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Partly cloudy skies early followed by scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%..

Partly cloudy skies early followed by scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low 69F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.

When it came time to leave Swope’s Cars of Yesteryear Museum, the 1923 Dodge Brothers Business Sedan would not start so employees were recruited to push it onto a flatbed truck for transport. It is believed to be headed for use in a television production.

Preparing the vintage vehicle for transport Wednesday, Billy Clark of Whit’s Transport tightens a strap around the tires, which are affixed to the wood-spoke rim. He said it’s bound for the new owner in Kansas City, Missouri, and then a subsequent trip to Butte, Montana.

While talking to the new owner of this 1923 sedan, Billy Clark of Whit’s Transport verifies the hood ornament is secure. Clark said he was hired to take the vehicle from the Swope Cars of Yesteryear Museum in Elizabethtown to its new owner in Missouri and later to a final destination in Butte, Montana.

Standing beside the 1923 Dodge Brothers Business Sedan being sold by Swope’s Cars of Yesteryear Museum are Shannon Avila, museum director, and Carl Swope, president and CEO of the Swope Family of Dealerships.

Shannon Avila, director of Swope’s Cars of Yesteryear Museum, prepares to step inside the 1923 Dodge Brothers Business Sedan, which is expected to appear in a television streaming series called “1923.”

When it came time to leave Swope’s Cars of Yesteryear Museum, the 1923 Dodge Brothers Business Sedan would not start so employees were recruited to push it onto a flatbed truck for transport. It is believed to be headed for use in a television production.

Preparing the vintage vehicle for transport Wednesday, Billy Clark of Whit’s Transport tightens a strap around the tires, which are affixed to the wood-spoke rim. He said it’s bound for the new owner in Kansas City, Missouri, and then a subsequent trip to Butte, Montana.

While talking to the new owner of this 1923 sedan, Billy Clark of Whit’s Transport verifies the hood ornament is secure. Clark said he was hired to take the vehicle from the Swope Cars of Yesteryear Museum in Elizabethtown to its new owner in Missouri and later to a final destination in Butte, Montana.

Standing beside the 1923 Dodge Brothers Business Sedan being sold by Swope’s Cars of Yesteryear Museum are Shannon Avila, museum director, and Carl Swope, president and CEO of the Swope Family of Dealerships.

Shannon Avila, director of Swope’s Cars of Yesteryear Museum, prepares to step inside the 1923 Dodge Brothers Business Sedan, which is expected to appear in a television streaming series called “1923.”

The Swope family sold a car Wednesday.

Nothing unusual about that in Elizabethtown where the car dealers are celebrating 70 years in business. This vehicle, however, was built in Detroit about a century ago.

With a push from three service department techs and a corporate secretary, the 1923 Dodge Brothers Business Sedan was backed out of a garage door on the side of the Swope’s Cars of Yesteryear Museum.

Although the vehicle started hours before, it wouldn’t crank when the flatbed truck came to load it and some human muscle was recruited to substitute for its four-cylinder horsepower.

The jet black vehicle with its wooden spoke wheels, decorative radiator cap and hand-operated windshield wiper was famous in its day for its industry-first construction on an all-steel frame. It was bound Wednesday for perhaps more fame after being acquired by a collector and dealer in Kansas City, Missouri.

Carl Swope and Museum Director Shannon Avila expect it to be used in a prequel of the “Yellowstone” television series, which is available through the Peacock streaming service.

The program, which follows the Dutton family of modern-day ranchers and businessmen, already has birthed a successful prequel called “1883.” Creator Taylor Sheridan announced another project called “1923,” which happens to be the same year this car first rolled out of a showroom.

T.J. Worthington, who owns businesses known as Cars In America and Famous Cars Roadshow, purchased the vehicle and arranged for its transport. Worthington reached out to the museum about this specific vehicle, which was described on its website but not currently on exhibit.

The vast vintage car collection of the late Bill Swope exceeds the museum’s display space. Avila said typically 33 cars are available for viewing at the free museum, which is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

This ’23 Dodge was driven from storage to the museum Saturday after Worthington first reached out about one week earlier.

In a telephone interview, Worthington praised the museum and the professionalism of its staff but declined to discuss his reasons for acquiring the vehicle.

This transaction is a rarity for the Swope collection. The museum website repeatedly states its vintage vehicles are not for sale.

Carl Swope, president and CEO of Swope Family Dealerships, echoed that sentiment Wednesday and said the family has discussed means to improve the collection.

Swope said terms for repurchasing the Dodge Brothers vehicle were discussed with Worthington as part of the sale. The museum previously has had cars on loan to filmmakers but because of the duration he understood it would be needed, selling it seemed more practical.

While his father had stories to relate about most of the collection, this sedan has a personal importance for the entire family. Swope said its the last car his parents, Bill and Betty, drove together in the Gilded Age Tour back in 2014.

“We certainly want the car back after this is over,” Swope said.

And if it does find its way into the streaming series, expected to star Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren, it will have added interest for guests of the free museum located amid the dealerships on North Dixie Avenue.

As a final detail before loading the car for transport, Avila glanced inside to verify the odometer reading of 30,648 and relayed that number to Fran Harrod, executive assistant to Carl Swope, who recorded it on the sales agreement as required by law.

Ben Sheroan can be reached at 270-505-1403 or bsheroan@thenewsenterprise.com.

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