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Monday, October 4, 2010

Moto-Car - It Ain’t Just Cars

The other day we were driving on Route 1A in Ellsworth, Maine on our way back to Acadia National Park when there it was – Moto-Car. Let’s stop here,” I shouted to Grenville as he jammed on the brakes and made a quick right turn. Yikes! Good thing it was a quiet traffic day.

DSCN3516The above photo really doesn’t do this place justice because you have to really see it up close and personal. Owner Terry Pinkham, also the CEO of Moto-Car had been collecting cars and “stuff” for 35 years. He doesn’t repair the cars – just buys, trades and sells them.

The collection at Moto-Car includes antique cars, and special interest automobiles including Model A's and T's, Fords, Chevys, Mopars, and muscle cars.  Collector vehicles from Maine are referred to as “barn fed,” which means they have been stored and kept from the elements of sun, salt, and snow – remember this is Maine.

old car collage old cars collage2

chevy-ford collage Not only does Terry have cars, but lots of other things, many of which have absolutely nothing to do with autos. Nearly all are in perfect condition too – no broken odds and ends here. If you thought you had a lot of stuff in your garage, you haven’t seen Terry’s.

stuff collage 1

stuff collage 2

Lots of signs – many related to cars and other “stuff” too..

auto sign collage According to Terry, “This is the most fantastic business on planet earth. Not only do we get to play with cars, we get to meet interesting people from all over the world.”

Grenville and I consider ourselves very interesting; maybe Terry did too because he chatted with Grenville and let me wander around to take all these photos. By the way, the police car below is for sale and comes with a working siren and donuts.

police car collageIf you are the owner of a great auto and want to share photos and information, contact Terry at his website.

5 comments:

J_on_tour said...

Looks like it was worth the stop to discover some classic cars and interesting memorabilia.

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Hello J and thanks for dropping in. This place was definitely worth a stop and best of all there was no cost and very fascinating :stuff."

Lois Evensen said...

What a COOL place! It's all terrific. That kiddie police pedal car reminds me of one similar painted as a fire car that my older brothers had. Since no girl would "grow up to be a fireman" back in those days, it was given to the doctor's boys down the street when my brothers outgrew it. I had to borrow it from the kids down to the street to get a chance to ride in it. Isn't it nice that times have changed!

Your pictures are GREAT!

Lois

HermitJim said...

What a fun place to visit! Isn't it great to find these places and get a chance to stop and look around?

Thanks for sharing the great pics with us!

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Hi Lois, yes it is good that times have changed in some ways and girls are more on a par with boys. Sad though that toys like the fire truck you mentioned are not "in style." My brother had a green pedal car similar to the police car pictured. Thanks for the compliment!

HermitJim, this was such a fun place and one that is not even in any guide book which makes it even better. We just saw it off the highway and stopped in and the owner, Terry, let us look around to our heart's content. And, he let me get all these great shots too!