RSF’s Carl Calvert helps educate the public on the heritage of the transportation industry through the Motor Transport Museum

By Diane Y. Welch

RSF’s Carl Calvert Photo/Diane Y. Welch

Rancho Santa Fe resident Carl Calvert has a unique passion. He loves to restore vintage commercial vehicles. This niche hobby turned into a full-time preoccupation in 1982 when Calvert and half-a-dozen like-minded transportation enthusiasts around the county formed a permanent corporation with nonprofit status and, in doing so, founded the Motor Transport Museum.
“Our primary goal was to educate the public about the important heritage of the motor truck and commercial transportation industry, and the preservation of these vehicles,” Calvert explained in a recent interview. From this mission the idea of a museum was formed.
Originally the group leased the former Motor Pool buildings in East County's Camp Lockett to showcase their collections. Then, in 1987, the former, long-silenced feldspar mill—which dates back to 1925—in historic Campo became available.
“I bought the mill and the surrounding two and half acres specifically to set up the museum,” Calvert said. "The purchase price was about $200,000."
Now Calvert, the current treasurer for the organization, spends much of his week working in the mill, a nine-story tall historic building, transformed into a one-of-a-kind motor museum where old and dilapidated vehicles are given a new lease on life and restored to pristine condition.
The acreage around the mill may well be mistaken for a junk yard to the uninformed, with row after row of antique vehicles lined up, lifeless and rusted. But this is the museum's treasure and each item has been cataloged and accounted for.
“These are extremely valuable assets,” Calvert stressed. There are more than 200 vehicles in the collection comprising buses like Yellow Coach, Greyhound, White and Cadillac; vehicles from Studebaker, Reo, Diamond T., and Moreland; trucks of every type imaginable: milk, welding, fire, cargo, roofing, fuel, and tractor trucks; and a prized collection of 18 famed Mack AC “Bulldog” trucks from the second and third decades of the 20th century.
Several trucks have been fully restored and are housed inside the old mill, including a 1917 quad used in World War I and the 1923 3.5-ton chain driven Mack truck which was used in the movie "The Aviator."
One of the most recent restoration projects nearing completion is a 1924 Cadillac stage. The vehicle, a bus, belongs to the Julian Historical Society and the MTM has been contracted to restore it to its original condition.
The Cadillac stage was the first enclosed bus with roll up windows, had seating capacity for 20, a big V8 engine and five individual doors down one side, said Calvert. “And there was no center aisle. Of interest is that after it outgrew its use as a bus, a Borrego doctor bought it, removed the seats and installed a bed so that he could examine patients. He also installed a generator behind the engine, which when started would produce electricity so that he could perform shock therapy. Today I think we would call him a quack!”
This is the second project done in partnership with the historical society. In 2001 MTM, with the help of volunteers from the society, a 1912 Mack stage bus was restored. The vehicle, which has open-air seating, is one of two that were used from 1912 to 1915 to transport travelers, mail and cargo between Lakeside and Julian, said Calvert. It was the first motorized bus that came to San Diego and holds 16 passengers.
Calvert's interest in old cars and trucks began when he was in high school.
“When I was about 15 my dad thought it a good idea, as I wanted to get my driver's license, that I should get a vehicle to work on, to learn the mechanics. He bought me a Model A Ford, and we restored it,” Calvert recalled. “Even though, by the time I had gotten my license, it still wasn't finished.” However, it was restored and Calvert drove the hip, vintage car during his senior year at high school. “It attracted a lot of attention. I was very popular” he quipped.
A California native, Calvert was born and raised in Los Angeles County, relocating to San Diego about 38 years ago. He worked in the real estate business, on the development side.
“I was a broker and owned several offices at one time, along the coast In North County.” He is now married to Ginger, who was also in the real estate business. “She had an office for about 20 years in Solana Beach. She was then named Ginger Scuba,” said Calvert. Together they now live in an historic Lilian J. Rice cottage in the Covenant.
It was after retirement that Calvert was able to devote more time to his passion for antique vehicles and to the growth of the MTM. It currently has bout 120 members and annual dues are $20. “All meetings are open to members and they are invited to come to special events and activities that we have throughout the year. When people become really interested they can serve on the board and participate whether it's at the museum as a guide or in some of our restoration projects,” Calvert said.
“Being a nonprofit, people are continually donating vehicles, tools, money, and it does help us run the organization. We will even accept items not related with the museum because we can then sell those items and use the cash for museum purposes. If the donation is an antique vehicle we generally will keep it.”
Grants from the county have also helped with improvements made on the property and a future expansion is being planned. The museum has an extensive library with archived motor vehicle related publications and manuals. It is open to the public each Saturday, from 9 am to 5 pm and all are welcome. Admission is free; donations are graciously accepted.
Save the date for the museum's annual open house on May 25. The museum is located at 31949 Highway 94, in Campo, 60 miles east of San Diego.
For more information, call (619) 478-2492 or visit the museum online at www.motortransportmuseum.org.