Keeping a classic-car museum alive requires a lot more than keeping the lights on and dusting the exhibits. When the cars are actually expected to run, somebody still needs to understand the increasingly specialized art of keeping decades-old machinery alive.
That’s become a serious problem for Snook’s Dream Cars in Bowling Green, Ohio. After 24 years, the family-run museum is preparing to close the doors and sell off its collection.
Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, the issue isn’t a lack of interesting cars. Far from it. It’s because longtime mechanic Terry Stetler is retiring, and museum owner Jeff Snook says he hasn’t been able to find anyone qualified to replace him.
Speaking with the Toledo Blade, Snook pointed specifically to the disappearing knowledge required to maintain older vehicles. With no replacement mechanic and Snook himself ready to retire, the museum is expected to close during the week of October 11.
Finding A Classic Car Mechanic Isn’t Easy
Stetler didn’t simply keep the museum’s collection running. He also worked on privately owned classics in the area, while maintaining the museum’s diverse collection of American, European, and Japanese cars.
“Kids that come out of auto trade school, they don’t know about carburetors and old car stuff,” Snook told the Toledo Blade. He added that the lack of qualified mechanics is making it increasingly difficult to keep older cars on the road.
Modern automotive technicians work in a radically different environment, where computerized diagnostics, electronic fuel injection, and increasingly sophisticated software are routine. Carburetors, distributor points, and other older systems require skills that aren’t necessarily relevant to today’s dealership service bays.
It Started With A Model A
The collection’s roots stretch back much further than the museum itself. According to Hagerty, Bill Snook and his son Jeff restored a 1929 Ford Model A together in 1963, beginning what eventually became a multi-generational collection.
Snook’s Dream Cars later opened to the public in Bowling Green and operated for more than two decades. Unlike static collections where vehicles spend their lives parked, its emphasis was on keeping the cars roadworthy and regularly enjoying them.
A collection of running classics needs constant maintenance, and finding one person comfortable working on everything from prewar American cars to vintage European sports cars is no small task.
The Cars Are Now Being Sold
With the museum closing, the collection is being offered through Hagerty Marketplace entirely without reserve. Fifteen vehicles are currently listed, with the auctions scheduled to conclude on September 28.
The selection is remarkably varied and includes a 1963 Jaguar XKE Series I Roadster, a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible, a 1971 Datsun 240Z, a 1959 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider, and a rare 1954 Kaiser-Darrin 161.
There’s also a 1933 Cadillac, a 1942 Ford GPW, and, appropriately, a 1931 Ford Model A Station Wagon among the offerings. For Snook’s Dream Cars, the retirement of one mechanic ultimately became the point at which keeping the whole operation running was no longer practical.
The museum may be disappearing, but its predicament is also a serious challenge for the classic-car hobby in general. Preserving the cars also means preserving the skills required to keep them moving, and as that knowledge disappears, it will be much more difficult to keep these vintage models running. At least it’s still possible to take a virtual tour of the museum.