From Avantis to Triumphs: Check out the incredible cars of LA's Automobile Driving Museum

The Automobile Driving Museum in Los Angeles has cars from throughout the 20th century, with more from the first half.

For the full story behind this tour, check out "Up close with the motoring legends of the Automobile Driving Museum."

How about a 101-year-old Franklin Runabout? The air-cooled inline-6 had 25.3 horsepower.

You can't get inside the vehicles, but there are few barriers so you can get right up close.

Each week certain cars are featured for rides on the street.

It's fascinating to look at the controls before so many of them were standardized.

Ford's 1915 Model T Roadster had a blistering 20 horsepower, but then again, the 45-mph top speed was probably terrifying in a car like this.

The inline-4 had an L-head cylinder head design.

The Packard "Twin Six" had a 88 horsepower 12-cylinder engine. This is one of only three still in existance.

V12 engines are big, but well-balanced and smooth.

It's a company you may not have heard of, but Hupmobile made cars until 1940. This is a 1929 Century Six.

The 1909 Model T was available in six different body styles. Price new was $840, or a bit more than $20,000 in today's money.

The 20-horsepower, four-cylinder engine got about 25 miles per gallon.

Like all the cars at the museum, this one is beautifully maintained.

A 1935 Chrysler Airflow, with its revolutionary curvy design. Under the hood is a 130-hp straight 8.

The 1947 Windsor was a big hit for post-war Chrysler. It wasn't much changed from the pre-war version.

You just don't see interiors this awesome anymore. This was the more expensive "Highlander" interior.

The 1939 Cadillac Series 75 Limo carried seven people.

Not many cars have hood ornaments anymore. Rolls does, and it retracts into the hood.

It's not often you can get close enough to old cars like this to see into the rumble seat. This is a 1936 Ford Roadster.

A 1949 Buick Super Woody, based on the Roadmaster. The straight 8 made 120 hp.

Wood paneling was all the rage in the late '40s, even in smaller cars like this Crosley. Though it only had 44 hp, it did have rare (for its day) four-wheel disc brakes.

An immaculate MG TD. This looks like it just rolled out of the factory in Abingdon. In the back, a 1935 Morgan.

A bit rough, but still in excellent shape for an 82-year-old British-built vehicle.

The MGA had a four-speed manual transmission, and a 72 hp four-cylinder engine. Those lines though...

Lots of MGs were raced. This MGA was owned and raced by one of the museum's docents. He named it "Lucille." It started life as one of the last factory-built and supported race cars, and was raced by private teams until 1985. It had an interesting history after that too.

Though the Nash Rambler was the butt of jokes about its size (video), the Metropolitan (seen here) was even smaller. It's a few inches longer than the current Mini.

A 1957 Lincoln Premier. 300 hp V8 and well over 18 feet long.

Power seats, windows, brakes, steering and a couch to sit on while you're driving.

The Avanti, made by Studebaker, featured a fairly powerful V8 and a fiberglass body, but it wasn't enough to save the brand.

The Avanti looks like someone from today designed a retro-looking interior for a modern car.

Maybe "guppy" would have been a better name? Catfish? Packard wouldn't survive the decade.

It's small, but there's a sticker under the gas gauge that says "Premium gas only." It's easy to forget these cars still run. Always a good thing at a museum like this.

The classic '57 Thunderbird.

This 1955 Packard Caribbean was a gift from Howard Hughes to actress Jean Peters.

The interior is in pretty good shape, considering.

There wasn't much info on this car, but it's in amazing condition for a police car. It looks like it just rolled off a movie set.

Gotta love the '87 Mercury Colony Park station wagon next to it.

No SCMODS (video).

The keys to this AMC Javelin were literally on the hood. There were no cars blocking it in. I was alone in the museum.

I had... thoughts.

This one has the 360 ci engine with the factory "Go Package" which included a limited-slip differential. It's in beautiful shape.

The huge tail of the Road Runner Superbird you saw in the first photo.

Pretty basic inside, especially considering how wacky it still looks on the outside.

The most expensive vehicles in the collection are in a separate room, available usually just with a chaperone.

This 1936 Packard Roadster had a 130 hp straight 8, hence the long hood.

This Packard Touring Car, also from 1936, looks insanely regal. Under the hood is a 175-hp V12.

Even all these years later, the dash still looks elegant.

An incredible 1937 Pierce-Arrow Town Car. If you are wondering how a car company that made cars like this survived the Great Depression, well, it didn't.

This isn't an engine format you'll ever see in a normal car ever again. The inline-8 isn't the best way to package cylinders engine anymore.

The car in the middle is a Stutz Monte Carlo. If the paint looks weird, it's because it's not paint. The entire car is covered in Zapon leatherette.

A fun afternoon. The Automobile Driving Museum is small, but it has some fantastic cars.

For the full story behind this tour, check out "Up close with the motoring legends of the Automobile Driving Museum."