In a few days, car enthusiasts and film buffs will have a chance to own some incredible pieces of American cinema. After four years of existence, Colorado’s Rodz & Bodz Movie Cars & More Museum closed for a third time this month. Later this week, on Friday, August 22, more than 60 film-used and replica movie cars will cross the auction block. Along with them will be over 400 pieces of movie memorabilia and road art. It’s a sad speedbump for one of the lesser-known, but great museums in America, but these cars will get to live on with collectors. Thankfully, there’s also some additional good news.
The Rodz & Bodz Movie Cars & More Museum closed its doors on August 3, and so visiting it is no longer possible, at least for now. We’re hearing this news from the Drive, which got its story from an Englewood Herald story published back in June. Somehow, all of mainstream car news somehow missed this until it was too late. That’s a shame because it sounds like the Rodz & Bodz Movie Cars & More Museum was an underrated gem. Most car museums preserve pieces of automotive history, but the Rodz & Bodz put a creative spin on it by saving screen-used movie cars and holding onto surprisingly accurate replicas of other movie cars.
Rodz & Bodz isn’t the only museum of its kind in America; my local Volo Auto Museum also preserves lots of movie cars, but that doesn’t diminish the excellent vehicles held within. This museum says that it was Colorado’s first car museum dedicated to movie cars. The great thing about movie car museums is that there’s something in them for everyone, even if they don’t like cars. For example, one of the Rodz & Bodz Movie Cars & More Museum’s more famous cars is a replica of the Pizza Planet truck from Toy Story. If you look closely at images posted online, you’ll see that the museum also has a classic second-generation red Dodge Ram complete with a mock Dorothy from Twister. There’s also this, a custom-built “Star Wars Jar-Jar Binks Pod Racer Trike Motorcycle.”
What on Earth are you even looking at here? Rodz & Bodz says it was custom-built right there on site, and it features a hopped-up 454 cubic inch big block V8 pushing 700 HP to the rear wheels. It’s supposed to look like a Star Wars pod racer, which, sure, I can sort of see it. But the big news with this ride is that it’s actually street-legal and someone was crazy enough to drive it 500 miles since the build was finished. Yes, it’s for sale, too!
Closing For Its Third Time
Some museums are lucky if they survive just one shot at keeping their doors open. However, as Denver Westword reports, this is actually Rodz & Bodz’s third time shuttering.
Rodz & Bodz was originally founded in 2017 as a rental business. As Denver Westword reports, owner Zack Loffert has spent his life around cars, starting when he was a little kid, spending his days in the auto shops where the women who raised him worked. Apparently, Loffert fell so head over heels for cars that he owned two before he could even legally drive them.
Loffert achieved a dream when he founded Rodz & Bodz. At first, Rodz & Bodz was a business providing props and 12 cars for rent. His clients were everyone from people having weddings to people looking for cool cars to feature in music videos, commercials, or festivals. At first, Denver Westword writes, adding to the collection helped bolster business, but eventually, Loffert ended up with so many movie cars and replicas that he had enough to create a museum. Then the pandemic hit, and Loffert’s rental business took a hit as people stopped having gatherings. So, Loffert pivoted and checked another box off his bucket list This was the beginning of the Rodz & Bodz Movie Cars & More Museum, which opened in Colorado Mills in 2021.
As the Englewood Herald writes, Rodz & Bodz grew to an impressive size. At any given time, there were 80 cars on display, but the total car collection is currently sitting at 180 vehicles. Of these vehicles, Loffert says that 48 of them were used on screen in television or a movie. The rest are replicas built by Ro. Loffert says he’s always on the search for new cars, and goes shopping every week to buy something from a collector or a museum. He has a knack for film cars, and if a desired film car cannot be found or purchased, Loffert says he and his team will just build a replica themselves.
Rodz & Bodz also cemented itself in the community, reportedly hosting car shows and popular events like “Celebrities & Cars” and the “Nutz & Boltz Intelligence Program.” People who came to the museum paid just $12 to see cars ranging from the early 1900s to today.
Unfortunately for Rodz & Bodz, staying open has been difficult. The museum has lived inside of buildings owned by development firms, which meant that the collection was subject to the whims of external forces. The museum had to close two other times and move elsewhere around the Denver area. The Colorado Mills location reportedly closed in 2024 after the museum outgrew the space and the lease ended. The museum would move to the Greeley Mall, but would move again later in 2024 after alleged complaints about the mall building. Radio station Retro 102.5 reported:
Visitors would come in to find puddles on the floor due to a leaking ceiling and the air conditioning not working, to name a couple of problems.
The museum is currently located in Englewood, Colorado, in a building owned by Kimco Development. Unfortunately, in another bad hand dealt to Rodz & Bodz, Kimco Development has decided to redevelop the property into a hotel and over 400-unit apartment complex.
Understandably, Loffert is not pleased with having his dream museum uprooted for a third time. For now, Rodz & Bodz will operate only as a prop rental company, but the hope is that perhaps in a year or so, Loffert will be able to afford to construct his own building to house his museum. Then, he couldn’t be kicked out by a developer or have his cars sitting in an old shopping mall. Loffert was to build what he calls an “immersive movie experience,” but this is going to require lots of capital.
So, Loffert is letting go of 463 pieces from his collection, including over 60 cars, plus a handful of scooters and even some go-karts. For those of you counting, Loffert isn’t letting everything go. Obviously, he needs to keep cars for his business, but also for when it becomes time to open a museum again.
