GM Futurliner Video Clip
GM Futurliner Restoration Project
National Automotive and Truck Museum of the United States

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Click here or on the picture below to download and play a video clip. The file type is wmv.

This video clip runs about 5 minutes and is the same clip shown on on a large screen TV in the Futurliner display area. The clip is narrated by Raffee Johns (actually, it's an actor's voice) who tells a little bit about his experience with the Parade of Progress. You can read more about Mr. Johns by following this link.

If the clip wet your appetite for more, a DVD or VHS video is now available of the Futurliner restoration project. The approximate 45-minute video chronicles the history and restoration of Futurliner #10 by a group of volunteer men in the West Michigan area. Futurliner #10 was one of 12 large dual-front wheeled display vehicles designed specifically for the GM Parade of Progress. The GM Parade of Progress and its crew of about 60 young men carried futuristic and inspirational exhibits to millions of people across North America from 1936 through 1956. This 1953 Futurliner, with 16-foot display doors on either side, was a perfect platform for static exhibits and live demonstrations of emerging technology.

A group of volunteers began restoring the vehicle in 1999. Don Mayton (retired GM Manager) was obsessed with the urge to have one when he saw a converted one while on a business trip to California. The video unfolds the story of how Don located the Futurliner at NATMUS (National Automotive & Truck Museum of the United States) in Auburn, Indiana. The vehicle, donated to the museum by Joe Bortz of Chicago, was in disrepair. As anyone who has restored a vehicle can attest to, it was much worse than it looked – and it looked bad. While NATMUS owns the vehicle, it was released Don under its "Partner Program" and Don trucked it to his pole barn in Beaverdam, Michigan – hence the name of the video, "Miracle at Beaverdam".

With volunteer labor and countless donations of materials and money, the Futurliner is complete.

Don’t miss owning this fascinating video containing some rare original footage of the GM Parade of Progress, the amazing Futurliners that carried a circus of technological marvel and wonder to communities across North America and the restoration of Futurliner #10. Your donation of $25, for either a DVD or VHS (please specify) includes shipping and handling. You can order from NATMUS at 1000 Gordon M. Buehrig Place, Auburn, IN 46706 or call (260) 925-9100. To order on-line, click here. All donations are tax deductible and should be made through NATMUS.

C O N T A C T S:

Don M. Mayton, Project Director
4521 Majestic Vue, Zeeland, MI 49464
616 875-3058

Dean G. Tryon, Newsletter Editor
2516 Laurelford Ln., Wake Forest, NC 27587
919 562-4660

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