Dr. Wm. Eschrich purchased the wrecked James Dean 550 Spyder from the All Auto Parts, a Burbank salvage yard in November, 1955. He took the engine, instruments, and most of the mechanical parts to use in his own FM sports racer, a Lotus MK IX -- and sent the carcass to a land dump. That is where George Barris found the Porsche 550 carcass and put it on display from 1957-1960. Photo of Wm. Eschrich's POTUS sports racer, 1956. Lee Raskin collection
This story is very much up for debate for a lot of people. I don’t really know or care about the details, but there are some crazy conspiracies out there… one based around the idea that Barris was selling something he didn’t have. The transaxle that recently sold sort of disproves this story in part anyhow…
@Ryan has likely traveled down this rabbit hole, already. Neat that Lee Raskin, a James Dean author has replied above. Doc Eschrich was a speed junkie. With modified boats, motorcycles, Jeeps, race cars, trucks, a Munce Jet, a Cadillac powered Wildfire & a 65 Corvette that he took to Bonneville with a friend's 300SL in 1962. Here's a photo of the Porsche powered Lotus MK IX, at track duties. Delete as you will. This thread is about a Ford, & Dean's Spyder. Of course, now spun out, upside down & completely HAMB hijacked.
My personal and legal opinion about Donald Turnupseed and his souped-up 1950 Ford Custom....His attorney told DT to keep his thoughts to himself at the Oct. 11th CA Inquest. DT stated, however, that he didn't see the Porsche coming before he turned left. Well, yes and no. He didn't see the Porsche right away...because he really wasn't looking ahead. Yes, JD's Porsche was travelling very fast -- perhaps between 85-90 mph. Forget what CHP Officer Nelson said about going only 55 mph. Forget about the computer analysis shown on the TV...they were only guessing what happened. Corporal Nelson had never seen a Porsche racing before...he could not imagine that it actually could go 130 mph in 4th gear....he had never seen a light-weight, all-aluminum sports car in a semi-head-on crash before. Never. The Porsche weighted 1300 lbs. The Ford Custom was a 3,000 lb. Bull..with JD and the Porsche Spyder being the light-weight Matador trying to side-step the charge. It didn't work. Yes, DT saw the Porsche...because he spiked his brakes twice laying down two sets of skids -- trying to stop while he was already across the center line and in the westbound lane -- turning very fast onto Rt. 41. The heavy Ford must have felt like a 'flexible flyer' while nearly up on two wheels at 50-60 mph! Bottom line: DT simply failed to yield to the right-a-way of an oncoming vehicle on a CA highway. If you or I had been DT...we would have been 'charged' by the CHP and the State's Attorney with at least a misdemeanor manslaughter...as a person was killed because of unintentional negligence. Keep in mind DT was a local...a Korean War Vet on the GI Bill at Cal Poly, with a pregnant wife waiting at home for him in Tulare. I believe that DT played a game every Friday as he drove as fast as he could after college was out...'to get the hell home.' He may have even been 'clocking' his elapse time as well? DT simply got a Free Pass from those 12 local jurors. DT's Ford...was totaled by his insurance carrier... and DT lost the right to remove his engine's speed equipment because of accepting the write-off. Like James Dean's 'Little Bastard,' DT's Ford's heavily bent frame and carcass -- simply disappeared from public sight. Photo: Comparison of the size of the 1950 Ford vs 1955 Porsche before the crash. Lee Raskin collection.
HealeyKid...you can't always believe what you read -- without fact checking the source. See: www.racingsportscars.com Ken Miles driver: 18.8.1956 Preliminary Paramount Ranch [FM+GM+HM] 159 Lotus Mark IX In entry list only Dr. Wm. F. Eschrich raced and finished 4th 19.8.1956 Paramount Ranch [S1.5] 159 Lotus Mark IX Listed in entry list only Dr. Wm. F. Eschrich raced and finished 3rd. Yes, Ken Miles was listed but DNS -- Did Not Start in either the Paramount Races. Dr. Wm. Eschrich actually raced and he finished 4th in the Prelim. and 3rd in the S1.5 litre race on 8-18 and 8-19-56. See: www.racingsportscar.com 18.8.1956 Preliminary Paramount Ranch [FM+GM+HM] 159 Lotus Mark IX Eschrich (driver) Dr. Wm. F. Eschrich (entrant) 4th 0/A. 19.8.1956 Paramount Ranch [S1.5] 159 Lotus Mark IX Eschrich (driver) Dr. Wm. F. Eschrich (entrant) 3rd 0/A. See photo below. I have written a lot about the legendary Ken Miles...especially in his early years racing the MG 'Flying Shingle' Special and then later with von Neumann's, Otto Zipper's and Vasek Polak's Porsche 550/RSK/RS60/61, respectfully. Bill Tibbetts photo of Dr. Wm. Eschrich racing his POTUS sports racer at Paramount Ranch, August 19, 1956.
