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Americarna Founders Private Collection & WW2 Command Vehicle: Classic Restos - Series 40

By Shannons - Published on 09 April 2019

Two great stories in one episode. Fletch ventures into the founder of Americarna's private car collection and then for something completely different Fletch takes us back to America to the Lyon Air Museum in California to reveal Adolf Hitlers Command Vehicle.
 
John Rae founder of the event Americarna talks of his lifelong obsession with cars from an early age. His foray into Sprint car racing, followed by 12 years of circuit racing. While acknowledging that his collection is not as extensive as others in New Zealand, his idea is to have all his vehicles driveable, maintained and on display in his new home so that he can see them every day, and not stored elsewhere.  The showroom is a constant reminder of why he's working, and he says there isn't a day go by that he does step inside to have a look at his collection. John talks about the '33 Ford Hot Rod and de-badged Chevrolet Belair that won the Grand National Roadster Show in the US, just days after a complete refit of the interior.
 
Next Fletch reveals a trip to the Lyon Air Museum in California that is interesting enough in its' own right with restored aircraft from three Wars, World War 2, The Korean War and Vietnam War. But that's not the highlight, it's Adolf Hitler's Command vehicle that he took delivery of in August 1939, the month preceding the German invasion of Poland.