Yeah I love the vehicles of that era too!! No preconceived notions of what will and what won't work. Just about anything goes mentality. Steam, electric, gasoline, even wood-burning propulsion in cars. Was at a brass are show recently and saw a 1901 Maxwell that was really cool. Aviation was the same way too - ornithopters, monoplanes, biplanes, multi-wings etc. was an interesting time technologically.
I have been to The National Automobile Museum
http://www.automuseum.org/ a couple of times, back in the mid '90s. Quite the collection. a couple of the standout cars I remember are the original Thomas Flyer and Bill Harrah's Grand Cherokee fitted with a Ferarri V12 drivetrain but still utilizing the 4 wheel drive system (used so he could get to Tahoe in the winter).