection and will house the
Forshaw Speedway Collection and the British Motorcycle Collection. This
will be a display area devoted entirely to motoring on ‘two wheels’! As
well as this there will be a hospitality area which will overlook the museum
test track and will provide a panoramic viewing area during outdoor events.
“More Room to create stunning new displays”
The ground floor display space is again a large hall which will be devoted
to Museum cars. Ideas for this area are still being developed, but current
thinking involves the creation of a magnificent display echoing back to the
original alliance which existed between the three iconic American marques,
Duesenberg, Auburn and Cord. A working title of “Super Car Classics” is
being planned and considered for this new ground floor display area which
will include wome of the cars which the museum owns plus the rarities
which have been borrowed from their wealthy owners.
The pride of the Museum collection, the 1931 Duesenberg Model J
Derham Bodied Tourster, the 1936 Auburn 852 Supercharged Boat-Tailed
Speedster and the 1936 Cord Beverley will form a magnificent centrepiece
to this display and will also prove a stunning backdrop to the many wedding
ceremonies which are held at the Museum each year.
“A p e r m a n e n t h o m e f o r t h e S p e e d w a y a n d
B r i t i s h M o to rc yc l e Co l l e c t i o n”
Page 2
New kitchen receives top rating
Due to the very wet summer the builders have been concentrating their efforts
on work inside the building, which is now well ahead of schedule. The Dawn of
Motoring Hall has now been closed with the cars being relocated in other areas
of the museum. This area is now currently being altered to provide service to the
kitchens, and function rooms.
Work has progressed on building a new permanent bar area in Merlin 2 and
extending the conference centre with the building and creation of a new kitchen,
much to the delight of museum chef David Haramis and his team. The newly
constructed kitchen will not only cater for the Merlin Suite of conference rooms
and provide delegates and party-goers with food for their functions, but will also
cater for the new Cafe’ which is being constructed in the former shop.
All of this has been achieved without the need to close the cafe’, and staff have
worked exceptionally hard to provide meals and snacks in a temporary kitchen
Museum visitors being blisfully unaware of the complex logistics being carried
out behind the scenes, with little or no disruption to normal service. Commercial
Manager Kirsty Simmonds and her staff were delighted when in a recent inspection
the new kitchen received top marks!
At the beginning of October the museum offices moved to their new home and
work has begun on converting the old offices into additional conference facilities.
This much needed extra space will have a variety of uses giving more space for
events, and provide break-out and meeting rooms, thus extending significantly our
offering as a conference venue.
“New kitchen will provide state of the art
facilities!
“New kitchen facilities receives top marks in
re ce nt i n s p e c t i o n”
Page 3
Trustees agree £250,000 for new children’s zone
An exciting £250,000 make-over has been announced by museum
Trustees. The budget will be spent on updating and relocating the
children’s play area, and creating a new ‘family’ area. This will now be
situated at the rear of the building and accessible from the museum. A
new access road is being planned for the garage workshops which will
divert existing traffic away from the rear of the museum providing a new
family area with a host of amazing children’s activities.
The stunning new ‘motor’ themed play zone will feature a layout which
is sure to appeal to our younger visitors. Built around a road system,
children can collect their vehicles from the ‘mini cars store’ and then
travel around in a selection of classic pedal cars learning about road
safety. They can stop off at the petrol pumps to refuel, check air and
water and carry out tyre checks. The learning journey continues
with a visit to the Haynes Interactive garage where they will be able to
undertake a series of motoring based ‘fun’ activities. The car wash is
the next stop and is sure to attract a lot of interest! On their journey
they will encounter various obstacles, such as roundabouts and zebra
crossings and not forgetting to watch out for the policeman! There
will be other activities on route, such as ‘themed play towers, a double
decker bus, camper van and jeep, as well as the popular “building site
area” which, with the help of some amazing ‘diggers, excavators and
dumpers, children can have fun moving sand around the site.
The ‘Fun Bus’ will provide a soft and safe play area for our very young
visitors. Whilst for those racing fanatics there will be the chance to try
their driving skills with our coin operated ‘go-karts’ on the mini race
track.
The play area is due to open at Easter 2013.
Exciting new play zone to enter tain our younger visitors
Page 4
Visiting car clubs
Swedish Day - another success!
Once again the Swedish Day was held at the museum on Sunday 13th May.
Cars started arriving on Friday and by Sunday over 190 Swedish cars had arrived
from all over the UK and Europe to take part.
Humber Run!
During the year many car clubs visit the museum and over the weekend
of Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th August it was the turn of the Post-Vintage
Humber Car Club. Members of the club arrived on site from all over the
country to join other like minded enthusiasts to show off their prized cars.
