OK boys, last week I was invited to the GM Heritage Collection in Sterling Heights, Michigan. This is one of about 17 buildings and warehouses that comprise the entire collectionl. The cars here are on constant rotation. So the cars shown are not aways the same. You will notice a large number of Chevys. GM is currently getting ready to celebrate Chevrolet's Centennial, which is officially November 3rd.

GM uses this building for special events and VIP receptions. This is not open to the public either. This is the 3rd time I have been there. The first time was in 2007 as part of a special Pontiac-Oakland Club Day. The 2nd time was part of the GM Centennial celebration in 2008. My Lemans was one of the 50 cars that represented Pontiac that day. All the drivers were invited to a celebration after the events at the GM Tech Center.

You are now allowed to drool on your own keyboards. Lots of great looking production and concept cars here. I am only disappointed that I didn't have enough time to photograph more Buicks, and Oldsmobiles and a lot of the other wall displays.

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Viewed every picture and oh man what I'd give to see each of those in person, those are awesome!

Very cool that you were invited to see that and your LeMans was a part of it

:FULL OF WIN !:

LOL!!! Glad you like it. I often wish I could work there!

You folks are in luck. I found my pictures from the 2007 POCI Day at the GM Heritage Center. I took out repeat shots of a lot of the same stuff.

The old gentleman in the black hat, shirts, and gray slacks sitting next to me is none other than Malcolm 'Mac' McKeller. Mac died last April. He was Pontiac's foremost engine and cam designer and engineer. He developed the Super Duty, NASCAR, and Ram Air V8 engines. He built the OHC-6 motor at DeLorean's orders so Ponitac would not have to use a Chevy I6 in their base cars. He was truly a legend and a humble man. The man in the white T-shirt and shorts with the cane standing with Mac is my father. Dad is a retired AC Spark Plug / Delco Electronics engineer. Two great men in my book.

Enjoy....

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You are one great guy to be able to see what you have and talk to who you have

Great pics!

I love the neon sighs you took pics of. You had two of the same wall and I used my Panorama maker to make it one pic.

thanks for posting the other pics im going to take a peak at them now.

You are one great guy to be able to see what you have and talk to who you have

Great pics!

Thanks. I have been blessed to have friends who know 'the people'. I knew the late John Sawruk, Pontiac Historian. I have met his wife Marge and his kids. They are members of my POCI chapter. I have met Jim Wangers several times and I even challenged him about the 04-06 GTO TV ads after his lecture on GTO ads over the years. Arnie 'The Farmer' Beswick is another Pontiac racing legend I've met before.

Other car people I know or have met are: Trixie Roth ('Big Daddy' Ed Roth's widow - creator of Rat Fink), Bill Hines - legendary car builder, Joe "Candy Apple Red' Bailon - he invented candy apple red paint, Gene Winfield, Chip Foose, Troy Trepanier, Darryl Starbird, George Barris, Mario Andretti, Linda Vaughan and Doc Watson (Hurst Shifters fame). They are legends all. I worked with Denny Manner of Buick engine fame.

Most recently, my wife and I have made friends with The Reflections. They are members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Their big hit was "Just Like Romeo and Juliet" in 1964. They performed again at the Charleston WV car show a few weeks ago and we were able to hang out with them in the bar afterwards. All but one of them still live in the Detroit area. They are a great doo wop group. If you love 60s music, you will love their style.

Dennis Gage from My Classic Car has autographed the glove box of the Lemans. That happened back in 2002 when my dad and I did Cruisin' The Coast in Biloxi Mississippi. I have been around 3 episodes that he has filmed, Cruisin' the Coast, Frankenmuth Autofest, and the Charleston Rod Run and Doo Wop.

So with some luck perhaps I will get to meet other great car people in years to come. One thing is for sure. Car people are the some of the most charitiable and generous people I've ever met. So I would encourage everyone to join a local car club. Make some new friends, share some experiences, have some laughs together. You might be surprised to find out who they know!!!

I love the neon sighs you took pics of. You had two of the same wall and I used my Panorama maker to make it one pic.

thanks for posting the other pics im going to take a peak at them now.

Looks great. The place is impressive. I would love to see the other 16 warehouses and buildings to be sure.

