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I've just done a three day blitz of some car museums and the Grand National Roadster Show in the Los Angeles area and thought you'd be interested in what I saw.
Our first stop was the Nethercutt Collection. This is a private collection owned by the family that owns Merle Norman Cosmetics. The museum tour is free and its a must see.
There's about 200 cars on display in two buildings. One building is a walkabout and the other is for registered tour's only. We were fortunate that we were able to get into both buildings and believe me this collection was the highlite of our three days. This collection is a must see if you are in the L.A. area. Check their website for more information.
Our next stop was the Peterson. I'd heard a lot about it, but to be honest it was disappointing. Haveing said that, I'd still recommend it if you are in the area because they continually change the displays.
Our third stop of the day was at the Wally Parks NHRA Museum. Like the Nethercutt, this is a must see anytime you are in the Los Angeles area. The collection of cars and memorabilia may seem small but there's a wonderfull history of drag raceing in this building and you could easily spend half a day doing the tour.
We spent Friday and Saturday at the Grand National Roadster Show at the Pomona Fairplex. I'd been to the Roadster Show years ago when it was in Oakland but to see a show thats in seven arena size buildings is quite an experience, especially when you include several hundred cars parked outside on the grounds. All the heavy hitters were there competing for the big trophy and the quality of the builds was amazing. There was even a handbuild Boydster style deuce that was said to have cost over one million dollars to build. To say it was perfect is an understatement. One of the more interesting buildings was the Suede Palace that was full of rat rods. In addition to the cars, their whole "culture" is really cool. Unfortunatly, the model car display, which has been huge in the past, was a complete bust this year. There were none on Friday and on Saturday afternoon about a dozen small scale cars were on display. Last time I went to this show there were over 200 models shown.
UPDATE: according to another site, a bunch of models showed up later Saturday.
You can visit the three museums anytime, but for my money doing it during the GNRS was a great experience. Even if you go to a show this big only once, it will be an experience you'll never forget.
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