About the Museum

Our Mission

The mission statement of the Classic Car Club of America Museum, Inc., is to preserve and display classic automobiles (as defined by the Classic Car Club of America) and related materials, to encourage public interest in the design, manufacture, and use of those automobiles, to explain their importance to automobile history, to erect, equip and maintain museum buildings, a library and research center to house the Museum’s collection, and to educate others about the Classic Car era.

Our Board

Don Desmett, Executive Director
ddesmett@cccamuseum.org

Carol Vogt, Executive Assistant
cvogt@cccamuseum.org

Candace Haag, President

Carrol Jensen, Vice President

Greg Stachura, Secretary

Greg Kosmatka, Treasurer

Lee Barthel, MI – Emeritus

Tom Brace, MN

Bob DeFreitas, FL

Jeff DeMarey, MA

Howard Freedman, OR

David Gano, OH

Dan Gernatt, Jr., NY

Donald Ghareeb, AL

David Kane, NJ

Tianda McDonald, MI

Edgar Minnie, FL

Thym Smith, DE

Christine Snyder, OH

Jerry Steelman, MN

Carl Zeiger, CA

Vicki Zeiger, CA

Museum History

Perhaps you’ve heard that the Classic Car Club of America has a terrific museum but, unless you’ve been there, you probably don’t know much about it. It all started around 1983 when Dick Gold began to encourage the club to look for a location for a museum. Dick’s vision was to have a place to perpetuate CCCA Classic cars and idealize the Classic Era for future generations. The campus of the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan, would be an ideal spot.

The response from club members to donate Classic cars was astonishing. A nearby barn that had been built in the 1890s was acquired, moved to a corner of the Gilmore grounds and rebuilt. It was named for Tom Barrett, the Arizona collector, who helped fund the project. Very soon great Classic cars like Rolls-Royce, Cadillac, Lincoln, Packard, and Wills-Sainte-Claire began motoring into the Thomas W. Barrett Barn.

Then Marvin Tamaroff, a long-time CCCA member from Michigan and a strong supporter of the Museum, offered his incredible mascot collection. It’s believed to be the largest in the world. Now 675 rare, exciting and original hood ornaments are on display for visitors to enjoy.

Over the years, a lot of very dedicated people have helped the CCCA Museum grow. Among them was Noel Thompson of New Jersey. Noel generously donated the funds to build a library. In addition to books and magazines, we received the archives of the people who contributed to the making of the Classic Era. The CCCA Museum is the logical place for these irreplaceable documents that were the work of the great custom coachbuilders of the Classic Era. Today the files of the custom houses of Derham and Judkins as well as the papers of Ray Dietrich being carefully preserved.

Through the years, the museum has undergone numerous additions. A few years ago it became obvious the Museum had outgrown itself. Again, friends stepped forward to help grow to 40,000 sq. ft. With this new addition, there is new space to beautifully display our cars and tell the story of the Classic Era.

1986 Bulletin Photo

The main event for the Classic Car Club of America Museum is called “The Experience.” Held on the first weekend of June, our Museum has organized a Concours d’Elegance that brings together many of the cars you see at Pebble Beach and the Amelia. The Experience is organized in a friendly, low-key manner, and provides a great chance to relax, look at fabulous cars and have fun. There’s an opening night BBQ, a driving tour through the local countryside and a mouthwatering banquet. Each year is an “Experience”. New ideas are tried regularly every year, it is always fresh and exciting.

Very few museums display as many Classic Cars as we do. In fact, our museum is unique in having Full Classics® as its single focus. After all, what could better demonstrate the definition of a CCCA Classic car than the automobiles themselves? As a bonus, numerous other Classics are displayed in the other Gilmore barns on the grounds.