Outside and just to the right of the front entrance was an old 1930's vintage truck on exhibit. It was labeled as being from the "R.E. Hazard Contracting Co." The side doors were welded shut and a small sign on the cab advised folks to "Pease Keep Off." This on a day that was not cold but very wet from rain.

The front of the building that housed the San Diego Automotive Museum was huge with relatively small doors at street level. The museum was housed in a building left over from the California Pacific International Exposition of 1935. Entry cost US $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and military, and $5 for students.

Inside, the building had high ceilings covering a vast exhibit floor. The layout made the exhibit appear small, but once we started to wander, the space became convoluted and filled to bursting with interesting exhibits.

A playroom was set up to entertain young children. It featured an old jalopy and a chopped motorcycle. Off picture to the left were table top games involving cars and trucks.

The Main floor just in from the entry showed off an old VW bus, an old woodie, and a dune buggy. As can be seen, the space was divided into individual scenes, one complete with a Jack In The Box mock restaurant.

An old gas station selling "Mobil Regular" leaded gasoline. The scene was an old wooden shed with a partly disassembled jalopy inside. Its hood had been removed to aid in repairing the old in-line 6-cylinder engine.

This superbly decorated 1970 VW Hippie Bus featured a 1.6 liter, air-cooled flat four engine built in Germany. This exciting paint job was done by Nic Battaglia. The Volkswagen "Bus" was built from 1950 to the present in a variety of versions from Campers to Pick-ups. This model, the T2a was in production from 1967 to 1979.

A restored 1940 vintage wood trimmed Pontiac car. The woodie is a car body style, usually in the form of a station wagon, in which the rear body is partly constructed of wood or wood and painted metal. In its most general, a woodie is simply any car with wood trim.

Along one side of the vast floor space was an exhibit of motorcycles set along a long row. New motorcycles were on exhibit, as well as vintage models, and a few famous ones too. Brand signs hung over exhibit sections, such as, "Indian Motorcycles," "BMW Motorcycles," etc.

This Suzuki was built by Matt Guzzetta and has the record for the most fuel efficient motorcycle, at 215.4 miles per gallon. It holds the Guinness World Record for Motorcycle distance on one tank of gas. It was a 1982 Suzuki with a modified 124 cc Suzuki GN125Z engine.

A very old Harley Davidson motorcycle left over for the first world war. It showed a great deal of wear from actual use and featured a 1911 F-head engine that was standard on all Harley Davidson motorcycles until 1929.

One corner of the museum was dedicated to old Indian brand Motorcycles. Built from 1901 to 1953 by the Hendee Manufacturing Company which later changed its name to the Indian Motorcycle Manufacturing Company, and even later went bankrupt in 1953.

With an old gas pump behind it, this vintage Indian Chief with sidecar still appeared ready for the road. Notice the carved Indian face on the front running light.

This 1938 Pierce Arrow model 38-C featured a convertible top and had running boards. Manufacturer based in Buffalo, New York from 1901 to 1938, the Pierce Arrow became the luxury car for its day.

The Bentley 3 Liter, "Red Label" Speed Model of 1925. W.O. Bentley built the first all-English sports car in 1919. His four-valves per cylinder engine became renowned for its sturdiness. Here, the "Red Label" identifies a short chassis. A Mr. H.J. Mulliner provided the coachwork for this particular car.

Here was a fine example of a Ford Model T "3-Door Touring Car" from 1914. Although this Model T was later painted blue, 1914 was the first year in which all Model T's were painted black, a trend that would continue until 1925. Black was the quickest drying color and allowed the price of the Model T to remain low.

A exploded contemporary cruiser was on exhibit with mirrors on the ground so that its hydraulics and sound system could be easily examined. Open and unfolded as it was, this exhibit became a bit abstract.

Entry to and exit from the museum was through its gift shop. Ahead to the right was the glow of daylight through the front doors. Just beyond that to the left was the ticket booth. On this day, the same fellow sold both tickets and gifts from two different booths.

Back on the street, the corner of the building housing the museum was majestic in its size and shape. Rain had just ended and the day portended to be clearing.