A Trip to Jukebox Diner & the Classics Museum - 27/03/23

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Following on from the Brit & Euro Car Show, one of the staff decided to put a flier: showing the Jukebox Diner and Classics Museum in Hamilton, on my friend Harry's E30. So we decided to go check it out! Of course, we didn’t go alone, my good friend Josh over at Donut.nz decided to join us in his Toyota MR-S!

Hamilton is not too far from Auckland for you international readers, so just over an hour and we were there! From the outside, Jukebox Diner and the Classics Museum seriously looked cool, with its front fascia looking like, well… a Jukebox, duh!


After lunch, consisting of hot dogs and chips, we headed into the Classics Museum…!



First thing we saw was the car, or should I say, truck that hooked me on that flier: the 1938 Diamond T614D “Doodlebug” Texaco Tanker. This red tanker is extremely rare, with only 6 ever made, and registries say that they’re not sure how many are left. This specific truck was restored from a rusty body and chassis within 5 years and even features the original Hercules QX-Series 8.7 liter 6-cylinder engine and also the original gravity-fed 3,800 fuel delivery system.



Behind the truck, the Museum was divided up into 4 parts: the main floor, the rear portion, the side portion and the second level. The main floor is where we’ll start (I’ll try to keep these descriptions as short as possible since the Museum holds so many goodies!) 


From the front going clockwise: 


1958 Pontiac Bonneville Series 25 

1938 Lagonda LG6 SWB Drophead Coupe

1957 Chevrolet Corvette C1

1935 Auburn Speedster 653 Phaeton 

1952 Plymouth Cranbrook Convertible Series P-23

1967 Plymouth Barracuda Formula S Fastback

1959 Messerschmitt KR200

1973 Triumph Stag 

1961 Sunbeam Rapier Series III 

1957 Fiat Auto Bianchi

1942 Buick Century Series 60 Convertible

1940 Chevrolet Deluxe Special Convertible Coupe

1954 Buick Roadmaster Skylark Series 100

1937 Cord 812 Phaeton Supercharged Convertible

1936 Auburn Boattail Speedster 851



In the rear portion, it was mostly diecast toys, but there were some other “small” cars:


1967 NSU Spider

1960 Berkeley T60

1957 Goggomobil TS300 2+2 Coupe 

1956 Fiat 600 Multipla

1955 Fiat 600 

1972 Fiat 500L

1952 Fiat Topolino 500C


Now on the side portion was the rest of the American cars and some of the historical trucks:


1949 Ford Custom Fordor Sedan 

1987 Toyota Hilux 4X4 (LN65)

1975 Toyota Land Cruiser (J40)

1970 Haflinger AP700


Lastly, the second level held European and British cars:


1963 Maserati 3500 GT (Tipo 101)

1972 Fiat 124 Sport Spider

1969 Porsche 912

1964 Lancia Flavia 1800 Coupe 

1957 Borgward Isabella TS Coupe

1960 Auto Union 1000S

1972 Datsun Sunny 1200 GX (B110)

1939 Citroen Traction Avant

1950 Bristol 401

1950 Austin A40 Devon GS2

1957 Ford Prefect 100E

1970 Ford Capri GT

1954 Ford Zephyr Mark 1

1958 Nash Metropolitan

1973 Triumph Dolomite 1850HL

1965 Vauxhall Viva HA 90

1962 Triumph Herald

1953 Morris Minor Series II Convertible

1975 Morris 8 CWT Van

1957 Morris Minor 1000 Wilco Pickup

1950 Morris Minor Series I

1937 Morris 8



I’ve heard that the Classics Museum is actually restoring a 1937 Bugatti Atlantic, and I can’t wait to see that when it's done! This whole museum tour only took us about an hour at most, and it's $15 to enter. Not bad. I’d definitely go again, especially when the Bugatti is finally finished!



As always, all the pictures and more will be found on my site here. If you want to save them, you can right click, and if you want to support me, you can buy the prints! I'll greatly appreciate it! Until next time!


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