Enjoy the pictures....

That's awesome! I actually have heard of the song of that band

Yeah, I have to agree that car people are some of the best I've ran into online and offline (minus a few ). Very glad that one of my addictions turned out to be cars lol.

must change pants

Awesome pics! Wish I could see some time.

My dad, grandfather, roommate and I were lucky enough to visit the Heritage Center when we were at the Fiero 20th Anniversary show in 2008. This was obviously before a lot of the collection was sold at Barrett Jackson. We were lucky enough to see ten of the concept Fieros, including the 90 concept, 2+2 four seater, convertible, and the Huffaker race car.

Click here to see my roommate's shots from that day.

Ahh, you saw the Protosport 4! My grandfather worked on that project!

Speaking of my grandfather, again, this Cadillac is similar to his, but with obvious differences:

Here it is at a car show late this summer:

It's hard to believe that this thread was started in 2011.  Most of the posted pictures have been move/removed. Here is a Detroit Free Press article regarding the GM Heritage Collection. I have had the honor to have been there 4 times over the years. It is here where Mac McKellar personally told me his story about the OHC6's development. Enjoy.

https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/2018/03/24/general-motors-museum-history-car-culture/420434002/

 

Here is YouTube walk around of the GM Heritage Collection. Enjoy!

 

Edited February 11, 20215 yr by Frosty

On 1/29/2021 at 7:56 AM, Frosty said:

Here is YouTube walk around of the GM Heritage Collection. ENjoy

 

Thanks for sharing this Frosty. What an interesting video. I was hoping they would show the 1990 Fiero GT, but I guess it's not there right now.

Thought I'd share that towards the end, they show the 1970 Pontiac Pegasus Concept Car. The production Pontiac Fiero was originally slated to be called the Pegasus, named after this car. At the last minute, the name was changed, but the badging had already been developed so the Pegasus remained on the Fiero badge! Folks sometimes ask about that at shows and that is the reason.

 

Thanks! This video is the first time I've seen the Pegasus at the GM Heritage Collection. I've had the honor of going there 3 times over the years, but you never know what will and won't be there on any given day. A lot of the cars are shipped all over the country to various car shows and concours. When the late Pontiac Historian John Sawruck was alive, he was able to get a couple of these cars to the Michigan Widetracker's Dustoff car shows. Sadly we lost that too with his passing. 

This place is on my bucket list near the top and I have every intention of scoping it out. Once the Covid melt down is over? I am lining up to get in and no one can hold me back. I will be taking photos of just about every car in there. Cheers.

Good luck with that. I wish you well. Just be aware that the GM Heritage Collection is not open to the public, it is by invitation only. Sometimes GM allows car clubs or special functions to come thru but generally speaking it is not open to the public, it’s for corporate special events only.

Edited January 14, 20224 yr by Frosty

Frosty, I am so sorry to hear that. I did not know that. 

Sorry to burst your bubble a little. I've been fortunate to have been there 3 times. Only once when I was a GM employee (I am no longer a GM employee BTW). The other two were special events hosted by GM.

Here is the link to the center - you can check back periodically to see what they have.

https://www.gmheritagecenter.com/

Edited January 14, 20224 yr by Frosty

I just received an email this week stating that the Motor City chapter of POCI has arranged for members to tour the GM Heritage Center on Saturday, May 21, 2022 from 10 am to 12 noon. If people local to the Detroit area want to go, please private message me and I will give the Motor CIty rep's contact information to you. They want a head count in advance. I am definitely going. This will be my fourth time. 

I suspect they are also using this as opportunity to do funding raising for ChadTough. ChadTough is a charity named in the honor of the late Chad Carr. Chad is the late grandson of former University of Michigan head football coach Lloyd Carr.  On September 23, 2014 — Chad was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG). Chad was 5 years old when he passed away. Chad's parents created ChadTough in his honor to raise awareness and hope of this particular disease. So don't be surprise if a donation is requested. 

 https://www.chadtough.org/

Yesterday I had another chance to visit the GM Heritage Center. One never knows what will be on display . This building is NOT open to the public. It can be rented out for special events though. The Motor City chapter used it as a fund raising opportunity for Chad Tough, a non-profit that helps people fight a terrible rare form of brain cancer. A donation of $20 per person was requested. We had 2 hours to walk though and look at everything.

