0 Behind the Ropes

by Willy Vinton

Recently I led two special, "behind-the-ropes" tours for visitors wanting to see some of the finer details of the museum automobiles. These two-hour tours involved looking at the cars' interiors, engines and other interesting features. At right a group learns about our 1905 Curved Dash Olds, commonly referred to as a CDO.

The 1907 Model D Franklin generated lots of questions. With its wooden frame, air-cooled engine and richly appointed interior, this great automobile always attracts a lot of interest.

The 1920 Argonne was another crowd favorite. Its unique, walking-beam engine was built by Rochester from the Duesenburg design and has very long and wide rocker arms that run from the camshaft to the valves. At the time, the popular Ford Model T carried a 20-horsepower engine, while the Argonne's produced a whopping 100 horsepower. The manufacturer guaranteed that an Argonne could reach 80 mph and had a fuel efficiency of 20 mpg--quite a boast for that era!

Keep an eye on our Facebook page for announcements of additional tours and other events at the museum.