Forney Transportation Museum
4303 Brighton Boulevard
Denver, Colorado 80216
303-297-1113
https://forneymuseum.com
I remember as a child I visited the Forney Museum. The Museum has moved a couple of times, but I wanted to revisit it again. I remember the Forney Transportation Museum was a train museum. Well, they have trains, but they have a lot more cars.
The center piece is Amelia Earhart 1923 Kissel, but there are a number of rare and unique cars in the collection.
In this collection they had a 1928 Chevy Depot Hack. One of the first cars I drove and worked on was my father’s 1928 Chevy. I asked if it was possible to take a closer look. Jim Amos the treasurer took me out for a closer look. My impression – great museum and great people running it.
This museum has been around for many years. It is a great stop if you are in Denver.
Kissel was a company formed in 1906 and closed in 1931. It was located in Wisconsin and made the Kissel Kar, the Kissel Gold Bug Speedster, Silver Special Speedster, and the White Eagle Speedster. These models were popular with Hollywood and celebrity class. Kissel made about 27,000 cars. Very few survive today.
Fatty Arbuckle had a Gold Bug” Speedster It is at the Wisconsin Automotive Museum.
The founder was Louis Kissel and his sons. It became big. It started with two buildings and seventy men. At the max it was like a small city. They had an expertise in metal and stainless steel, with heat treatment for high wear parts. The Kissel Kar was known for smooth operation and durability.
The Kissel Car Company made cars, limousines, trucks, and utility vehicles like ambulances, and fire trucks. This is Amelia Earhart’s Kissel
Studebaker and Packard both survived the depression but lost a lot of money and market share. They combined in an effort to survive but never really recovered. They limped along for 20 years, but never really did well. They were looking for a home run and bet on the Avanti. It was an effort to reach an outstanding halo car. It was a hot rod.
In 1962 the Avanti was modeled in clay in Palm Springs, CA. The headquarters was in South Bend IN where it was quickly approved. The first prototype was shown at the New York Auto show in 1962. It was influenced by a number of cars including the Corvette. These were bodied in fiberglass and had a V8. The public loved the car and that resulted in a 24-city tour. By the fall of 1962, the car was in dealer show rooms, with a carbureted 289 or a supercharged V-8. The Avanti was an exciting car, but not enough to prevent Studebaker and Packard closing in 1966.
The Avanti 2 came out in 1965 built by a few Studebaker employees in an effort to save the Avanti. They purchased all the designs and rights in July 1964, came out with Avanti 2,
1965 they built 45 cars, and they peaked in 1983, closing in 1991. The car was reintroduced in 2001 – 2005. Total production for all years was about 4129 cars.
The REO Motor Car Company founded in Lansing, Michigan as “R. E. Olds Motor Car Company”. It operated from 1905 to 1975. Founded by Ransom E. Olds he is also the father of Oldsmobile.
1909 REO Runabout shown here.
The Ford Motor Company started early; this is a Model F rebodied with a Ford Model C Runabout. This is an odd ball car but look at the REO and this. They have similarities.
The 1949 Cadillac. Most car guys know that car production nearly stopped during WW2. Cadillac did produce cars during WW2, but sales were low and mostly for the government. After the war there were material availability issues and no time for all new designs. The pre-war tooling existed, and auto manufacturers just restarted with the prewar designs.
Cadillac numbered their series, (61, 62, and 67 for example) the series sixty-one was among the first post war cars with a new design (for Cadillac). The war had totally changed, and the Lockheed P-38 was the inspiration for the rounded tailfins in series sixty-one. These would grow and be inspired by jet aircraft through the 1960s and beyond.
The Ford Motor Company made wrenches so Ford owners could repair their cars. There were 15 million Model Ts, and each came with a wrench. It is no wonder these wrenches are varied and common. Spark Plugs and head bolts were common places needing tightening. The other wrench type common in the pre 1930s cars were axle and wheel use. Hub Caps (called wheel bearing caps today) were common. They started as a single size on each wrench but evolved into multiuse tools with a couple of sizes or functions. None of these were for use on other brands and none were complete tool sets. You see purpose built one car tool kits throughout the 1960s but are largely replaced with generic wrench and socket sets today. There are still purpose-built tools for specific cars today, but they are sold to mechanics and not with cars.