The Auction
Loffert notes that the auction taking place at the end of this week will be the last time this museum will ever be seen in this state, and the last time the museum’s current collection will ever be in one place. So, if you like movie cars, this auction, which is being hosted by the Kraft Auction Service, might be the one to visit.
The fun kicks off on Friday, August 22, at 7 p.m. local time. The day one auction, the lots of which you can view here, is pretty much all road art and memorabilia. The car auction hits the day later on Saturday. Here are some of my favorite highlights:
Dominic Toretto’s 1970 Dodge Charger R/T From Fast & Furious
This one is a real movie car! From the auction:
This car was used in both Fast & Furious 4 and the beginning of 5. Car has a completely stripped interior with an added roll cage, and racing instrument cluster. Interior door panels and other panels have been replaced with stamped metal. The blower and manual slap stick shifter is just cosmetic. Car has multiple stickers and paint marker numbers #1.8 stunt presumably for the identification of a stunt vehicle for the movies. Comes with the COA.Motor: 440 cu in V8Transmission: Automatic
Custom Built SpongeBob 1970 Jet Boat
Amazingly, this is a real functional vehicle, from the listing:
This boat car was built to replicate the Lego SpongeBob Boatmobile, and is fully street legal. Features a classic ’70s / very SpongeBob color paint job, and comes with the SpongeBob and Patrick plushies and Lego kit.
Motor: Porsche 911 Air Cooled 991cc 2.0L.
Transmission: 4-Speed Manual.
Custom F-16 front landing gear.
2016 Ghostbusters Ecto-1 1984 Cadillac Fleetwood Hearse
This one is another real movie car:
This car is 1 of 4 made and used in the 2016 Ghostbusters. Comes with all the original movie prop add ons like the Ghost Box, siren, flashing light, and more details.
Motor: 368 cu in V8
Lightning Hybrids LH4 Concept
This car is pretty wild. It’s actually the concept car for what was supposed to be a hybrid-hydraulic car, from Motor Authority in 2009:
A company born out of Colorado is planning to launch an advanced hybrid sports saloon that will eventually compete in the multi-million dollar Automotive X-Prize competition to successfully build and market a 100mpg vehicle. The first prototypes are currently in development but a concept version of the vehicle was unveiled today at the Denver Auto Show.
The company behind the new hybrid concept is Lightning Hybrids, which plans to use a relatively unique hydraulic hybrid system to power its car. Dubbed the LH4, the sporty saloon concept features a 240hp (179kW) powertrain composed of a 90hp (67kW) twin-stroke biodiesel engine mated to a 150hp (112kW) hydraulic system.
Lightning Hybrids claims the LH4 will have a fuel economy of 100mpg yet still be able to accelerate from 0-60mph in less than six seconds. Part of its prowess in efficiency comes from a super-slippery profile measuring in at just 0.20Cd. Other key elements of its design include cylinder deactivation technology, no transmission, and 100% brake energy regeneration.
This car does not have that unique powertrain. Instead, it has the dashboard and drivetrain of a 2012 Mazda Miata NC. Apparently, this car was used in the film The Power of Few.
Bidding is already pretty high on some of these cars. The auction hasn’t even started, yet the screen-used Dodge Charger from Fast & Furious is already at $20,000. The A-Team van is currently at $32,000, even though it isn’t a screen-used car.
Sadly, as I indicated above, the museum is already closed, at least for the foreseeable future. Either way, once Loffert builds his new museum, these cars won’t be there. Kraft Auctions says that you can participate in the auction in person, via call, or online. If you participate in person, not only do you get to see the museum in its current form one last time, but the buyer’s premium is only 10 percent. If you bid for vehicles online, the premium rises to 15 percent.
Rodz & Bodz might not have been around for a long time. Heck, it didn’t even reach legend status like the Klairmont or the National Motorcycle Museum, but it’s always sad to see any museum shut its doors. We hope that Loffert is able to pull through one more time and reopen his museum.
Mercedes, you lead your lambs to slaughter. I was all over this auction, and it is complete and utter garbage and arbitrary. Absolutely the worst engagement and user interface, terrible real time notifications and completely maddening on the buyers perspective. I appreciate the heads up and was so stoked to bid on a number of things… COMPLETE WOMP WOMP. :/
The Mirthmobile aka AMC Pacer doesn’t look right in my opinion.
In nearly every movie scene during Wayne’s World, it shows a 76 without the side trim, the correct seats, a soda dispenser, a cup dispenser, and smaller flames on the passenger side.
All of these features are absent. Either this is a stunt car, a promotional car, or used to mock up the actual car.
It is very cool and my partner is onboard with potentially bidding, but it just doesn’t sit right without paperwork and/or a picture or video of a scene from the movie showing this car.
An aside, finding a blue driver side door panel would be tough.
Agree! See: https://waynesworld.fandom.com/wiki/Mirthmobile
Probably doesn’t even have the licorice rope dispenser.
Perhaps the Autopian could do an article on the auto/motorcycle museums that are still open?
I’m all for this idea but certain staff members won’t be able to name drop or feel like a D list celebrity so its not going to work for them.
I cover those when I find them!
https://www.theautopian.com/i-found-a-secret-car-museum-with-an-incredible-collection-of-entirely-ordinary-cars/
Train museums, too:
https://www.theautopian.com/this-incredible-train-museum-has-a-rockstar-lineup-of-railroad-history-you-wont-see-anywhere-else/
Sadly, I haven’t had as much time to dive into new museums this year, only visiting the ones I’ve been to already, while being sad that many museums are closing before I can ever step through their doors.