It’s Burbank. The bad side of town is not that bad.
Given the very wide range of vehicles Leno owns breaking up the collection might in fact be the most sensible thing. Early autos, particularly the steam and early electric, have a different audience than those interested in later model ICE, and there’s a different group for the very exotic/expensive/luxury vehicles vs. "classics of a different sort.
One thing about Leno’s collection is that the cars are maintained in perfect working condition and driven, which for many of them requires a whole lot of maintenance. A static collection only requires floor space and security, A living, driving collection requires workshops, mechanics, lots of tools, etc. I don’t know that a car museum could sustain itself at the level Leno maintains.
I suspect the collection will be broken up. Maybe hot sold off, but cars donated to various other museums. He might give part of his collection to the Smithsonian, maybe parts to other car museums. Maybe there will be small ‘Leno Collections’ at various other museums.
Some of his cars are not really museum worthy, but exist because Leno likes them. A pristine Datsun 240-Z or Camaro isn’t really a museum car - more likely a car that will be sold at Barrett-Jackson to a private collector like Leno.
The best hope for the museum if Leno dies is that another rich car fanatic buys it and funds it. Jerry Seinfeld, for example.
As for the cost of the collection - I think Leno has probably made a serious profit from it - or would if he sold the cars. A lot of those cars were purchased for a fraction of their value today, And Leno’s shop and sweat equity has done a lot of restoration work that has increased the value of those cars a lot. Leno also gets first dibs on some very rare cars because of his celebrity and because he is known for taking very good care of them. You’ll often hear him say, “I was looking for one of these for a long time, then this lady called me whose husband passed, and wanted to know if I wanted his car…”
The fact that a celebrity owned them would be good enough for some museums. The aforementioned Petersen, for example.
Jay was interviewed on the Today Show.
Haven’t seen it posted yet.
He says in previews his friend blew air through the clogged fuel line. Leno was under the car and the gas was blown into his face. Pilot line ignited it
My thoughts…
There were a couple mistakes. 1. Pilot should have been turned off before cracking open the fuel line. 2. You always need to be carefull using compressed air to clear linrs. Blow back is always a concern. Wear Safety glasses.
Jay makes a good point that anyone working with their hands will have accidents.
That’s true. I’ve cut myself. Had falls and gas sprayed on me etc. I try to work safely, and wear safety glasses and gloves.
My big thing is keeping the work area clear of crap. Put up tools and materials. I hate trip hazards.
When working consider changing a wedding ring with a silicone climbing ring. Wear that instead. Don’t wear any rings of metal. You don’t want to Google images of ring avulsion. Trust me.
Here’s the Today show interview:
Wouldn’t it be simpler just to remove all rings prior to working, rather than switch to a silicone ring?
It’s a personal preference. It’s up to you.
@Broomstick thanks for that interview. What an amazing attitude Leno has. And he looks great.
And he dressed up for the interview! He’s in a sport coat and slacks, and no denim!
It has barely been a month and you cannot tell how badly burned he was. That is absolutely amazing! Glad to see this interview.
He always seemed like a good guy who wasnt full of himself.
The pictures Jay released made me wince. That had to be very painful. Really glad it healed with little scarring.
From certain angles in the video I can see where he was burned, but that’s partly because I’ve known other people who have suffered severe burns so I know what that looks like.
It’s not inconceivable he’s wearing some sort of makeup as well - newly healed skin will be delicate, it would make a lot of sense to use some sort of cream with sunscreen in it to protect it, and perhaps something with a tint as well.
Your skin regenerates in about a month’s time, so actually he’s healing right on schedule. The hyperbaric treatments sped up some of the healing so, again, about right on time.