Car-buying hobby becomes Route 66 Car Museum

You can’t drive stocks and bonds, says Guy Mace.

You can, however, drive an Austin Healey, and Mace has owned five.

With that type of pleasure dividend, it was a no-brainer that Mace would invest in classic and vintage cars.

“I buy what strikes my fancy. I buy what’s different,” he said. “My wife says I have a problem because I buy cars but never sell any. It’s been a fun hobby.”

Mace will soon share his passion with the public when he opens the Route 66 Car Museum on June 15, located on “The Mother Road” at 1634 W. College St. in Springfield. Admission is $15; $13 for seniors and veterans; $5 for children.

The museum houses seven Jaguars, two Rolls Royces, a couple of Brass-Era cars that predate 1910, and several celebrity and movie cars.

“The most famous is the truck from the 1939 movie 'Grapes of Wrath' that starred Henry Fonda. The truck has been redone as a Great Race rally car since the body was almost rusted away. I have a Gotham Roadster. I just recently acquired that. It’s a beautiful movie car. I have arguably the only zombie protection vehicle in the four-state area. That is from the ‘Resident Evil’ TV series.”

There’s a convertible 1963 Morgan previously owned by Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, a yellow Jaguar identical to one that Oprah Winfrey drives, and one of the largest Cadillac models ever built.

His personal favorite is the 1967 Austin Healey because it is one of only 125 models ever painted metallic golden beige.

There are nearly 70 cars in the collection, including one that stands out: a charred 1970 Buick Skylark that Mace keeps for sentimental reasons.

When Dorothy, Mace’s wife of 52 years, joined him in 2005 for a three-day Great Race rally in a convertible, they experienced record-breaking rains. It took years for him to convince Dorothy to tag along again.

In 2014, she was driving and Mace was navigating in another Great Race rally when the Skylark caught on fire. By the time the fire department arrived, the electrical fire had engulfed most of the vehicle and the remnants are in the museum.

“Dorothy has obviously told me she does not wish to participate anymore,” Mace said.

Every vehicle has a story, and he loves to share them. The museum will be available to rent for groups and events, and for those occasions, Mace will likely give personal tours so he can explain the history behind each car.

“I enjoy walking people through the museum and telling stories; that is one of the pleasures of having a collection like this,” he said.

Mace started collecting in 1990 when he bought his first Jaguar. That was around the time Mace, who has a degree in chemical engineering, founded Turblex in a partnership with Denmark-based compressor company HV-Turbo. Turblex Inc. manufactures aeration blowers and instrumented aeration systems for the North American market.

The museum is housed in a 20,000-square-foot facility that served as his factory.

In 2007, he sold his share of the company to German-based Siemens. The facility has served as a warehouse for his cars ever since.

“I have thought about opening my museum for several years. There are upsides and downsides. You don’t make much money off a car museum, and it’s more for personal pleasure. With the city of Springfield’s renewed thrust and interest in Route 66, I felt this would be a real boon for promoting Route 66. A car museum is very attractive to tourists. I figured while I am still young — that is tongue and cheek, I’m 75 — I ought to get it open and enjoy it,” he said.

Susan Wade, public relations manager for the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau, said she doesn’t have statistics on how many people visit Springfield because of its Route 66 history, but anecdotally, many travelers, including international guests, come to the visitors center and inquire about Route 66 attractions.

“What I think it will do is provide another Route 66 reason to spend more time here. Instead of just cruising Route 66, they have something very specific to stop and spend some time doing. It’s a nice addition to our mix of attractions,” Wade said.

When it opens, the museum will still be a work in progress, as its sign is not slated to arrive until July, but there will be a temporary sign.

The museum will have a gift shop that will feature automobile related souvenirs, T-shirts, baseball hats and “automobilia.”

“I have over 100 signs on the wall. I have six to 10 gas pumps in all stages of repair. I have gas cans, oil cans, tools, just stuff related to antique automobiles. A lot of that I will have for sale because I believe, especially the foreign folks coming over who want to tour Route 66 … they will want a souvenir and there is nothing better than a souvenir tool or gas can or something related to the automobile industry that they can put in their suitcase,” Mace said.

He also has a small collection of children’s pedal cars for sale.

Mace calls himself a "gearhead" and is an unusual collector of vehicles in that he drives at least two cars a week around town. He also participates every year in the Great Race rally, which is a cross-country precision pace rally for street-legal vintage automobiles at least 45 years old. Vehicles must use original factory parts, and modern navigational aids like GPS are prohibited

Nearly 90 percent of the cars in this collection were purchased at auctions across the country — many from the Branson auction which is held twice a year.

When asked if he planned to stop collecting, Mace laughed.

“No,” he said. “I’ve bought four since the beginning of the year.”

Want to go?

Route 66 Car Museum, 1634 W. College St. in Springfield opens June 15. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Admission $15; $13 for veterans and seniors; $5 for children.

See more of Guy Mace's cars online with this story at www.news-leader.com.

This year's Birthplace of Route 66 Festival takes place Aug. 12-14. Last year’s festival brought 23,000 attendees to Park Central Square on historic Route 66 in downtown Springfield, according to the festival website. This year’s event includes a car and motorcycle show, live music, a parade and a 6.6-mile run.

A classic auto parade with Branson entertainers takes place at 6:30 p.m.  Aug. 12. Barry Williams, who played Greg Brady on “The Brady Bunch,” will host a free ice cream social afterward. 

The car and motorcycle show takes place all weekend. Route 66 authors, artists and collectors have vendor booths 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Aug. 13-14 at The Old Glass Place, 501 E. St. Louis St.

Live music is outdoors all three days, along with two ticketed concerts at the Gillioz Theatre: Asleep At The Wheel with Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, 8 p.m. Aug. 12; and Marshall Tucker Band, 8 p.m. Aug. 13. Tickets are available at gillioztheatre.com or by calling 417-863-9491.

Festival updates are available on route66festivalsgf.com or by calling the festival hotline, 417-864-1642. The festival is free to attend.