Somewhere in Florida, March 2018
The classic car hobby preserves automotive history. It could be argued that many classic cars are true art expressed in a form that also has function. Cars have been the subject of displays in many an art museum, including the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art in New York. This private collection is an art museum, one we were fortunate to experience.
The collection consists of over 20 cars and over 1000 Automotive signs. Signs are quite collectible and are included in many of the high-end classic auto auctions. This may be the largest and most diverse collection of automotive signs in the world.
The car above is a special that Edsel Ford had constructed out of the sight of his father. Henry Ford believed that engineering was the most important aspect of the car industry and focusing on styling was a pursuit for those whose manhood might be called into question.
While a focus of the collection is on Ford and Mercury products, some Chevy's made it into the collection.
This collection is fluid, with new cars added and other cars sold. The framed display commemorates the first-place award at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the most prestigious classic car event in the world. This winning Dusenburg was once part of the collection.
Charles Knight developed a sliding valve engine which has two cast iron sleeves between the piston and the block. These sleeves move so they uncover intake and exhaust ports in the side of the block. Confusing? After years of reading references to sliding valve engines, this cut-away working display engine finally demonstrated how that system works.
Thirty automotive manufacturers, in eight countries, built these engines for their cars under Knight's patent, which was awarded in 1905. Cars with the Knight engine were allowed to use the Knight hood ornament on their cars and were referred to as "Silent Knights" as the engine was almost noiseless in operation. By 1932, poppet-valve engines, which were less expensive to build, became the norm for 4-cycle engines and the Knight engine production ended.
A Knight engine in a Willys-Knight, built during the WWI era.
There are many stories of automotive history on display in this private collection. This post just scratches the surface of one story.
