Most of us who enjoy the LBC hobby have some interest in machines of other makes and types. Being an apostle of anything that runs on recycled dinosaurs, I’m no exception. My area of interest in this case revolved around outboard motors and microcars. I grew up in a boating family and had my first boat – a 1964 Glassmaster – before I had a car. Microcars have always fascinated me because, in my opinion, it is a greater engineering challenge to design a very small car that will work as a car than to design a big one.

The story starts by my snagging an old outboard motor on Ebay – well, like my TR7, I was the only bidder on the dusty old relic. There was just one catch – I had to go after it. I already have a few old outboards and, like the rest of the stuff I own, I try to give them occasional exercise. My object of desire this time around was a mid Fifties Scott-Atwater 33 hp. I have a soft spot for Scotts as they are considered an underdog and of little interest by many, much like my TR7. Like many British cars these motors developed a bad reputation largely due to mechanics who had no idea what they were doing, and owners who had no business picking up a screwdriver. My main experience with Scotts was a 1960 40 hp Scott that I had on the Glassmaster. It was an every-weekend motor for me in college and proved to be reliable – if you kept the fuel system clean and tuned it up per the service manual. I only took it out of service because I wanted more power; I replaced the Scott with a 70 hp Evinrude and ended up cracking the hull on the Glassmaster. I guess those OBC horse power ratings on boat transoms aren’t merely suggestions.

My wife (bless her) went along with me on this trip so we decided to visit some museums on the way, most of which were in Nashville. Hmm, what to see? An antebellum mansion? No, because we’d want to live there – and then I’d gripe about the upkeep. Music Row? I’d rather machine a quill shaft for 1907 Panhard Levassor out of a piece of yew with a drill press and a Chinese made file while suffering from a severe sinus infection. The Country Music Hall of Fame? No. The Heavy Metal hall of fame, maybe. The Grand Ole Opry? Not in a million years. The mere mention of it generates an exasperated sigh from my wife. The Tennessee Railroad Museum? Cool! We both like trains. The Lane Motor Museum, which has one of the largest collections of microcars in the country? Yes, please!

The Museum has microcars and unusual cars of every shape and size from several Peel P50s to an ex-U.S. Army LARC LX, a 60 ton behemoth used for amphibious operations. When they took delivery of the LARC the museum staff had to drive this beast through downtown Nashville in the middle of the night to get it home. They occasionally start the LARC up and run over old car bodies with it. They crushed a 3-series BMW with it which made me happy for some reason.

Lane Motor Museum also has the largest assemblage of Tatras outside of Eastern Europe. The Tatra is another oddball vehicle near and dear to my heart. This Czech company pioneered many innovations in rear-engined vehicles; it is said Ferdinand Porsche “borrowed” some of their ideas for his Kdf-wagen, which became the VW Beetle. My favorite, the Tatra 603, was also a favorite of Communist officials. In addition to the Peels, several other British makes are in the limelight including a brace of MGs and Lotuses. My favorite of the MGs was a 1932 MG M-type – although the Lotus Seven would be more bang for the buck on the road. And we can’t forget the Plastic Pig – the good old Reliant Regal. Did you know they made a roadster version of the Regal? Neither did I. We were given a tour of the vault, as they called it, and I asked, since this was a microcar museum, why did they not have an Austin Seven? The Guide laughed and replied that I was the second person that day who’d asked about the little Austin. He went on to tell me they were looking for one and a Morris Minor as well. They did have a Spitfire and a TR7 – both in the vault. The staff rotates the cars on display and try to keep all of them roadworthy by giving them periodic runs. I want that job.

Looking through the vehicles on display one is struck with the sheer number of manufacturers that worked to make the public mobile over the last century and some of the engineering is brilliant in their efforts. Others were merely interesting ideas but the execution didn’t measure up to the concept. Some of these vehicles would be absolutely dangerous to drive, especially on the roads of today. The Scootacar is capable of 50 mph with nothing but a thin fiberglass shell between you and that two ton crossover with its oblivious driver in the lane next to you.

If you haven’t been to Nashville this interesting museum is definitely worth a look. We ended up running out of time to see the trains but that’ll be another trip for another time. As for the old Scott that I picked up? A few hours of fettling and the old girl has returned to the land of the living.