Tustin, California and the Marconi Automotive Museum

With Chip Foose and Jay Leno having blown me off… just kidding.

I took drive to Tustin, to take a look at some 70 collector cars put together by Dick Marconi. He moved his family from Indiana in the late 1950’s and settled in California where he made a small fortune in vitamins. As his car collection grew he decided that he could use it to fund charitable organizations that targeted children – to the tune of a million or more dollars a year. Meanwhile folks get to see some fantastic automotive history and some real classic cars.

I pulled up early enough to beat the crowds and have a chance to photograph some real gems.

Who wouldn’t be impressed to see the 1988 F1 Honda driven by Ayrton Senna.

Or a Shelby Mustang 350 GT from 1965. I remember when I first saw one of these in in 1965 blasting down a road on Cape Cod. It was an amazing brute of a car.

How about the jacket that Steve McQueen wore while filming the movie LeMans?

Or the late 80’s wet dream of adolescent boys. The Lamborghini Countach. More posters were sold of this car to teenage boys than Sarah Faucet (their mothers preferred the car to the suggestive woman).