The variety of Swedish cars was brilliant. There were two Volvo PV544s, a
couple of Volvo 1800s, a few Saab Two Stroke brands including the rare new
shape Saab 9-5 and the new Volvo S60. There were also a couple of Saab
Sonetts and Saab 96S. The cars ranged from the 1940s right up to the most
modern. Next year’s show will be on Sunday 12th May.
Mercedes Owners Club
Car Clubs arrive at the museum from all over the country, some for just a
stop-over as part of a run out, and others on planned visits. The Mercedes
Benz 300 SL Owners Club arrived on Tuesday 7th August and parked around
the edge of the useum Test Track creating a marvelous line-up of some truly
stunning cars which were enjoyed by our visitors on the day.
“Numbers of car clubs visiting the Museum to
hold annual events is on the increase”
“C l u b s h o l d re g u l a r m e e t s at t h e M u s e u m”
Page 5
Education
Bringing the past to life
Education staff are constantly working to update the experience which can be
offered to schools, and to make their visit more interesting. Not only do the
children have a guided tour where they learn about our motoring history but
education staff also encourage the children to experience what it would be like
to travel in some of the vehicles which form the basis of the tour.
Travelling along a motoring time-line which starts in 1885 with the museum’s
Benz, the children travel right up to date having fun and learning along the way.
All children like dressing up and so visiting schools now have the chance to sit
in what was the first school bus in Somerset, the 1898 Daimler Wagonette,
fondly knows as ‘Firey Liz’, and wear Victorian style mop caps and school cloth
caps.
The tour also takes in the 1905 Daimler Detachable top limousine, formerly
belonging to King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra where the children
are now encouraged to carry out some realistic role play dressed as the
chaeuffeur, and the King and Queen in costumes which have been specially
made from photographs. The tour has a serious side as children are asked
to think about the design of the cars and to talk about the differences which
they see, comparing different cars and the way in which they are made. The
visit encompasses many different areas of the National Curriculum including
history, design, technology, geography and even maths. Children are asked
to think about just where you would have bought your fuel in 1907, and how
were cars made and by whom?
Using the museum exhibits as a classroom really brings our motoring heritage
to life and certainly gives children something to talk about.
“ Where our motoring past is brought to life with museum exhibits and costumes”
Page 6
Education
Visitors from Chernobyl
During their visit they experienced what it was like to sit in some
of the oldest cars and were taken for a ride in the museum’s 1937
Austin Carlton.
One of the children was extremely keen to see the museum’s
Lamborghini Countach, his dream car, which he had only previously
seen in pictures. Not only did he see it but museum staff arranged
for him to sit in the car as well.
On Monday 25th June the museum education team welcomed a group of 13
children from the Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline Charity to the museum. The
children were in the UK for a four week visit and staying with host families in
the area. The group arrived at the museum with their interpreter, Tamara, and
spent an enjoyable day with museum staff.
“Language no barrier to enjoyment ”
“Mak ing dreams come true”
Page 7
Restoration
In the workshop is the museum’s Replica GT40. This is undergoing a complete
restoration after a fuel tank fault was discovered. In order to get to the root of
the problem it has been necessary to take off the body panels which were all
riveted in place. Follow this restoration job as it is concluded in the next issue.
“Sensational car receives make-over ”
Page 8
Restoration
Jaguar overhaul
Museum staff and volunteers work hard to keep exhibits in full working
order. It is now the turn of the Museum’s Jaguar collection to receive
attention.
Museum Volunteer mechanics, Chris Barker and David Carlton are
currently working on restoring the Museum’s Jaguar XK150 to full
working order. This has involved refitting the original engine and
completely overhauling the cooling, ignition, fuel and brake systems.
They have also repaired the internal fittings and have stripped and
refitted the internal door panels.
Work is now nearly finished and after some fine tuning, the car will once
again be fit to take to the road and will be returned to the Museum
collection.
Upholstery too!
Taking a break from mechanics, Bob Woods was recently requested to
make a new seat for a customer’s 1903 Curved Dash Oldsmobile. Using
the museum’s own Oldsmobile as a template he created an exact copy
which will now be used by the customer when she takes her car to
the USA to take part in a charity run across America in aid of cancer
research.
“ Wo r k s h o p s t a f f a n d vo l u nte e r s s h ow t h e i r ve r s i t i l i t y a n d c a n t a c k l e a ny re s to rat i o n j o b”
Page 9
Preser vation
Preservation.
