It all started with a teenage boy and a broken down 1955 MG TF. It was Jeff Lane’s first restoration and proved a point of great pride in his young life. That was 1967. Thirty five years later, Lane’s collection of restored cars, plus several donations, had grown to 70 vehicles and became the starting point of a nonprofit organization today know as Nashville's Lane Motor Museum.
The museum is housed in a former Sunbeam Bakery building and is one of the nation’s few that specializes in European cars. The collection currently boasts more than 300 cars and motorcycles displayed throughout the 132,000-square-foot facility.
Automobile Preservation at Lane Motor Museum
While many museums featuring automobiles retain their outward appearance, but remove features such as gas and oil tanks, the Lane Motor Museum’s aim is complete automobile preservation. A team of mechanical experts work to keep each specimen in full working order with all original specifications intact. Many are shown in mint, showroom condition. Others show signs of typical aging. But if possible, each still cranks up with the turn of the key and the press of the gas pedal.
Sometimes, original automobiles and parts are no longer available. In such cases, Lane Motor Museum officials contact the manufacturers for blueprints, drawings and vintage photographs, as well as permission to recreate these automotive works of art.
Often, these restorations prove tricky. In the spring of 2004, a 1932 Helicron, a rare, wooden-bodied, propeller-powered car, rolled into the Lane Motor Museum. Jeff Lane set out to restore the car to a level acceptable for the prestigious Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, a high-end vintage car show that happens each spring in Northeast Florida. At first glance, the Helicron needed a front axle and engine replacement. But in a classic “while you’re in there” scenario, mechanics found a number of other parts that needed replaced, including brittle wiring, a fuel tank and steering wheel. Much of the vehicle begged a new coat of paint and a new set of wheels was ordered. Mistakenly sent to California, the new wheels made it to the Lane Motor Museum with just a day to spare before the Helicron had to be loaded and shipped to Amelia Island, where it ultimately received much acclaim.
“We like cars that make people smile,” says Lane of the Helicron, which sports a modern-day Tennessee license plate and is occasionally drive on the streets of Nashville for upkeep’s sake.
The Fast, the Furious, the Big and the Small at Lane Motor Museum
The Lane Motor Museum’s smallest vehicle is a Peel P50, listed in the Guinness Book World records as the world’s smallest street-legal car. At 53” long, 39” wide and 53” high, one might hope this tiny automobile would pack a punch. Instead, the single-passenger car is able to travel at only 40 miles-per-hour.
By comparison, the museum’s largest transport is the amphibious LARC-LX, which measures the width, length and height of three semi –trucks parked side by side. Built for the US Army during the Vietnam War era, this impressive vehicle is powered by four engines and stands nine feet tall.
The guys always want to know: “What’s the fastest car on the lot?” That, Lane says, would be the 1975 Maserati Bora, which registers speeds of zero-to-60 in 6.5 seconds, reaching a top speed of 165 miles per hour. The Caterham Blackbird hits 60-miles per hour more quickly (zero-to-60 in four seconds) but tops out at 130 mph.
What’s on Lane Motor Museum’s Wish List?
“Of course, we’d like a Leyat Saloon,” Lane says wistfully of the airplane propeller-driven car regularly used in France during the Roaring ‘20s. Named for inventor Marcel Leyat, the original M Leyat proved capable of speeds of 100 mph (beating the average speed of 60 mph of saloons of the time) but had no reverse. Realizing his invention had little commercial value, Leyat eventually would add wings and a tailplane to make the Helicar a light aircraft.
“Lane Motor Museum is interested in any propeller powered car,” Lane says. “Also add to our list a Mathis 333, a three-wheel, three-seat vehicle.”
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