Perhaps 15 years ago, or more, I began doing business on a regular basis with a gentleman across the Hudson River in Westchester County, NY, who frequently seemed to be the first one to respond to my NOS parts ads in Hemmings (remember them?). After a year or so, this gentleman suggested that I come over to visit and bring along the parts resulting from the latest sale. After we BS'd for a while at the kitchen table, Steve said "Let's go downstairs, I would like to show you my collection".

We descended the stairs toward the entrance to what I envisioned to be some sort of "Bat Cave". As the security system was disabled (I was sure that either .50 caliber machine guns or Hellfire missiles were behind fake ceiling panels), I walked into the finished basement, flicked the lights on, and felt like Howard Carter felt when he discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen. I believe that his quote was some thing like..... "I see wonderful things inside!"

I was in shock.

The cars (some you all know about, some you don't). The signs. The posters. The merchandising memorabilia. The jackets. The paperwork. The showroom material. The cutaway engines. The Polyglas tires. The clocks. The cabinets. For Mopar AND Ford/Shelby! Trying to absorb all of this was very nearly beyond my comprehension.

And understand this: Only 10% of it was actually on display! The rest was still rolled up in tubes or carefully packaged, to be properly displayed once the right time and place was determined, whenever that would be. Reminder: This was 13 years ago. The mix, scope, and historical significance of the overall collection has grown exponentially, and I am one of the very fortunate few that has witnessed the evolution almost from the beginning.

Steve and I both have a copy of Chrysler's Merchandising Catalog from 1971, and some of the coolest (and sometimes goofiest) stuff on earth can be seen in there. What is incredible is that he actually HAS most of it. The cuff links. The Scat Pack ashtrays. The Wile E. Coyote rugs. The 9-foot stand-up Road Runners. The back-lit signs. The ceiling "danglers". It is all there! And when you combine all of that with the current stable of cars (the RJ Reynolds Hemi Cuda, "Sunroof" Challenger, 440+6 71 Cuda convertible, 71 Hemi Charger R/T, Rapid Transit cars, etc. etc.) you have the most impressive overall collection imaginable, anywhere! In the event that the new museum is open at the time you are in CA, DO NOT pass up the opportunity!

I will now borrow the tag line form THE HISTORY CHANNEL:

Steve's museum is "WHERE THE PAST COMES ALIVE"!



Bill Rolik



P.S.

One additional "short story":

One day perhaps five or six years ago, we were sitting at the kitchen table looking at some of the "8 X 10 Glossy" photos that Chrysler printed of most of its models, and some magazine feature articles. In one of the articles, there was a vintage auto show view of the 70 RTS Road Runner. I said to Steve, "I wonder where this car is now?". Steve said, "I don't know, but I will do some detective work."

A few months later, it was in the "Bat Cave".