One of the first automotive museums I visited after creating Miles Through Time Automotive Museum was the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum. I really like the museum because the people are great, and the cars are unique. Many of them I had never heard of prior to my first visit.

One car in particular stood out to me, which was a 1946 Mathis VL333. This is a funky-looking three-wheel prototype car. It was what the car looked like that caught my attention. It was the name Mathis.

I had no idea that a guy named Émile Mathis started a car company in France in 1910. I have no way of knowing if I’m related to Émile, but that doesn’t matter. I thought having a car with my last name would be awesome.

As it turned out, it seemed the Mathis at Tampa Bay Automobile Museum was the only Mathis in the USA. I looked for a long time and never found any indication that another Mathis was anywhere on US soil.

Then I was at the Cigar City Concourse in Tampa one year and the people from the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum were there as well. I told them how poorly my search to find a Mathis was going and then Susan Cerf from the museum told me that a guy had just snail mailed the museum a package offering to sell his car to the museum.

I wish I had a huge budget to purchase cars that are offered to the museum for sale because it happens all the time, but unfortunately, like many nonprofit museums, we can only accept donations. In this particular case, the museum was not interested in buying the gentleman’s car, but when Susan told me he was trying to sell them a Mathis, I asked her to send me the guy’s info.

As soon as I got the package and found out the guy was trying to sell his 1935 Mathis EMY4S, I contacted him immediately. I had no way of purchasing the car, but I asked if I could meet him and see the car, which was in Melbourne, Florida.

He was a great guy. He told me he had purchased the car while serving in the military and was stationed in France. He purchased the Mathis from the original owner in 1957, who was using the car as a tractor when he bought it.

He told me how there was mud caked all over the car when he got it, but he drove it on and off base in France until he had it shipped to the States in 1959. The only reason he was trying to sell the car was because it was time for him to go into assisted living, and that is expensive.

I told the guy my story about my grandpa’s 59 Cadillac and how I created a museum from it, and how I got his information, and it seemed like it was meant to be, but I had no way of being able to pay him. I asked if he’d give me a little bit of time to try to raise the funds for him, which he agreed.

Within a month, I raised enough money to go back to Melbourne and bring the 1935 Mathis EMY4S to Miles Through Time Automotive Museum. I believe there are only two Mathis vehicles in the States, and they are both in museums, and their stories are intertwined.

I find it fascinating that such a beautiful car had been used as a tractor only 12 years after it was made. One may guess that the tractor came before the automobile, but that would be wrong.

The automobile came before the tractor, and there were way more automobile manufacturers than tractor manufacturers. Compounding the scarcity with World War 2, it is no surprise that a 1935 Mathis was being used as a tractor. 

The Earthmoving Legacy Center is 38,000 square feet of tractors. You can really see the evolution of the tractor at this museum, which is fascinating to see how quickly everything changes.

Larsen Tractor Museum is another museum you can visit to see some vintage tractors. This museum was created in 1980 and is a part of the University of Nebraska.

If you get a chance to visit the International Scout, Truck & Tractor Museum, you’ll be in for a treat. It is a free museum thanks to the Super Scout Specialists who sell and service all things international.

If you’re a tractor fan, you’ll enjoy these museums. If you know nothing about tractors, it’s all the more reason to visit museums like these.

Plan your next trip, discover your new favorite, or find the nearest museum

 Sean Mathis
Creator of Automotive Museum Guide
Founder of Miles Through Time Automotive Museum

P.S. Make sure you follow AMG on Facebook and join the FB Group to see what’s going on at all the museums.