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The 'Pit Crew' is a group of volunteers who work every Monday conserving the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum’s world renowned collection. There is also a group of volunteers that now work Thursday evenings. Photo Credit: Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum.

Auto museum’s Pit Crew keeps classic cars humming

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
The 'Pit Crew' is a group of volunteers who work every Monday conserving the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum’s world renowned collection. There is also a group of volunteers that now work Thursday evenings. Photo Credit: Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum.
The ‘Pit Crew’ is a group of volunteers who work every Monday conserving the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum’s world renowned collection. There is also a group of volunteers that now work Thursday evenings. Photo Credit: Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum.

AUBURN, Ind. (AP) – When a head gasket wears out in a classic car, the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum doesn’t take it the nearest repair shop.

It calls in the Pit Crew.

The Pit Crew is an all-volunteer force that takes care of the more than 120 cars in the museum’s collection. As on the NASCAR circuit, the Pit Crew readies automobiles, but this race is one of automotive permanency.

Registrar and volunteer manager Lindsay Wharton said the museum has nearly 100 volunteers, including a dedicated group of 15 men in the Pit Crew.

“The Pit Crew keeps the museum going,” Wharton told The Star. “They’ll keep the cars alive for the next 200 years.”

Repairs range from simple to difficult, from inflating tires to changing a head gasket.

To join the Pit Crew, the men are required to have a mechanical background or experience with cars. The Pit Crew meets every Monday to work on projects. Somewhere in that time, Wharton said, they always find time to break for lunch.

Most of the men are retired, but some still work full-time jobs. The crew added another work session on Thursday evenings for those who work days and enjoy volunteering at the museum.

The group’s legendary leader, John Rosener, is the longest-serving volunteer at the museum. He joined 20 years ago when he saw an ad in the paper. Retired, he thought volunteering would be a good idea.

“He can know what’s wrong with a car by listening to it,” Wharton said. Rosener has another hidden skill, fixing clocks.

Rosener, along with the late Paul Casebere, started the Pit Crew in 2007. The museum’s newest building, the Collection Conservation Center, was dedicated in their honor in 2012. The center is where the Pit Crew works to restore and maintain automobiles. It also has gallery space for educational events.

Andy LaRowe, another volunteer, used to work at the museum in his youth. Today, he works at Steel Dynamics and makes time to volunteer.

The men in the Pit Crew are there, Wharton said, because “They love old cars.”

When the museum receives a donated car, the Pit Crew prepares it for storage. All fluids inside the car are drained, and the battery is removed. If fluids remain in the car, it will cause deterioration.

The museum’s curator, Aaron Warkentin, said it’s important to keep cars in running condition to preserve the automotive heritage. Warkentin said he doesn’t want the museum to be viewed as a static collection of cars.

“We’re not a car collection,” Warkentin said. “It’s a museum about society and how it influenced the make of the cars.”

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Information from: The (Auburn, Ind.) Star,http://www.dekalbstar.com

Copyright 2014 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-WF-03-24-14 1419GMT

ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE

The 'Pit Crew' is a group of volunteers who work every Monday conserving the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum’s world renowned collection. There is also a group of volunteers that now work Thursday evenings. Photo Credit: Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum.
The ‘Pit Crew’ is a group of volunteers who work every Monday conserving the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum’s world renowned collection. There is also a group of volunteers that now work Thursday evenings. Photo Credit: Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum.
The 'Pit Crew' works on a 1919 Dodge Brothers car that has since become the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum’s 'Photo Car Exhibit.' With a mural of the Auburn Automobile Co. building as background, guests have their photos taken in the car. Photo Credit: Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum.
The ‘Pit Crew’ works on a 1919 Dodge Brothers car that has since become the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum’s ‘Photo Car Exhibit.’ With a mural of the Auburn Automobile Co. building as background, guests have their photos taken in the car. Photo Credit: Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum.
Students on a study trip to the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum in the photo car that was professionally restored by the “Pit Crew.” Photo Credit: Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum.
Students on a study trip to the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum in the photo car that was professionally restored by the “Pit Crew.” Photo Credit: Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum.