Have you spoken with anyone at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los
Angeles? I'm sure they are always in similar situations. (323) 930-CARS
(2277) Hope this helps.


Leah Schroder

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Colin Macgregor Stevens [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Wednesday, August 23, 2000 3:43 PM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      Re: I Am Very Concerned-- What do with replaced parts?
>
> A dilemma.
>
> A museum is restoring a typical Model T Ford vintage vehicle. The rotten
> tires are replaced, the seats may be reupholstered, and rusted out metal
> parts may be replaced rather than repaired. Some components may be rebuilt
> with a kit so there will be lots of little bits left over. The old seat
> cushions may be non-original, incorrect, mouldy, chewed up by mice etc.
>
> What to do with the left over bits?
>
> Sometimes the decision is easy if it is a major piece. In our case have a
> 1912 C.W. Parker "Carry-us-all" (Carousel) serial number 119 that was
> rebuilt to full working order with over 30,000 hours of volunteer labour.
> The main gear wheel sections had to be replaced. I put those into the
> collection and one section, with the maker's name as part of the casting,
> is
> on display in our orientation plaza. What however is one to do with all of
> the little bits of rotten wood, frayed electrical wires, rusted metal?
>
> Consider the situation of an air museum restoring a salvaged airplane to
> flying condition where flight safety becomes paramount and many parts need
> to be replaced. Or, consider the Canadian Museum of Flight in Langley,
> British Columbia, Canada that is restoring a WWII RCAF Hampden bomber (one
> of only 2 Hampden's left in the world I believe) for static display. In
> both
> cases there are many corroded or damaged metal parts. This Hampden bomber
> for example was salvaged from the sea bed about 400 feet down. The Hampden
> is being reskinned so virtually all of the original aluminum skin is being
> replaced. This leaves one big junk pile of "the real thing".
>
> What about when one restores an historic building? One can end up with
> piles
> of old lumber, wallpaper scraps etc.
>
> Now, what is a museum to do with the parts that have been replaced from a
> restoration project?
>
> * Some museums might garbage all or some of these items.
> * Other museums, with LOTS of storage space   :-)  might "bag and tag"
> everything (well, maybe not the old oil and stinky gas that they drained
> out
> of it.)
> * Others might sell off some of the surplus scraps with authentication
> certificates. ("Buy an authentic piece of the ____ and help the museum!")
> Many people would love to have authenticated relics of a famous aircraft
> type.
>
> I suspect that there will be a variety of opinions, practices etc.
>
> I was once given an old life ring from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
> St.
> Roch (pronounced "rock") which was discarded when the vessel was restored.
> She was the first vessel to sail through the Northwest Passage West to
> East,
> the first to traverse it in a single season, and the first to
> circumnavigate
> North America. She is now a museum ship in Vancouver, BC.  I later donated
> the St. Roch life ring to the RCMP Museum in Regina, Saskatchewan. [As an
> aside, the St. Roch II, an RCMP vessel temporarily renamed for the
> occasion,
> is traversing the Northwest Passage as this memo is being written.]
>
> What if a museum decided to dispose of the scraps and not offer them to
> the
> public under any circumstance? Not everyone would agree with such an
> approach.
>
> Comments?
>
> Colin Macgregor Stevens,
> Curator,
> Burnaby Village Museum,
> Burnaby, BC, CANADA
>
> [log in to unmask]
>
> =========================================================
> Important Subscriber Information:
>
> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
> http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed
> information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail
> message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should
> read "help" (without the quotes).
>
> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to
> [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read
> "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).