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Museum celebrates the birthplace of the dwarf car

Off the beaten path sits one of Arizona's most unique automotive museums and the birthplace of an international racing subculture.

MARICOPA, Ariz. - Off the beaten path sits one of Arizona’s most unique automotive museums and the birthplace of an international racing subculture.

The Dwarf Car Museum, at 52954 W. Halfmoon Road in Maricopa, holds dozens of 5/8 scale, fully-functioning vehicles, all based on 1930s and 1940s models.

A handful of Dwarf Cars adorn the workshop of the Dwarf Car Museum.  Along with the cars, the workshop is full of automotive history, as collectors from all over the country send Ernie Adams paraphernalia to display.

"Well, I used to build little cars out of create box boards and I’ve been into building and creating all my life," the creator of dwarf cars, Ernie Adams, said.

Adams first came up with the concept of the dwarf car as his neighbor and he watched motorcycle races at Phoenix International Raceway in 1979.

"You’d hear these motorcycles were coming -- you’d hear them coming, then when you see them, they’d be coming fast,” Adams said, sitting in his shop, adjacent to the museum. "But then [they would] slow down so slow to go around the corner--because of the side-hack on them, you know, it would upset--so, I thought to myself ‘they need to put a car body on them, a small car body and slide around the corners.’"

After a challenge by his neighbor, the two set off that night, gathering parts from their backyards and assembling the first dwarf cars.

This car is proudly on display in the workshop of the Dwarf Car Museum.  The car was built by Gene Tweedy, a friend of Ernie Adams.  Tweedy never built a Dwarf Car before and says the car will always have a special place in his heart.

While many car enthusiast may rebuild vehicles, dwarf cars are built from scratch. Sheet metal is formed, wheels made in the shop and all the details of the original model are incorporated on a smaller scale.

Since 1980, dwarf car racing has become a popular pastime among those in the racing community. The brand was changed to “Legend Car” and a handful of people have taken credit for its creation, but there is only one museum.

The family of this car’s owner donated the car to the museum after the owner passed away.  The family just asked that Ernie Adams refurbish the car to its original state.

“I looked in the dictionary and it said to dwarf something is to make it smaller,” Adams said. “I make smaller cars and called them dwarfs.”

The Dwarf Car Museum has a little of everything inside. Automotive paraphernalia from a bygone era hangs on the walls, donated by folks who wanted to see their collections live on.

The first Dwarf race car that Ernie Adams built.  The car sports a Honda 350cc engine.  

Outside the museum sits a sight that any driver wishes to see today: two gasoline pumps and a sign indicating the cost of 19 cents a gallon.

Displayed outside the Dwarf Car Museum.  A sign of a simpler time!

Admission is free for the Dwarf Car Museum, although the family collects donations to keep the museum running. Hours vary, so it’s a good idea to call ahead if you are planning to visit.

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