PA Cars Have Muscle

Imagine having your own personal collection of high performance cars and building a barn-like museum to house them. 

Barry's Car Barn in Intercourse, PA

It's not something, most folks could do, but that's what Barry Baldwin, a 70+ year old Lancaster County native, businessman and entrepreneur did that. InApril 2021, he opened a classic car museum in the small town of Intercourse, PA, featuring American muscle and sports cars from the 1950s to 1970s plus vintage autos, motorcycles, and car-related items. 

While Grenville is more the car aficionado than myself, I've always enjoyed seeing vintage autos. The expression they don't build them like they used to really applies to all these cars.

This museum was a stop on our PA road trip in May

This museum was a planned stop on our May anniversary road trip to PA. We bypassed it at first as although it's far from a small building, it's set back from Old Philadelphia Pike with no signage at a short driveway leading to it. There is a $13/person admission for this private museum. That expense balanced out as the same day we visited a larger and free auto collection, just 15 miles away (more in a future post).

Panoramic of car barn interior

There's more to see in this car museum than unique vintage autos. Walls are covered in gas company signs and other memorabilia with a number of free-standing vintage gas pumps too.

Gas company logos cover the museum walls

The red Pegasus flying horse logo above was used by Mobil starting in 1934 with ads boasting: A new sign rises to guide America's car owners to the gasoline and service they want. It remains among the most recognized corporate symbols in American petroleum history.

Vintage motorcycles include Harley Davidson, Indian and Triumph models

We didn't do a count, but there's over 50 cars in the barn, all visible down two main aisles, this includes 15 Chevrolet Corvettes, a row of Ford Shelbys, street rods, vintage 1930s autos and rare motorcycles like these Indians, Harley Davidsons, and Triumph.

Baldwin, who has owned cars from when he could legally drive, bought his first collectible car in the 1960s.  His interest in cars dates from working at his father's car repair and gas station in Gap, PA. That station was started in 1922 and is still in the Baldwin family. 

Lineup of Chevrolets, including many Camaro models

Of course, collecting vintage cars is not an inexpensive venture, so it helps if you own a large company. Baldwin heads an electrical and mechanical contracting business with six PA locations and several hundred employees. 

A good looking vintage sports car in the collection

Reportedly, Baldwin doesn't look for specific vehicles and instead buys unrestored, partially and fully restored cars that he likes. While he's also sold cars, his goal is to showcase the collection in this museum.In addition to the ones displayed here, there's more stored elsewhere in various states of restoration. Future plans are to rotate vehicles as they're ready to be shown here.

Two convertibles: Vintage Mercury coupe and Jaguar sports car

Admittedly, my knowledge of muscle cars is very limited, but I learned that most were known for having powerful engines and a broad, boxy shape. 

Chevrolet Impala and Pontiac GTO models

The muscle car term is often used for mid-1960s and early 1970s special editions of mass-production cars designed for drag racing. The term usually applies to a two-door, rear-wheel-drive, small to midsize car with a large, powerful eight-valve (V8) engine. It entered the general vocabulary through car magazines and automobile marketing and came into general use for performance-oriented street cars.

Grenville and 1958 Chevy Bel Air

Grenville was excited to find a 1958 Chevrolet Bel Air. He once owned a 1956 model in the same Nassau Blue color. This GM model debuted in 1950 and was produced by General Motors from 1950 to 1975. The car was named after a wealthy Bel Air neighborhood in Los Angeles, CA. Models were distinguished by the Bel Air name script in gold lettering.

The popular Bel Air was part of an entire series of top of the line Chevy hardtops, sedans and convertibles along with the Nomad, 210, and 150 models. Consumers had made Chevrolet the top auto maker and Bel Air was at the core of Chevrolet's popularity. 

Ad for Olds 88 Rocket engine

It was interesting to learn that the first U.S. muscle car was introduced in our birth year, 1949 when General Motors introduced the Oldsmobile Rocket 88 car in January, named after its engine design.

The powerful new V8 rocket engine in the Olds 88 was designed by American inventor and engineer Charles Kettering. His design was aimed at putting a big engine in a smaller car at an affordable price, and it succeeded. It hit the highways in 1949 with a starting price of under $4,000.

