57 Heaven

Glenn Patch and his wife, Susie, on their Honda Gold Wing three-wheeler, in front of their 47-foot Prevost motor coach at a luxury RV resort in Palm Springs. Patch, a real estate entrepreneur and car collector, has decided to sell his collection of 1957 cars and close the ’57 Heaven Museum in Branson, Mo. (Dan Neil / Los Angeles Times)

Sept. 16, 2014 10:59 AM PT

A carhop mannequin -- named Harriett -- holds a tray above a Dodge at the ’57 Heaven Museum. (Dan Neil / Los Angeles Times)

The Chevrolet “El Morocco” was a Bel Air cosmetically modified to look like a Cadillac. GM’s effort to market it as an affordable Cadillac failed, and fewer than 20 of the cars were built. (Dan Neil / Los Angeles Times)

An aquamarine 1957 Hudson two-door hardtop. (Dan Neil / Los Angeles Times)

A 1956 Indianapolis Pace Car convertible. The winner of the ’57 Indy 500, Sam Hanks, received one the pace cars as part of his prizes. (Dan Neil / Los Angeles Times)

A 1957 DeSoto Adventurer is one of the rarest and most prized cars in the collection. This was the first American car to have 1 horsepower per cubic inch of displacement, which equaled 345 hp. This example has a record player in the dash board. (Dan Neil / Los Angeles Times)

The stacked tailfin of a 1957 DeSoto in the foreground, and those of two Plymouths in the background, at the ’57 Heaven Museum in Branson, Mo. (Dan Neil / Los Angeles Times)

The “Continental” kit on a 1957 Oldsmobile “98” convertible. (Dan Neil / Los Angeles Times)

A full-size recreation of a Texaco service station, circa 1957, in the ’57 Heaven Museum. (Dan Neil / Los Angeles Times)

A parking meter with time expired on the ersatz sidewalk of the ’57 Heaven Museum. (Dan Neil / Los Angeles Times)

Bob Schmidt, former curator of the ’57 Heaven Museum in Branson, Mo., sits in a ’57 Pontiac convertible. Schmidt restored most of the 66 cars in the collection, which includes a perfect example of every convertible made in the U.S. in the year 1957. He was laid off in September after the owner of the museum decided to sell the cars and close the museum. (Dan Niel / Los Angeles Times)

William and Karlene Burgener, of Merrill, Wisc., stop to admire the ’57 Heaven Museum’s “Casa de Cadillac” exhibit. The car is a 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz. (Dan Neil / Los Angeles Times)