The Vault at the Petersen... here's what has been down there waiting for you to see on tour

A car that looks like a Barris custom Mustang like the Sonny and Cher cars but in Zebra colors 

The round door Rolls Royce

the Prince of Persia Bugatti

both Herbies from the Lindsay Lohan Herbie movie, the Nascar one and the original

the Mach 5 from Speedracer

Stagefright and Boothill and the Barber Shop

the 1954 Bosley (fiberglass homemade sports car)

the Mercury 528

full gallery at
http://www.carstyling.ru/en/car/1955_mercury_d528/images/25426/

the Chrysler Imperial Parade car

photo and info at http://classiccars.about.com/od/classiccarphotogallery/ig/Petersen/1952Chrysler.htm
because Chrysler made 3 for parades when dignitaries would visit New York, LA, and Washington DC... and free marketing and publicity was harder to make happen before the internet... and the Chrysler people needed to combat the Lincolns that all the presidents seem to love.

the Foose designed and Trop Trepanier built Sniper

I took this photo at the local El Cajon car cruise on the wednesday nights during the summer months... ain't it amazing what cars will be at the crusie one year, and in the Petersen Museum the next? full gallery at http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2007/04/sniper-from-superior-craftsmanship-of.html

Elvira's Thunderbird that Barris made

photo and info at http://www.automedia.com/Elviras_Spooky_58_Thunderbird/pht20110601mm/1

an F40 and F50, a Dino, and a couple more Ferraris... like the one made for Edsel Ford II with whitewalls.

more Bugattis, Delahaye, Delage, Packards, etc etc than I can recall

The Honda S2000 from Fast and Furious

the "California Girl" from David Lee Roths video

image from http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3343971/1951-mercury-monterey/

a replica of the 1886 Benz auto... the first automobile not made by adapting a horse drawn carriage

A beautiful Ruxton, light purple colors

The Calico Surfer

photo from http://jasoninhollywood.blogspot.com/2009/07/classic-autos-and-famous-cars-at.html which has many of the other cars in the vault that had been on exhibit... which is pretty cool! You can see a lot more that the current exhibits by looking at online coverage of past exhibits. Other cars on Jasons site that I saw in the vault are the Austin 7 from 1929, the Bell Special sprint or midget race car, Steve McQueens XK SS Jaguar, the 1903 Cadillac

the 1948 Chevrolet Fleetmaster convertible owned by Jack Nicholson and used in his movie The Two Jakes

Photo from http://www.myspace.com/k4tl4dy/photos/albums/stars-and-thier-cars-at-the-americana/920012

2 Muntz jets that are unrestored because they were of only 26 made in Glendale, and one restored.

2 cars with Lalique Mascot radiator ornaments, one is a L29 Cord, http://www.conceptcarz.com/events/eventVehicle.aspx?carID=11205&eventID=71&catID=763&whichPage=1 and another Cord with Woodlite headlights,

photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/digipixbycm/2098838193/

Steve McQueen's Hudson Wasp

Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top had the Slampala made... shame to see it in the Vault

photo from http://barchetta.mediacenter.studioline.net/?i=1881556 who has a great gallery of the Petersen at http://barchetta.mediacenter.studioline.net/?ft=search.Petersen+Automotive+Museum+2011

Art Himsl won the AMBR with the Alien... hard to believe it's an Americas Most Beautiful Roadster... buty maybe there were no other roadsters competing. Art is incredibly talented, but I can't find that the below dune buggy looking car is a roadster in more than definition... but it's not the 1960's anymore, and most of the current competitors are very 1920's and 30's cars

photo from http://coffincorner.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=bigcars&action=display&thread=16174 who has a terrific gallery of Art Himsl's cool paint jobs

read what the New York Times has to say in it's article, http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/05/petersen-museum-is-opening-its-vault-to-visitors/ as it remembered or was told about the Tom Selleck Magnum PI Ferrari and a couple other cars. Not nearly as cool a list and view as you've just seen here, but hey, they pay a guy to write about the tour he was given, and me? I had to pay to take the tour. It'll be interesting to hear from you which coverage you prefer, if you care to use the comment function on this post, or email me direct at jbohjkl@yahoo.com

Good news (free to active duty military! ) if you are in Southern California... the Peterson Museum is giving tours of the vault! Weekends only I think, you'll want to call ahead to verify

5 tours per day will run approximately one hour at:
 11:00 a.m.
 12:30 p.m.
 2:00 p.m.
3:30 p.m.
5:00 p.m.

It's the first time in the Petersen's 18-year history that regular visitors have access to the city-block-sized basement that houses hundreds of vehicles demonstrating the history of the automobile as it's played out in Southern California.

Tours may be reserved by calling 323.964.6331 or purchasing your tickets at the admissions desk the day of your tour. For more information go to www.Petersen.org

Tickets to the vault cannot be purchased in advance or online. They are only available in person at the museum, and only for a two-week test run, after which the Petersen will assess its popularity and decide how to proceed.

The New York Times posted a story about this a week and a half ago: http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/05/petersen-museum-is-opening-its-vault-to-visitors/

Also, it costs $12 to get admission to the museum, up to $12 to park, and $25 for the vault tour. You can save the cost pf parking if you go on a Sunday, and park about two blocks away in the residential area. I found that at 8th and Genesee there was plenty of available parking. I didn't have to feed a meter, which may not matter on a weekday, but cost 2 dollars a half hour in the museum area. Sheesh.

Also, gas costs $1.20 more a gallon in that area than the normal prices at the 405 and Santa Monica Blvd. The nearest Starbucks I found was at Wilshire and Santa Monica Blvd intersection

George Follmer tribute event at the Petersen Museum (Nov 8th, tickets $150+)

https://t1.clicknprint.com/Online/?siteID=2477&cartID=ed7e2eb1-7c42-4a88-94ae-b556e7c85b34

In the fine print at the bottom it says, Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones, Don Nichols, and John  Morton are scheduled to be there... plus the Porsche 917-10, the Boss 302, the Iroc 911, and the Javelin