Tampa Bay Automobile Museum - Part 4

PART 4 OF THE TAMPA BAY AUTOMOBILE MUSEUM

AERO 50

The Aero 50 was the last of the Aero cars before fading into history.  A Czeckoslovakian car this was the first front-wheel car from the company.  The country started nationalizing businesses after the war and this doomed the car-making division of Aero, although it continued making planes.  This car was made in 1936.  



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AMILCAR COMPOUND

Less than a thousand of these were ever made.  This really nice car (it is on my list of favorites) utilized an all aluminum body, rack and pinion steering, front wheel drive, torque bars for rear suspension and all-independent suspension on top of that.  It was a French car that couldn't survive the post-war years.  It was eventually bought out by a company called Hotchkiss. 

Quiz:  Look at the rear taillights.  Can you guess why they are just a bit different?  Answer below.

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BSA SCOUT

They made about 3000 of these between the years 1935 and 1939.  It is an Engish car, a small sports car, really, with front wheel drive.  BSA stands for Birmingham Small Arms.  Notice the BSA decal on the last picture on the right.  

The truly unique thing is that in order to make it a front wheel drive car, the engine was placed backwards, as you can see in the 4th picture.  



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DKW MEISTERKLASSE F8

This German-made DKW was exported to the US before the war and is original with low miles.  It had a wooden body which made it cheaper to make than other cars.  This is another one I skipped by too fast and promise to check it out more when I return.  Notice the 4 intertwined rings on the grill?  It was a union of four car manufacturers, Audi, Horch, Wanderer, and DKW in 1932.      


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1930 BSA THREE WHEELER

Birmingham Small Arms company was originally formed to provide weapons for the government.  At the beginning of the 20th century, they started making motorcycles and cars.  This dandy little three-wheeled sports car was a front wheel drive car and must have been easy to change out the rear tire tire in case of a flat.  Looks like the whole side panel comes off.  Not sure I'd want to go too fast into a corner though.


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1929 CORD L29

Yes, those are new plates and registration on the floor.  These are running, driving cars.  The family takes them on cruises throughout the year, and many are taken to car shows around the country.  

One of only 8 Cord Broughams left in the world.  This is an American front-wheel car and sold for $4,400 in 1929.  That would be roughly $31,000 today.  And they sold 4400 of them.  Of course, the Crash was coming soon, too.  They had reliability issues and dealerships shrank.  They would put out the 812 and that was just about it for the Cord.  Beautiful car, classic lines, and just think: built in Connorville, Indiana.  And how about that rear view mirror setup?  

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*QUIZ ANSWER:  THE RIGHT TAILLIGHT IS A DUMMY AND NON-FUNCTIONAL.  IT IS THE GAS CAP AND THEY WANTED SYMMETRY.  IT ONLY HAD ONE TAILLIGHT.