According to Autoblog author Jonathon Ramsey, the Petersen Automotive Museum, located in Los Angeles, California, has started an Indiegogo campaign to restore the 1948 Davis Divan it owns and place it in its Innovation exhibit in time for the museum’s re-opening at the end of the year. And the Davis Divan is certainly worthy of being called an “Innovation”.
The Davis Divan was created by custom movie car builder Gary Davis after the war. The Davis Divan was inspired by another three-wheeled custom car called the Californian, which was built by Frank Kurtis. From 1947 to 1948, Davis produced 17 copies of his model at the Van Nuys airport. Each car had a BorgWarner three-speed transmission, a chassis made of aluminum, built-in jacks for tire changes, and a bench seat capable of seating four passengers. The Petersen Museum owns the fourth make, which is the last one to use the 47-horsepower, four-cylinder Hercules engine, before the production line switched to using Continental engines.
The Petersen’s campaign requires $30,000 to repaint, repair and renovate the model they own, inside and out. They’re even offering rides in the renovated car as thanks for donating. Visit their campaign for information on how you can help them meet their goal.