Photo was taken by Jim Fleming at the Pebble Beach Road Races, April 22, 1956. Source James Dean On The Road To Salinas, 2015.
I don’t really care who’s “fault” it was… it was an accident. As for what happened to the car, there are three distinct forks in that road and no matter which one you go down, you find at least some 1/2 truths… I know where the transaxle came from… and that makes me think I know what happened to the rest of the wreckage and who has it now, but I don’t know it as fact…. And again, more 1/2 truths… To me, it’s meant to be a mystery.
Ryan...actually it is meant to be a Fact-Fiction Mystery. George Barris took most of the facts about his cobbled-up Porsche Spyder to his grave in Nov. 2015...after pulling another stunt involving the missing Porsche being hidden between two false walls in Washington State. His partner in crime is the Volo Auto Museum in Illinois...but nothing came of the $1 million dollar offer for info leading to the Porsche's discovery when the story fell apart because it was bogus to begin with. Nothing new there since 2015....
i saw the transaxle that recently sold along with a wrecked 550 in a shipping container in 2000. Owner thought it was the Dean car and got dean car money for it… but I *think* it was somehow debunked? I personally don’t believe Barris ever had the car, but I could be 100% wrong.
That comment makes ZERO sense, none whatsoever. A '50 Ford modified with a '51 hood to accommodate a larger engine? Really?
That thing that Barris dragged around, looks like he hung a sheet of aluminum on it and beat the snot out of it. Didn't even fake it to look like a door.
A 1950 Ford weighs 2999 pounds, thats 1 1/2 tons https://www.automobile-catalog.com/...-size_ford_2gen_custom_2-door_sedan/1950.html
I noticed both the weight error, and the misinformation about the hood change to accommodate a different engine. Not to be rude, but someone doing a piece on an incident like this needs to be factual and accurate if I'm going to take his words seriously. It is an interesting story and there is more information in this thread than I have read before. A bit of mystery behind what happened during the incident and in the aftermath. All makings of a good story.
Yeah… I’d think you’d have to be an actual car guy to really dive deep on this mystery and solve some of the conspiracy.
I'd think he switched to a '51 hood because he modified the front end and got rid of the bullet cutout in the middle of the '50 hood. Made it look a year newer, too.
To be honest, The same could be done to the wreck that killed Grandma and Grandpa 5 years ago. In any incident there is a sequence of events that lead to the moment. Checking the mail...not checking the mail....stopping for a cup of coffee or the wrong turn at Alburquerque. If you analyze any incident, you'll find some....HMMmmmm. Witness testimony is unreliable especially in the specifics. How many times have you heard, "That guy must have been going 90 when he passed us."? Was he really going 90? Another thing, How many times have you accelerated to very high speed to pass and then slow back down? I agree with the troopers when they say the wreck was probably at 50-55Mph. Does it matter? No. Turnupseed was in Dean's lane. Dean who was in a small low profile silver car (hard to see) was not noticed by Turnupseed until he was committed to the the turn. Dean was in a racecar and had been seen speeding earlier. As said, it was an accident. Both parties bear some responsibility. On the other hand, was either one really, I mean really at fault? The burden falls on Turnupseed but...consider the conditions. The Highway itself plays into this. I think the law got it right in 1955. Bad stretch of Highway...no margin for error. No fault.
Do we have any real info on the Turnipseed 50 Ford Coupe ?? In this picture I think I see the tops of 2 small air cleaners, the 51 Hood and 51 Headlight trim rings, Poss Pontiac side trim ?? with two tone paint. Was it powered by a hopped up Flattie or a OHV V8 ?? Can somebody help I.D the engine by the Oil Fill/Breather ??
The Jalopy Journal
