$1M offered for James Dean death car

Whoever actually owns and kept the car from public view has my full support.
Thats just a 3 ring circus to put it on display for money right after the man was killed and his passenger maimed for life.
Very hard hearted.

Eventually, when JD's close friends and family have passed on, it would be cool to restore the car back to it's original glory.
Personally, I'd love to experience that car an hour BEFORE the Ford hit it...not view it as a battered aluminium coffin.

Just putting it on display as a macabre curiosity will never be cool.

 

(Showing my ignorance a bit here...) There was a passenger? I didn't know that. Who was he/she?

I agree with the above sentiments, however. Our culture is too obsessed with death for its own good. However, didn't Germ have the hearse in the photographs? He should sell them that!

 

Either way, I know the car will never be seen by the general public again so believe what feels right..."

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No, I just want to know/believe what's true. I wouldn't doubt it in retrospect, I've seen GB say some things that I know were FOS, even to the point I was kind of embarrassed "for" him.

I know one thing, if you seen the car & title, that's cool as hell and I wish I could. Call it wrong, macabre, or whatever, but I'd love to stand and ogle it. I've done many late model rebuilders people have died in, what happened to the people isn't the part I'm interested in, I've always been interested in the forces it took to do the damage, where it bent & buckled,etc., and how to reverse it or build one so it doesn't happen again, or as bad.

You learn something every day....

Thanks

Brian

(ps: I was about 25' away, but wasn't looking for any rolling eyes... )

 

Rolf Wütherich...Deans mechanic was thrown from the car and had some serious injuries.

 

Yeah, and then when it's trash, they send it over here to PA for a landfill.

 

Damn Ryan!!! Are you a freaking automotive JEDI??? That is a fucking incredible story,I hope that it is true......shit,I BELIEVE IT!!!

 

Pack it around the country and let everone see what having more money than sense might do to you.
Mesmerized by death? Well whats up with all the skulls and death/satanic/Nazi stuff that is popular amongst some of our circles?

 

Ryan I will believe you long before I do any of others who claim this or that and I dont know you any more than you know me!!!!. BTW anyone think this could be what is being called "Phishing" scam,these people offer up some big flow to get a look see/face to face with the owner and then the car gets "gone", stolen, five finger'd!!!!!!

 

Well, possibly "Bi" but thats another story. Ryan-you actually saw the car!!! What exactly did it look like and how was it stored? Its a shame it cant be somewhere where people can go and see the car. Whats gonna happen to it when the current owner kicks the bucket though?
-Dean

 

Could have been Jack(can't remember his last name)from Paul Russell Cars in Essex.He was doing up a Spyder back about 15+ years ago and claimed that's what the transaxle was.He was a pretty straight up guy so I would think he was telling the truth.

 

I kind of dout it. If you've ever gone to the volo auto museum, thay have some really unique cars. I've been ther and the place is pretty huge, with over two hundred cars.Doesnt seem like the typeof place to pull that shit. Just to high profile.
On another note, I dont trust a word from barris. He is a known bullshit artist!The guy was sued over selling a fake Bob falfa '55 calling it the original. What a fuckin worm.

 

I'd like to see the car myself...i can't explain why..i just do.

 

iam good friends with dick dean long time barris friend i'll ask him about the car he worked for barris in the 50s he might have some knowledge about it .billy

 

OK, I know it was James Deans car but it’s a Porsche.....

If it was a hard-core hot rod I would understand the interest


I don’t understand the thing about celebrity cars. I don’t care who owned it, only about who built it. So an original Porsche is not interesting for me even if Dean owned it.

 

I believe that Jimmy Hoffa knows the "real" story.

 

It's a 50's car. Built to spec for road racing...but licenced for the street.
Some of us here like road performance as much or more than Drag strip performance. It relates better to actual street driving too.

Besides...if an original 50's Porsche with handling beyond your capabilities on very skinny bias plies AND James Dean don't interest you...why did you bother to read and reply?

I'd like to change the VIN and rebuild it myself...then soup the "Lil' Bastard" up and piss off the Porsche purists!!!!

 

Here we go...now everyone will know. Yeah right! Should be interesting though. This is off the James Dean web site.

NEWS:

“The Truth Behind James Dean’s Car” airs next month

08-26-2005

Premiering on the National Geographic Channel on Sept. 29 is “The Truth Behind James Dean’s Car,” an investigative 60-minute program that explores the science behind the tragic crash that took the life of Hollywood icon James Dean on Sept. 30, 1955. The program will air across the globe, just in time for the 50th anniversary of Dean’s death. Encore presentations of the show will air on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.

Dean’s passion for racing was legendary. His vehicle collection and racing career brought excitement to his life, but is also speculated as contributing to his tragic death. He drove how he lived… fast.

En route to compete in a race in Salinas, California, Dean was killed in a highway accident. After his death, he was nominated for two Academy Awards, for his performances in "East of Eden" and "Giant." Although he only made three films, they were made in just over one year's time.

The introspective Zig Zag Productions documentary addresses questions that have been left unanswered for 50 years. How fast was Dean going in his Porsche Spyder in Cholame, California on that tragic day? Was his “recklessness” the cause of the crash? Through accounts from close friends of Dean, family members, Dean’s cousin and estate executor Marcus Winslow, crash witnesses and accident investigators, “The Truth Behind James Dean’s Car” attempts to shed light onto these enduring questions.

Don Dooley, the only living witness to the crash, elaborates on his claim that Dean was not behind the wheel of the Porsche at the time of the accident. In the program, Dooley’s claim is investigated using sophisticated technology. Accounts from former Highway Patrol Officers Ernie Tripke and Ron Nelson, two of the original crash investigators, will be dissected and analyzed in an attempt to answer questions and reveal the truth behind the tragic accident.

Catch “The Truth Behind James Dean’s Car” on the National Geographic Channel September 29, 30 and Oct. 1. Find out what time it airs in your viewing area at www.nationalgeographic.com/channel/.

 

A few months ago there was a show very similar on Dean's car. Interviewed the same people, had computer generated re-inactment, determined the speed, etc. Barris was interviewed a lot as I recall. I can't remember where I saw it, but I think it was discussed here (not sure though).

 

I found it. One Milliion Dollars, please!

 

You're right,i saw this too,this National Geographic thing might be the same show .
I assume this one is all new ?
Hopefully,if it is, they'll leave Barris out of it.
I will be watching it.

 

From what I have read the car did not remain intact, but was broken up. Engine and trans going one place other parts sold off and some crushed. Pretty difficult to gather it all up again and put it back together. The musuem is probably better off trying to get what few pieces they can and using them to build a replica.

 

Even though it was ripped apart, there was still a shell left behind (mangled body/chassis)-enough to be called a car I guess. Have you guys seen a map of where he crashed? The road design was crap! Turnupseed drove right across Dean's lane. Surprised he never got any attention for being at fault.
-Dean

 

Better yet, I've been there in the flesh....

 

I've got a book that I bought in the '50's. Sports Car Specials, 1958. In the book someone builds a twin engined car. One in front and one in back. One was stated as being removed from the Dean car. Thats where it was in '56 or 7.

 

.......actually, I own the car and had it rebuilt to 1985 944 specs. A few years ago, I had Grimlock touch up the original name and pinstriping on it as per the photos....

 

The cars body was destroyed from what I saw and read , but the last I knew of the chassis , it was restored by the burgeoning car restorer j. Geils
. yes that guy.That was about ten years ago though.swaZZie

 

What car is this one?

 

Probably just another Spyder he's checking out at the Porsche dealership or the track. That car has a driver's side racing windshield while Dean's had a low, full-length one.
-Dean