Petersen Museum to preserve LA legacies

LOS ANGELES – The Petersen Automotive Museum recently received two outstanding vehicles to add to its world-class collection of more than 400 vehicles. “Double Dozen” a hand-built roadster whose design is based on a 1933 Ford, and an immaculate 1963 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III are the latest in a long line of vehicle donations in the museum’s 18-year history. As is the case with the majority of the museum’s vehicles, both cars come with great provenance.

The late Jeffrey Chandler, a descendant of the family that built the Los Angeles Times, commissioned a hot rod design by Chris Ito and Steve Frisbee and built by Steve’s Auto Restorations. “Double Dozen” was created to compete for “America’s Most Beautiful Roadster” (AMBR) in the 2011 Grand National Roadster Show, the longest-running indoor car show in the world. The handcrafted hot rod won Outstanding Paint, Outstanding Interior, Outstanding Engineering, Outstanding Undercarriage, and even Outstanding Display, and went on to win Good Guys Streetrod d’Elegance, 2011.

Double Dozen joins the museum’s collection of historic hot rods that includes the Boyd Coddington-built Aluma Coupe and the AMBR winning Impact roadster, both previously donated by long-time Petersen board member and car collector David Sydorick.

John Frankenheimer, an accomplished Hollywood film director, had a hand in the museum’s other new offering. While filming The Train (1964) on location in France, Frankenheimer and his wife Evans went to London to buy some clothing. After visiting the tailor, the couple walked in the pouring rain to visit a Rolls-Royce dealer. The dealer had one Rolls-Royce and one Bentley. The Rolls-Royce was a better fit for Frankenheimer, and Evans liked it, so the two ordered a bespoke model right on the spot. They paid for the car in French Francs, and because it was the weekend and the banks were closed and the dealer did not have a safe, the cash was locked in the glove boxes of the cars in the showroom. “Victoria” (named after the Queen) has spent nearly 50 years in the family’s service, including four trips to Europe and travel to movie sets around the world. Victoria joins several other vehicles the Frankenheimers have donated to the museum, including a 1947 Oldsmobile, and a custom pair of matching Mercedes-Benzes.

For information about how to make contributions or donate, vehicles and other automobile or motorcycle-related items, contact Mary Brisson at 323-964-6396 or email mbrisson@petersen.org. For general museum info, call 323-930-CARS or visit www.petersen.org.

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