Since 2007, the Abarth Works Museum has been located at the outskirts of Lier, Antwerp. Many classic car lovers have found their way to the Industriestraat 1 in Lier, the old industrial park of the city. Recently, however, some changes have been made, and a pop-up version of the Abarth Works Museum has been established! So for the following 2 years, you can visit the exceptional collection of classic cars at Industriestaat 5A in Lier. Only a few blocks away from the old building!

Joined forces require joined buildings

As Guy Moerenhout and his stepson Jeroen Nys put their heads together and combined forces, they soon came to the realisation that the old building had reached its limits. As Moerenhout’s extraordinary collection has grown to over 300 cars, lack of space and facilities soon became undeniable. That’s when plans were made to give the concept a whole new look.

Of course, in order to build a complete new home for the classic car enthusiast, a temporary move proved to be necessary. The search for a rental place would seem a challenge, as the amount of cars that were looking for a roof over their heads is almost disproportional. But luckily Jeroen & Guy found a place only 500 metres from the old one. And as they joined forces to create a new experience for the Abarth Works Museum, two buildings joined forces in order to hoist the collection: Luypaert and Antilope.

In Antilope, the entire museum collection is presented, including cars, car parts, library, vintage accessoires and the history of GMR (Guy Moerenhout Racing) in general. This is also the place where Guy Moerenhout sits at his desk and welcomes any guests to his holy temple. Soon, when it is allowed again, Carlo’s pop-up bar will open here, so you can have a tasty drink after a mind-blowing visit to the museum.

In Luypaert, a stock building across the street, the remaining part of Moerenhout’s collection is gathered, as well as some working spaces. The Abarth Works Museum has a team of professional classical car tenders, who need place and requirements in order to deliver tailor made work. That’s why they have a place at the second building just for them, so they can work on the ongoing projects in silence and complete concentration.

Moving day

Starting from October last year, the moving was led by stepson Eric Vlaisloir, which required a good pair of brains in order to orchestrate an unseen administration. Thousands of car parts, tools, equipment, furniture and so on had to be moved from one place to another. After a couple of months, when the most basic things were put in place at the rental buildings, the time had come to start moving cars.

Two men moving 300 cars, might be too much to handle, even for Guy Moerenhout! So after a shout-out to the GMR-team, a group of 20 fanatics gathered in front of the old building, taking instructions from organiser Eric Vlaisloir. In an astonishing record time, the GMR-team moved the entire collection from the old place to the new buildings. Thanks to the meticulous plan of marking every car with a section it should be moved to, in only 4 hours the deed was done. Miracles still exist, right?

Who let the kids out?

Moving Moerenhout’s classic car collection had proved to be a piece of cake (kind of). But in order to make the museum visit-proof, some cleaning had to be done. Fortunately, Mr. Guy could count on his beloved grandchildren and wife. In a half day of work, 3 girls, 2 boys and 1 grandmother had cleaned all the cars in the museum section!