Whiling Away the Hours at the Haynes International Motor Museum

Summer time is Museum Time and this one is a real classic not to be missed.

Most readers of a certain age – and therefore most classic car enthusiasts – will be familiar with the Haynes Owners Workshop Manuals, invaluable guides for both professional and amateur mechanics alike, though aimed more at the latter – the clue is in the name.

Containing detailed information about the workings of some 300 cars (and 130 motorcycles) and how to repair a wide range of faults and problems, the manuals were the brainchild of John Harold Haynes (1938 to 2019). His first such manual, written and published when he was just 18 years old, was on the Austin 7, and after founding J.H.Haynes & Co. Limited in 1960, the first proper Haynes Owners Workshop Manual was published in 1965, the subject being the Austin Healey Sprite. Over the next decades Haynes expanded the business, including launching an American subsidiary in California.

While developing the business, Haynes also began collecting cars, starting with a 1930 Morris Oxford Six Saloon, and in 1985, with a collection of 35 cars, Haynes decided to open a museum. From these beginnings, the collection has grown to some 400 cars, of which some 250 are on display at any one time in the museum, considerably expanded from its beginnings.

I first visited the museum – located near Yeovil, in Somerset, England – some 15 years ago, and the occasion of a family celebration afforded me the chance to return last weekend to take stroll through a delightfully catered history of the motor car, from the early days through to the end of the last century.

On entering the museum proper, examples of the subjects of the first two Haynes Manuals – the Austin 7 and the Sprite – kick off the displays before the visitor enters the Veteran & Vintage section.  One of the delights of the collection is that it doesn’t just feature the better-known marques that we all know and love, but also some of the short-lived and obscure ones. For example, in this section, nestled in a row among early Citroën and Daimler models were two names that were new to me – Star and Horstmann. The former was a Wolverhampton-built 1926 Star Scorpio 12/25, the latter – despite its Germanic name – was built a little over an hour away from the museum, in the Roman city of Bath, better known for its spa waters than its car manufacturing. The 1915 example, finished in a fetching shade of lilac, is one of just nine remaining from a total production of around 3,000.

A major feature of the museum is it’s Red Room, in which – you’ve guessed it – all the cars are a shade of red, as Haynes believed that when all the cars in a room are in one shade, viewers will “appreciate their form, the aesthetics, the design unencumbered by personal colour preferences”. Whether one agrees with him or not, the effect is certainly spectacular, as are some of the cars included. My personal favourites were the flamboyant and glamorous Gallic duo of a 1939 Delehaye 135M Drophead and a 1958 Facel Vega HK500, but there was much more scarlet loveliness in this impressive room, not least the gorgeous Italian trio of a 1982 Masertai Merak SS, 1963 Alfa Romeo 2600 Spider and 1966 Lancia Flavia Cabriolet – red has, of course, always been associated with Italian sports cars, particularly those bearing the Prancing Horse badge, of which more later.

Actually, let’s do that now – there is a small room dedicated to Ferrari, with its centrepiece being a fabulous 1960 250GT Cabriolet among a handful of other Maranello marvels, but that exquisitely lovely 250GT is the undoubted star of the room.

Before you get to the Ferrari room, there’s a series of stunning luxury cars to admire, such as a 1932 Rolls Royce 20/25 Sedanca Coupé in black over pale blue, a superb 1960 Bentley S2 Continental Drophead in gold, and in another hall, a trip down Memory Lane, two rows of British classics from the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s. These were largely the everyday family cars driven by our parents and grandparents, My favourites here were the 1950 Rover 75 P4 nicknamed “Cyclops” for a fairly obvious reason, and the 1974 Sunbeam Rapier Fastback, a rare sight on our roads these days.

The memories keep on coming with a look at another major name in British motoring history, Morris, set in the room that was the original Haynes workshop and now telling the story of Morris Garages and off-shoot MG. On the far left of the row of four is the first car John Haynes bought – from this 1930 Morris Six Saloon grew the collection we see today.

Cars bearing the names of other famous British manufacturers were set out in yet another room, with models from Jaguar, Aston Martin, Lotus and Jensen gracing their stands. One of the most intriguing cars here was one of those British Leyland “should have beens”. This was a very smart 1977 Rover 3500 SD1 Estate in gold, one of two prototypes and the personal transport of then BL chairman Sir Michael Edwardes for two years – I really liked it and feel sure it would have been a worthwhile addition to the SD1 range.

Besides the Red Room, perhaps the most impressive hall in the museum is that dedicated to the American Dream, which has so many wonderful US classics it’s hard to pick out just a few. The most obvious place to start is perhaps the glorious trio in the entire collection. Set up on a plinth overlooking the room are a 1935 Cord Beverly, a 1931 Duesenberg Model J and a stunning 1936 Auburn 812 Supercharged Boat-tail Speedster, impossibly glamorous and expensive both then and now. The common thread running through these three is the name E.L Cord – as well as owning the company, he designed the 4.6-litre straight eight that powered the Auburn. In 1926 he acquired Duesenberg and of course lent his name directly to the innovative Cord. Sadly, it all ended in tears when his financial empire collapsed in 1937. What wonderful cars, though!

Elsewhere in this very impressive room were examples of Americana both famous – such as the trio of Corvettes – and little known, to me at least. I loved the 1920 Moon Model 6-42 Touring with its crescent moon radiator ornament, as well as the 1913 Empire Model 31 and its plethora of brass fittings.

Practically every car in this hall was noteworthy, almost a museum within the museum. Mention of radiator or bonnet ornaments brings me to some of the beautiful little details on older cars that these days one rarely sees if at all, not least due to modern safety concerns. My favourites among several exhibits in the museum included the jet-age bonnet ornaments on the 1947 and 1949 Chevrolet Fleetline models, the exquisitely detailed 1924 Jordan Playboy Special and the gorgeous scripted indicator lenses on the very art deco-inspired 1938 Lincoln Zephyr – loved those!

The final large room contained Wheels Around the World, which was a self-explanatory display of classics from France, Germany, Japan, Italy and Eastern Europe with the 1958 GAZ M13 Chaika, one of just over 3,000 built and the KGB’s car of choice, menacing in black and chrome, a standout. It’s direct opposite, in terms of both size and status as well as volume manufactured, was the people’s car of the DDR, the Trabant, of which 1,000 times as many were produced.

By contrast, a series of mini and micro-cars demonstrated types of cheap and cheerful transport for the masses, and elsewhere, a pair of the most elegant cars ever to wear the three-pointed star – or indeed any badge – the sublime Paul Bracq-designed Mercedes 280SL “Pagoda” and its predecessor, the supremely elegant 190SL.

In a couple of side rooms, displays dedicated to motor sport – in one, a display of historic Williams F1 cars, including the FW14 of 1991 and the 1995 FW17, while in the Hall of Motor Sport stood a variety of sports and single-seater racers, the highlight for me being the 1968 TVR Tuscan campaigned by none other than John Haynes himself.

A random gallery follows below, and rest assured: The Haynes International Motor Museum is a super place to while away a few hours, and should any ViaRETRO readers find themselves in the vicinity, I can highly recommend a visit.