Machinery and Music

Welcome back, readers! Wednesday was a free day for everyone with various activities for different groups. Some went to the beach and found their way to Santa Monica Pier. Another group visited the automotive bookstore and also stopped by George Barris’ shop. They also found a pleasant surprise in the presence of Mr. Barris at the shop, and he gave them all signed photos of the Batmobile he so famously created.

Thursday was a more formal day, but with good reason. We started the day with a visit to Ray Scherr’s collection (Unfortunately, once again, no photos). Scherr once owned the Guitar Center chain of stores and amassed an excellent car collection. One of the most noticeable things about his collection was the array of colors his cars displayed. Often car collections are a mass of muted hues like blacks, silvers, maroons and blues. Scherr’s collection had bright greens, golds, blues and reds. He had some remarkable cars like a gorgeous classic Alfa Romeo 8C which featured a double overhead cam, dual, gear-driven supercharged straight eight engine. Not only that, Scherr also had a stunning collection of acoustic and electric guitars.

This mix of automobiles and instruments set the tone for the rest of the day. The next stop on our trip was the Nethercutt Museum and collection. This was the initial reason for dressing up (we didn’t know for sure if we would see Scherr’s collection) as we would be visiting the main collection building in addition to the regular museum. The collection building was divided up into various spaces with a lower basement area which also connects to the restoration shop. Above that was the Grand Salon, and above that was the Music Room. The first two levels displayed cars, the lower level showing a wide assortment from Pre-War machines to a DeLorean.

We then went into the restoration shop, which was incredible. The walls were lined with lights, trim and hood ornaments. The shop was quite large, and also housed several other beautiful cars, including a personal favorite of mine, an Austin Healey 100/M. One of the most amazing things demonstrated their dedication to perfect restorations. They were working on an Austro-Daimler. They told us that they do not use any body fillers when restoring their cars, and there wasn’t any on there, just perfectly finished sheet metal. It was incredible. And then the Grand Salon, which revealed why we dressed up, was even more impressive.

The Grand Salon was designed to look like a high-end car dealership from the 1920s, and it was awe inspiring. Enormous marble pillars rose to the ornate ceiling. All around were incredibly valuable Pre-War automobiles. One of the most amazing was the $20,000 Duesenberg. It was built as a show car for the Chicago World’s Fair, and retailed for $20,000 when new. As amazing as that was, it was hard to focus on the cars when in such a spectacular room.

When we wrapped up in the Grand Salon, we made our way upstairs to the Music Room, and I feel it’s safe to say that it may have been the highlight of the Nethercutt. The Music Room was not just a room full of old instruments. The key parts of it were machines called “nikelodeons” and “orchestrions.” These machines are similar to player pianos, but on a whole other level. They are programmed music makers, but they aren’t just one instrument like a piano. They contained multiple instruments ranging from a piano and a trio of violins, to a complete band with drums, piano and brass pieces, and were completely automatic. They were all controlled with air and air lines and were fascinating to watch work.

The centerpiece, both literally and figuratively, of the Music Room was the “Mighty Wurlitzer Theatre Organ.” The caretaker of the instruments told us it was the third largest of its kind in the world. Not only was it a massive organ, but it also had a variety of other sound effects from car and train horns, to a gong, all controllable from the main organ console. It was incredible to see an instrument capable of so many real, non-digital sounds and notes. The caretaker was also a concert organist and gave us a demonstration of some of the music he could play using the organ that he recorded with the retrofitted computer system. This allowed his keystrokes to be recorded so that the computer could replay everything exactly as he did and could be presented at anytime. The demonstration started off with a medley of Star Wars music from the classic theme to the Cantina theme. This was followed up with the song from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and finally “Chattanooga Choo-Choo,” complete with train sound effects. During this demonstration, curtains came up to reveal some of the Wurlitzer’s 5000 organ pipes. It was an incredible experience.

After the Music Room, we returned to ground level and viewed the Canadian Pacific Royal Hudson steam locomotive and a classic Pullman carriage. Both were restored and we were told that the locomotive could be used, but due to the short length of track, there would be absolutely no where for it to go. And after a quick tour we went inside to the main museum. The museum contains a wide array of automobiles including a Talbot-Lago and a couple of Bugattis, as well as a 1946 VW Beetle. Most of the collection consisted of pre-war machines including a beautiful, and completely original Oldsmobile. The glass, paint, pinstriping and upholstery were all the same from the factory, and in fairly good condition.

To cap of the night, a few of us went to Irwindale Event Center for some “run what ya brung” street car drag racing. It was a fun event with quite a few different cars. The slower machines were typically modified Hondas – Civics, Integras, etc. – with Mustangs and Camaros higher up along with a couple of Mitsubishi Evos. There were some unusual cars too. There was a Mazda Miata with a rotary engine swapped in, and a drag racing Beetle with a VW engine and an owner that was clearly still getting a grip on how to drive it.