The museum automobile collection is small, but significant. The 1904 Orient was actually sold by Glenn Curtiss who was a dealer for this automobile for a short time. The
1918 Buick Opera Coupe is displayed with the 1917 Jenny exhibit, and the 1940 Buick serves as a tow car for the Curtiss 1938 Aerocar travel trailer.
Our collection presently consists of:
• 1904 Orient Buckboard
• 1918 Buick Model E46 Opera Coupe
• 1940 Buick Special Sport Coupe
(on loan from Guy Bennett)
Selected items from our automobiles collection.
Orient Buckboard
1904
The 1904 Orient Buckboard, costing $337, was the most inexpensive automobile in the world until the advent of the Ford Model T, which could be purchased for $290 in 1924. The Orient Buckboard weighed just 400 pounds, had a four-horsepower engine, and could reach a speed of 30 mph.
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Buick Model E46 Opera Coupe
1918
Buick made just 12 of these Opera Coupes, only one of which was a "hard-top convertible". the first of its kind. This car seats two, in addition to the chauffeur and a child's "jump-seat", and features a hat box and flower vase.
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Buick Special Sport Coupe
1940
This Buick Special 2 Door Sport Coupe, powered by a Dynaflash Straight 8, was purchased new from the Chittum Buick Co. of Parkersburg, West Virginia by George Tichner. The car was sold to a neighbor in 1951 and then purchased by Guy Bennett in 1971.
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