Big passion for dwarfs: Museum honors father’s legacy

In one of the outskirt desert streets of Maricopa lies a nonprofit museum showcasing a father’s legacy — classic dwarf cars.

These vehicles generally weigh up to 1,800 pounds and are shorter and smaller than the original models. They are made from scrap steel and recycled appliances such as washers, dryers and refrigerators. They are all functional cars with radios, defrosters and roll-down windows.

“I’ve turned down $60,000 for a car,” said builder and museum curator Ernie Adams. “I just don’t want to sell the cars.”

His latest addition is a shrunken replica of a rust-colored 1934 Ford sedan completed in April 2012. While his cars can take up to five years to build, the sedan took less than three years to complete and can go up to 99 miles per hour. It can be legally used to drive on the street.

The Dwarf Car Museum has eight dwarf cars, two are race cars and six are cruisers. The cars are stored in a building sittin g on a 10-acre lot behind Ernie’s home at 52954 W. Halfmoon Road. 

Ernie opens his museum 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week and it is free to the public, but donations are accepted.

He builds each car starting with a photograph of the model. Hemeasures and marks the different dimensions of the car on the photo. To begin building, Adams gets additional photos of each section of the vehicle to ensure he has all of the details to begin construction.

“There is no computer stuff done at all. It’s all done by hand,” he said.

Ernie builds almost everything including the steering wheel, the frame rails and the floor pans.

Some cars are left to their natural rusted colors and others are professionally painted. Ernie said he does all the building except the outside paint job and upholstery.

“I paint all the inside, the trunk, under the hood and underneath in the trunk,” he said. “I’m not a professional body man; I just do what I do to get it done.”

Bully’s Custom Upholstery has done the interior work for the Adams’ two latest cars, the 1949 Mercury and the 1934 Ford sedan. John “Bully” Rios said he usually completes the dwarf cars in two weeks compared to two months for a normal car.

“He never wants to do anything crazy in them, he likes to keep them plain,” Bully said.

Visitors from around the world, including Germany, Australia and Thailand, have stopped by to view the cars. People passing through Arizona from different states also visit the museum. More than 1,850 visitors have signed in since April 2011.

“We get a lot of people that drive in from California to Texas and they make it a point to stop by on their way through,” Ernie said.

Ernie has lived in Maricopa for 15 years and been building cars for nearly 50 years. The museum has been around for three years; the concept was born after he and his three sons discussed what they would do with the cars if he were to die.

Ernie’s son Kevin said he came up with the idea of a museum after hearing visitors compare it to a museum.

“I couldn’t sell the cars. They’re part of our family,” Kevin said.