War Eagles Musuem Inventory Reduction Auction

[Warbird Kid]

Just saw this:
https://www.proxibid.com/Starman-Bros-Auctions-Inc/WAR-EAGLES-MUSEUM-INVENTORY-REDUCTION-AUCTION/event-catalog/250499

Interesting bit of verbiage:

WAR EAGLES AIR MUSEUM IS AT CAPACITY & NEEDS TO MAKE ROOM FOR INCOMING AIRCRAFT AND AUTOMOBILE DISPLAYS THEREFORE HAS CONTRACTED STARMAN BROS. AUCTIONS TO SELL AT A TIMED ONLINE ONLY AUCTION (2) BELL UH-1N HELICOPTER PROJECTS, (20+) ANTIQUE AUTOMOBILES & MOTORCYCLES, GROUND SUPPORT EQUIPMENT, LYCOMING T-53 TOOLING, BELL SPECIALTY TOOLING, UH-1N & UH-1 PARTS INVENTORY, P&W TWIN PACK ENGINE, LYCOMING T-53 ENGINE, AVIONICS, AIRCRAFT JACKS, HOBART GPU 400, MAINTENANCE PLATFORMS, GROUND HANDLING WHEELS, ETC.

WE WILL BE ONSITE FOR OPEN HOUSE WED. NOVEMBER 8TH, 8AM-5PM. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE CALL OUR OFFICE 480-396-0380

ONCE AGAIN THIS IS JUST TO MAKE ROOM IN THE MUSEUM FOR NEW DISPLAYS. i WOULD SUGGEST VIEWING THE AUCTION ITEMS IN PERSON AND TAKING A TOUR OF THIS IMPRESSIVE MUSEUM WHILE ONSITE.

Wonder what they are getting? Surely its gotta be other static displays? And I wonder if this museum will ever become active again.

Last edited by Warbird Kid on Fri Nov 03, 2023 5:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[JohnB]

Just the thing for anyone who always wanted a full scale Twin Huey model kit.
Some of the cars look like they'll be bargains.

The 1953 Harrington fire (crash) truck looks like the type used by the USAF back on the day.
Might be a nice display for an airfield museum.
It looks to be all there externally, so all it needs is paint and tires for a static exhibit.

[Mark Sampson]

The '63 Morgan is a rare "drop-head coupe" model with actual side windows and a full convertible top; most Morgans are roadsters with side-curtains. I expect that it will make the museum some real money- sadly, not from me.

[JohnB]

Mark,
It seems to be a nice car in need of lots of TLC.
If you look closely, it has side curtains, just hard plastic ones, not clear vinyl.
Notice how a portion of the window slides, not drop down? Also, as seen in the interior shots, the doors are hollow like a true roadster.

Morgans were/are a few steps above MGs and Triumphs, so they could afford to have better weather protection.

Too bad the MGs are rough (not that I can fit into them being 6'3").
Seems like one of the museum benefactors was into UK sports cars, but who loses keys for three vehicles?

This summer I visited the De Havilland museum north of London. Two of the volunteers were driving similar later-model red Morgans. Another was driving an early '50s large Standard convertible. There was also a immaculate Daimler Dart in the car park.
Good to see aviation fans with good taste in cars.

[Stoney]

my first car was a 1953 MG TD, bought it for $650, it was a fun car.

[K5DH]

If my situation was a bit different, I'd be going after that 1941 Ford 4-door sedan. It seems like a great candidate to be painted and outfitted to represent a US Army staff car. That would look great sitting on the hangar floor at VFM, and it would be fun to take to car shows. But, alas, that just isn't in the cards. . . <heavy sigh>

[Clifford Bossie]

As a member and volunteer at the museum I am interested to see how the auction will go. I am surprised the fire truck does not yet (Sunday, 5 Nov) have a bid. Nor the Mack truck. But I am not bidding and am not involved with the auction, so what do I know

I have made jokes with the director that when we clear out the space we can buy a P-47, or a Wildcat . One can dream.

[Randy Wilson]

I think the Morgans had wooden frames, which was an issue with restorations even back in the 70s. I had an Austin-Healy BN-1 for a while back then but it was a garage restoration and I didn't keep it long. Just FYI.

Randy

[marine air]

Since al or almost all of the museum aircraft are no longer flown, it would make a lot of sense to sell some of the "flyable when parked" aircraft and exchange for much cheaper static display examples and also get some on loan from the U.S. government. The TBM Avenger would fetch a nice price, for example. If you want a Wildcat, the museum should coordinate with the U.S. Navy and retrieve a Wildcat from Lake Michigan. It would bring a lot of publicity and donations to the museum.
Please don't buy any more "live" flyable aircraft and convert them to "dead aircraft" forever chained to the hangar floor by lack of funding and policy.

[Warbird Kid]

Is there any chance at seeing this "dead" museum come back to life? Similar in the way we've seen Erickson get going (in a big way) in recent years. Alongside Palm Springs slowly transferring the collection over from the Pond estate, so the planes CAN be flown. And not to mention Yanks for slowly bringing some of their aircraft back to flying status.

[JohnB]

I think the Morgans had wooden frames, which was an issue with restorations even back in the 70s.
Randy

A common misconception due, in part, to a UK-US translation issue with frame (US) and chassis (UK) describing the same thing.

When Morgan fans say their cars have wood frames, they mean BODY frames, not the chassis.
Morgan chassis were steel, now they are aluminum.

The ubiquitous MG TC/D/F all have ash body frames as well, so rebuilders are familiar with wood work.
And wood kits are available as well as plenty of online resources.
Simply put, there is a wood framework for the body to which metal panels are affixed. You can often see wood in the door openings, the door structure, and convertible top wells.

Nearly all cars pre-1930s had wooden body frames....all steel bodies didn't become common until the mid '30s when car makers would buy entire body assemblies from outfits like Budd (familiar to warbird fans as the builder of the RB Conestoga) or in house firms like Fisher...as in GM "Body by Fisher".

Last edited by JohnB on Mon Nov 06, 2023 4:49 pm, edited 2 times in total.

[Clifford Bossie]

Is there any chance at seeing this "dead" museum come back to life?

Anything is possible. And I would also not refer to it as a "dead" museum. There is far more to a museum than just flying. If the direction does change as far as flying I will not sit on that information.

[Chris Brame]

So, Clifford, for the Hueys: BuNo 160456 sold for $10,250; BuNo 160443 sold for $90,000. Good deals for seller and buyer?
The '73 Mark IV and '56 Sedan deVille were pretty good deals; watch for them to get flipped on BringATrailer soon.

[JohnB]

At $90,000 it looks like 443 will be restored, too much for someone to spend on a non flying mock up or parts.

[Clifford Bossie]

So, Clifford, for the Hueys: BuNo 160456 sold for $10,250; BuNo 160443 sold for $90,000. Good deals for seller and buyer?
The '73 Mark IV and '56 Sedan deVille were pretty good deals; watch for them to get flipped on BringATrailer soon.

Excellent question, Chris. I will ask tomorrow and see how the director feels about the outcome. My personal feeling is that it was good for everybody involved.