America’s first muscle car had a streamlined design and body style, termed Futuramic. The “Rocket” name which some GM executives disliked was so popular that the Olds 88 was produced until 1999. Collectors have bid up to $100,000 for a 1949 model at some auctions.

Vintage car ads for 1949 Oldsmobile Rocket 88

The Olds Rocket 88 could be purchased with a deluxe trim package that added chrome and a clock, but cost up to $100 more for a radio. The 1949 model had a top speed of 97 mph and coupled sports car performance with the usability of a family car. It featured modern post-war styling and soon became the brand’s best-selling model. (Some Olds 88 facts: The Rocket-powered Olds inspired a popular slogan, Make a Date with a Rocket 88. The song, Rocket 88, recorded by Jackie Brenston and the Delta Cat, reached #1 on the Billboard R&B chart and is often cited as the first rock & roll record.)

Chevrolet Corvette line-up

On one side of the museum is a pristine row of Chevrolet Corvettes, which are not muscle cars, despite some misconceptions. Corvettes are sports cars, super lightweight with an aerodynamic design and fiberglass construction. Unlike muscle cars which focus more on power, they bank on speed and a more refined design. The Corvette line of two-door, two-seater luxury sports cars has been manufactured and marketed by GM, under the Chevrolet marque, since 1953.

1954 and 1955 Chevrolet Corvette models

The top photo shows a 1954 Corvette with a hand-molded fiberglass white body. If you look close at its fender, you can see the weave of the fiberglass material under the paint. Below it is an almost identical 1955 model, but with a machine-pressed fiberglass body and a V8 engine. 

1956 Chevrolet Corvette

This nearby 1956 aquamarine Corvette is as great-looking as when its first owner drove it off a showroom floor.

Line-up of mostly Ford Mustang Shelby cars

One side of the museum features an entire line ↑ of iconic Ford cars, most are Mustang Shelby muscle cars with a couple of Ford Thunderbirds too. The Shelby Mustang is a high-performance variant of the Ford Mustang and has a large engine as modified by the late Carroll Hall Shelby, an automotive designer, race driver and entrepreneur who established Shelby American. (The most expensive car here is reportedly a 1967 Shelby 500 which Baldwin has estimated to be valued between $175,000 to $275,000. Sorry, there's no photo.)

Chevrolet Chevelle SS

The 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle LS6 is only one of 4500 that were produced. It includes a 450HP V8 which was the most powerful engine produced that year. Its owner paid an added $263 for the bigger motor, and it makes the car worth $80-$90,000 today.

1931 Ford Model A and 1947 Mercury Woodies

There are two woodies in Baldwin's collection: the 1931 Ford Model A (top) is only one of 851 produced. This model was the Ford company's second big success after the Model T. Below, the 1947 Mercury station wagon was an eight-passenger station wagon which at the time was the most expensive model in the Mercury lineup, selling for $2,207 (imagine that). (A woodie is the term applied to a wood-bodied automobile either made of wood or styled to resemble wood elements, that was a popular station wagon type in the 1930s-40s) 

Two restored street rods

The automobiles on display span numerous makes and models like these two street rods. Some retain original parts; others have been fitted with updated conveniences like backup cameras and remote locks.

Grenville and Packard similar to one his grandfather owned in NJ

While I didn't find any cars that were owned by members of my family, Grenville found a second one. This beautiful Packard was similar to one that his grandfather owned and drove for his limo service in South Orange, NJ.

Eventually, the car barn will house a second-floor brew pub and restaurant that will overlook the display floor. Now, it's the museum that attracts tourists and residents. Many have either owned a car like one in the collection or know someone who did, like Grenville. Others, like myself, enjoy seeing these vintage motorcars which someone else had the funds to assemble.

If you're traveling in the Lancaster area, Barry’s Car Barn is at 3504 Old Philadelphia Pike, Intercourse, PA (PA Route 340) opposite the popular Kitchen Kettle Village, which will make it easier to find for anyone else.