LeMay: Tuners@ACM Exhibit

Story by Benjamin Yong

Buckle up car enthusiasts — you’re about to go on a wild ride at LeMay – America’s Car Museum’s latest exhibit, Tuners@ACM.

Opening earlier this month, Tuners puts a spotlight on the subculture of taking lightweight, technologically advanced passenger vehicles and customizing everything from the engines and suspension to interiors and paint jobs.

“One of the things we learned while putting this all together is how to explain the new exhibit to our normal museum guests. We simply ask them, ‘Have you seen ‘The Fast and the Furious?’” says Scot Keller, Curator of Exhibitry at ACM.

Think small displacement, usually import Japanese cars but with a sprinkling of European models. Currently, there are 17 creations featured, including a 1971 Datsun 240Z with a 327 Chevy Small Block V8 shoehorned under the hood, a 400-horsepower 1978 Toyota Cressida, and a fully track-ready 2018 Volkswagen Golf R nicknamed “RMLS,” modified by VW-specialist APR based out of Opelika, Alabama.

All of the vehicles are privately owned except for the Golf R, on loan to the museum and sourced by Keller and his team over several months of attending shows across the state and beyond. The examples on display are only a handful of what’s in store — up to 60 different cars will be rotated and swapped in over the next year.

When asked what else people can expect, Keller replied, a whole lot of variety.