Hidden Treasures Experience at the CCCA Museum

Hidden Treasures Experience - featuring Barn-Find Hunter Tom Cotter!

Mark your calendars for the Hidden Treasures Experience at the CCCA Museum! Taking place June 5th-7th, the Hidden Treasures Experience promises to bring friends old and new together for a wonderful weekend celebration, sharing beautiful cars and unforgettable stories of the Classic era! This year's show field is a place for all sorts of Hidden Treasures- unrestored automotive barn finds, cars with notable ownership histories, as well as stunningly restored cars with their own stories to share- all are welcome at this year's event! The show will be a great time to take in the museum's new Hidden Treasures exhibit. This exhibit will tell the stories of select vehicles hidden away from the Nazi's in different parts of Europe during WWII by recreating the places they were secretly kept.

In keeping with our Hidden Treasures theme, the museum is thrilled to welcome as our featured guest renowned automotive journalist, author, and "barn find hunter" Tom Cotter to this year's event. Mr. Cotter's books and popular Hagerty YouTube series tells the stories of forgotten classic cars, a pursuit stemming from his early experiences as a mechanic, salesman, and PR professional in the racing industry. After running the successful Cotter Group PR agency, Tom shifted focus to writing and his passion for automotive archaeology, publishing numerous books, including his popular In The Barn book series, celebrating some of the most interesting stories of automotive hidden treasures across the United States.

Make your "Michigan to Wisconsin" connection with the Hidden Treasures Driving Tour!

In addition to enjoying all the Experience weekend festivities the Gilmore Car Museum campus has to offer, make your stay a little longer and join us for the Michigan Hidden Treasures Driving Tour! Running June 7th-11th, the Hidden Treasures Driving tour will take its participants all along the coast of Lake Michigan for a tour of some of the lakeshore's own Hidden Treasures! AND if you don't want to miss the CCCA Dairyland mini-CARavan, we have you covered! mini-CARavan participants can end the tour in Ludington, Michigan aboard the S.S. Badger, a Lake Michigan carferry that will take you to Manitowoc, WI, just an hour and a half away from the CARavan starting location at the Kissel Museum in Hartford, WI! Trucks and trailers can remain on the Gilmore Car Museum campus while you are away for both tours if necessary.

Registration for the 2026 Experience and Driving Tour opens mid-February, visit cccamuseum.org for more details!