So here goes...the building lies in an industrial complex in Sterling Heights Michigan, near the Warren Tech Center.

Pontiacs in the parking lot

This Buick was in the lobby.

So was the display of Pontiac badges and logos.

As you know Pontiac was part of the Companion Car Program. Oakland had Pontiac, Buick had Marquette, Oldsmobile had Viking, and Cadillac had LaSalle. GM had 3 out of 4 period companions on display. The only one missing was a Viking (I've only seen one Viking - at the Ransom E Olds Transportation Museum in Lansing Michigan). So on display were....

The first Pontiac GM ever made, a 1926 Chief of Sixes! Hello Pontiac #1!

Here is the Marquette...interesting that it is right-hand drive too.

Here is the LaSalle

Let's start walking shall we? Let's start with Chevy trucks.

This is Elmer Langdon's 1946 Chevy Suburban. My racquetball partner of 25+ years, Chuck Lowell, had a nearly identical 1946 Chevy Panel truck in exactly the same red and black combination. In the summer of 1985 Chuck met Elmer at the Vintage Chevrolet Club of America meet at Mt. Brighton ski resort. Elmer saw Chuck's panel truck and parked next to him. That got them to chatting and they hit it off really well. Elmer had made a miniature wooden model of his Suburban that Chuck really admired. Elmer said that if Chuck was coming to next year's show, he would bring him a wooden miniature of his panel truck. Chuck said that would be great!

The following year, Chuck got to the show first. He finally found Elmer's Suburban but he never say Elmer the entire show. He figured Elmer had forgotten about the miniature truck. At the end of the show, a young man came up to Chuck at his panel truck. "Excuse me sir, are you Chuck Lowell?" "Yes I am. Why do you ask?" "My father is Elmer Langdon. We lost my father this past year. But before he died, he made me promise to make sure that I come to this, find you, and give you this."  Low and beyond, it is the miniature wooden model of Chuck's '46 Panel Truck, painted red and black, just as Elmer promised! Chuck was brought to tears in that moment with Elmer's family and his gift from beyond the grave almost. In the years since, we simply call this story "The Gift"!

Some one at GM had seen Elmer's Suburban at one of the shows. They approached his family about purchasing the Suburban for the Heritage Collection about a year later. It has been in the collection ever since. Sadly, I lost Chuck last year. He sold his panel truck to a man in Texas about 9 months before his death. He could no longer drive it. His granddaughter, Karen, is now in possession of the Gift though. She will always treasure it and the story behind it.

How about some more Chevys?

The first Vega ever built

A pair of tri-five convertibles

1959 El Camino

A boat tail Chevy speedster

A '55 NASCAR race car

A Flint-built, one of the first 300 Corvettes ever made. Not sure which one this is though.

'63 split window Corvette

How about Pace cars?

Monte Carolo SS 2003

2005 SSR

Impala SS

1974 Z-28

This 71 Chevelle SS was built with a 396 but now has a 427 LS7 in it!

A real Nova SS

More Corvettes anyone?

Here is the Manta Ray concept Corvette

This is the Pontiac Pegasus. A Firebird concept with an all Ferrari drivetrain in it. It even has the spare tire under the rear window.

1977 Trans Am SE "The Bandit Edition"

1969 Trans Am - 1 of 667 produced

1969 GTO Judge in Carousel Red (e.g. Orange to the rest of the world)

1966 GTO

The one that started the muscle car era - 1964 Tempest Lemans GTO

Pontiac 370 V8 with tripower

Pontiac 389 V8 with tripower

The Bandit himself!

Edited May 23, 20224 yr by Frosty

Great pictures Frosty!!  Thanks for sharing.

This is amazing! Love all the pics! Bet it was a blast.

Amazing shots.  Wish I could have been there.

I have a ton more photos. Cadillacs, Oldsmobiles, Buicks, GMCs, concept cars. I even have something for Fitzy and Kiwi.

I will be posting more here later this week in the evening as I get time to sort and organize the over 400 photos I took in two hours!