What’s the status of John Price’s Museum of Speed, Salt Lake City? [photos added]

[Gary_Ash]

I tried to get some info about cars in the Museum of Speed, learned the website for the museum and for John Price has been “suspended”. He owns the Mormon Meteor III from 1939 and bought the #37 1931 Studebaker Indy car for $1.1 million in October 2019. No one answers the phone there.  Anyone have connections there or with John Price?  I’d hate for the Indy car to disappear, as well as the restored Mormon Meteor III.  Ab Jenkins was responsible for building both cars.

Edited October 24, 2020 by Gary_Ash (see edit history)

[JACK M]

Seems like one of Ab's cars was in the Ardell Brown collection as well.

That was in SLC too, but Ardell passed a couple of years ago,

[West Peterson]

Probably can blame Covid 19 on lack of availability.

[jeff_a]

I tried to find out over the last 3 years with no luck. There are some tripadvisor posts regarding it with people saying it's closed -- others saying it's not open to the public and just a private collection. I found a reference to Mr. Price giving a college seminar as recently as 2018...so I think he's still around. Below is a pic from a Utah Museum of Fine Arts presentation on the soon-to-open museum from 2012 promoted by the SLC Tribune:

 

[wayne sheldon]

I have never been there myself. However do have some personal interest in the place. Among many other things, it is home to the 'Model T Ford Speedster/Racer Hall of Fame'! The MTFCA was still inducting new members into that less than two years ago, and they were saying then that it would be continued (since the death of the founder). That hall of fame inducts both historic-past and present members annually, as well as remarkable and authentically restored cars.

I personally know, or have known several of the members.

They also have one of the finest collections of model T speed and racing equipment in the world.

[1937hd45]

16 hours ago, wayne sheldon said:

I have never been there myself. However do have some personal interest in the place. Among many other things, it is home to the 'Model T Ford Speedster/Racer Hall of Fame'! The MTFCA was still inducting new members into that less than two years ago, and they were saying then that it would be continued (since the death of the founder). That hall of fame inducts both historic-past and present members annually, as well as remarkable and authentically restored cars.

I personally know, or have known several of the members.

They also have one of the finest collections of model T speed and racing equipment in the world.

 

Have you mixed up Bill Smiths collection in Lincoln, Nebraska with a smaller collection in Utah? 

 

Bob 

 

https://www.museumofamericanspeed.com/

Edited October 24, 2020 by 1937hd45 (see edit history)

[wayne sheldon]

Bob, You are absolutely right! That must be what I get for thinking when I am nearly asleep? 

Should I go back and alter my previous post so I don't look so bad? But then Your post might look funny? So you would need to alter yours? Or I should leave mine as a monument to my ability to put my foot in my mouth and show you as the superior one (perhaps as it should be?)?

Thank you for watching my back!

[1937hd45]

Wayne, Some museum in Utah has the MILLER convertible, and one of the 1907 Renault G. P. cars, if I win the Lottery tonight it would be nice to know. I'll let you drive both of them if things work out. Bob 

[Gary_Ash]

No, I'm not confusing it with the one in Nebraska.  The Price Museum of Speed is located at 165 E. 600 St S, Salt Lake City.  If you Google Map it, you can see a number of photos of the cars.  It seems that it is rarely open, and few people have actually been inside.  However, the collection is fabulous, from what I can see.  Here are some of the photos I grabbed from Google Maps.  John Price sold his real estate development company a few years ago for $1.1 BILLION, so he has very deep pockets.  You can look him up on Wikipedia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1937hd45]

THANK YOU! It would be nice to confirm the provenance of the Renault, I think it is the former Jimmy Melton car that he bought from someone here in Ridgefield in 1943. I recognize some of the MILLER race cars in the above photos. So nice to know Mr. Price has a desire to own some of the finest cars out there. Bob 

[nzcarnerd]

I think I read somewhere that back in circa 1907 there were some 'race replicas' of the 1906 GP winning car sold in the US. I think they had smaller - 7.5 litre? - engines that the original.

[PFindlay]

We spent a few days in Salt lake City in August 2019.  The website had little information so I phoned several times and left messages but never got a return call.  We drove by the address and the building is there but there was no sign that it had any regular public open hours.  I came away with the impression that it is a very private collection that just happens to be called a museum.