Museum visitors are often not aware of the work which goes on a
regular basis in order to keep the Museum and the collection of cars
in pristine condition. Not just dusting and polishing, inflating tyres and
generally keeping the vehicles looking their best, there are many other
jobs which are carried out and which the majority of people would just
not think about.
The beauty of our collection is not just skin deep; the interiors of many
cars including seats, carpets, headlinings and dashboards are luxuriously
and expensively fitted with natural materials such as wool, leather and
wood.
There are many aspects to preserving the collection and one of them is
pest control. Insects such as the Common Clothes Moth, for example,
and which has a keen taste for wool, can cause extensive damage if left
unchecked. Pictured are two of the Museum’s volunteer staff, Derek
Chant and Ralph Bracher, undertaking periodic treatment of most of
our cars against insect infestation. It goes without saying that this is an
ongoing and time-consuming task.
“ Volunteers wor k to protec t museum exhibits”
Page 10
Museum life
Keeping fit!
Moving cars around in the museum is a major feat and involves a large amount of careful
planning. With the museum workshop currently overhauling the Jaguar collection this has
necessitated removing cars temporarily from display into the workshops. The museum
prides itself on being a fully working museum and hence when cars need to be moved it
provides something extra for our visitors to see.
On the morning of Thursday 2nd August staff and volunteers worked to remove the 1949
3.5 litre Jaguar from the display. Several cars had to be moved in order to get the Jaguar
out. This involved lots of pushing and pulling in order to get the vehicles moved.
Starting engines in the museum is not
really an option, particularly when visitors
are present, exhaust fumes would soon
set smoke detectors off, so is certainly to
be avoided wherever possible.
After several hours of back-breaking work,
the Jaguar was finally out of the museum
and the cars were all put back into position.
museum visitors enjoyed the sight of the
cars being moved, many choosing to stand
and watch as cars were manouvered into
place.
“ Vo l u nte e r s a n d s t a f f wo r k to g e t h e r to m ove ex h i b i t s”
Page 11
M useum life
Queen’s Jubilee Celebrations
The Queen’s Golden Jubilee was a chance for the museum staff to join
in the celebrations. Yards of red, white and blue bunting was produced
to adorn the museum shop and cafe’ with the catering staff joining in on
the celebrations by producing specially designed cakes and biscuits which
were sold in the cafe’ over the weekend - such was their popularity, that
they soon sold out!
For the children there was also the chance to join in the “Jubilee Challenge”
and to see how many crowns they could find hidden around the
Museum.
Olympic salute
The Olympics also gave the museum a chance to join in the celebrations,
and during both the Olympic and Paralympic Games there was a quiz
in the museum where children were invited to find the answers to an
‘Olympic’ based quiz.
Janet and Chas with the “G olden Jubilee”cakes and biscuits which sold out within hours!
Page 12
Wo r k s h o p n e w s
Jaguar and Land Rover specialists
The workshop is now extending its garage services to specialise in looking
after Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles. As well as the many other makes of
cars which arrive at the workshop, staff have now received specialist training
and together with new equipment are well prepared to look after Jaguar and
Land Rovers. This new service was launched at the beginning of October. See next edition for more details.
“Specialising in Jaguar and Landrover ”
MOT news
We welcome a new member of staff to the MOT workshop. Gus, started work
at the museum at the beginning of July. He comes to the museum with a
wealth of experience, having worked on many classic cars throughout his
career including a 1927 Le Mans race car. Gus is an avid motor enthusiast
owning two classic cars himself as well as competing in drag racing.
MOTs are carried out throughout the week by Gus on any make, model and
year of car, from early classics through to modern production cars. All receiving
the same care and professional service.
“ N e w f a ce i n M OT wo r k s h o p”
Page 13
a n d f i n a l l y, f o r t h i s i s s u e . . . . . . .
Coming up next time:Building work update - the next instalment.
Update on new museum displays - discover how museum displays are
planned, put together and then finally opened to the public.
How to find us
The Haynes International Motor Museum is located at Sparkford near Yeovil,
Somerset, just off the A303 and 30 minutes from Junction 25 of the M5.
The museum is open every day (except 24th, 25th, 26th December and 1st
January); From the 2nd of March to 31st October, 9:30a.m. - 5:30pm. 1st
November to 1st March 10:am - 4:30pm (6.00pm during summer holidays).
Rare Breeds Car Show - Sunday 2nd September. See full report of show and
pictures of some of the cars displayed.
Car club visitors - read the latest and see pictures from visiting car clubs.
Special activites for October half-term.
Read about the restoration of the GT40 - continuing from this issue.
Workshop launch Jaguar and Land Rover specialist service - continued from
this issue.
Page 14