Got the Fall 2006 "On Solid Ground" in the mailbox today. There is a very interesting 3 page article (on p.14), with pictures, entited "Is this Corvette Number Two?", written by Ken Amrick. The subject is a bare body, with no frame, tage or title, speculated to have been removed from vehicle 3951 on May 1955. Opinions?
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And it's 002 because ???????????? *NM*
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Re: And it's 002 because ????????????
Loren L., as you KNOW I have undisputed evidence, A Chevrolet Engineering Work Order with pictures and a movie, of the BURNING of the # 2 body as a burn test at the GM milford Proving Grounds.
The 002 BODY WAS destroyed..............!!!
I'm off to the Woodward Cruise so I will follow this thread next week.
ArtComment
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Re: And it's 002 because ????????????
I thought it was the Motorama (show) body that was burned?Comment
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Re: And it's 002 because ????????????
LL / LS
As I read John Amgwerts chronology of documents the Motorama car was destroyed at the Proving grounds..in November 1953.
Production car VIN #002 assigned tracking #3951 was rebuilt as EX122...in 1954...and later sold to Russ Sanders in 1956..before the scheduled scrap date of 7/57.
Am I misreading the report and the documents?Comment
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Re: And it's 002 because ????????????
Amgwert goes on to say that car 3951 / VIN 002 was rebodied in about May 1955 but does not say where the original body went.
Could it be the Illinois Corvette body being discussed?
Interesting!Comment
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Art had the answer
NO! Believe Art it was burned!
KevinComment
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Motorama car vs. production car VIN# 002
Kevin..I have no stake in this either way..but as I read what appears to be a comprehensive chronology of the U.S Motorama car and separately the VIN # 002 car reported by John Amgwert which include's the burn test documents..( probably supplied by Art..for the article back then )
I read the article by John Amgwert..to clearly state that the Motorama body was test burned at the Proving Grounds In 1953...and includes the documentary evidance to support it.
However..the article goes on to separately report that production car VIN# 002 was rebodied in 'about May 1955'
Please read John's article..and let me know how you interpret the total report.
Maybe I am mistaken..but that is how I read it.Comment
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Re: Motorama car vs. production car VIN# 002
Joe,
I don't have that article but I have heard Art tell this story several times. His version of the story and his documentation leads me to believe he is correct. I'll wait till he returns from Woodward and ads to this post before I open my mouth any more.:) The whole EX 122 smells fishy to me, I saw the car at Flint.
KevinComment
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Art, it was the Motorama car that did the
burn test.
Start with this: IF this is a 1953, it is now 53 years old. Where has this body been? Why, if this gentleman has owned this since the 1980's, does he wait until 2006 to start asking questions about it? Why didn't he immediately go to Roger Wiliams and say "Who did you buy this body from?"?
My question was a simple one: what is it that connects this body to 002?
A bunch of your "clues" do NOT stand up - 002 did not get holes in the dessicant box - WO 19013-48 is titled Install License Box Moisture Absorbers in ENGINEERING Corvettes. Doesn't sound like a free pass for #3951 to me.......
Tell me why #2? Shoot for the moon, claim #1!!! Of course, according
ti the 53/5 Registry, #9, 10, 20, 23, 28 and 29 are also missing (according to my last info).
The FIRST time I heard this story included the part where Ralph, when he bought the bodies, was SHOWN the VIN tag for 002. The SECOND time I heard this story, it included the recital where ???/Ralph had taken the vinyl off the dash piece and found, in red crayon, the #'s "002"! But for whatever reason, that part was NOT included in the purchase of the body.
Now if your personal bulls__t alarm has not sounded by now, give me a call. I'm putting together a limited partnership for an ocean marina located in Wikieup, AZ that will make you a fortune.
Try to remember that this is the magazine that first paid tribute to EX-122 as the "Motorama" car and allowed it to be displayed and "honored" with the V8 still aboard. I guess it helped that Kerbeck was a "sponsor".Comment
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Re: Motorama car vs. production car VIN# 002
Kevin
Kent posted the website in a post above that links to the John Amgwert article. It includes the Engineering documents that clearly show the disposition of the Motorama body being burn tested and destroyed...at the proving grounds
It goes on to discuss VIN # 002..I think you will find it interesting. I am not disputing Art whatsoever..he is correct about the motorama car being destroyed.
However..1953 production Corvette VIN # 002 is a separate case and according to the same article..became the EX122 car and was rebodied in 1955..long after the Motorama car was destroyed.
I don't know the owner of the Illinois 53 body being discussed nor any of its history..I am just reading John's article...
It seems to me that the Motorama car and production Corvette VIN# 002 are clearly two different cars.
Mauri Rose is reported in the article to have tested the VIN# 002 car to make it road worthy which according to Amgwert was assigned tracking #3951 and Rose suggested 20 some improvements. It goes on to say the car was later rebodied in 1955...but does not say what happened to the original body.
Joe
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Re: #2 1953 Corvette Found In Illinois rumor??
Here's the text of the article (sans pictures):
Could it be?
Can it be?
Would it be?
Is This Corvette Number Two?
by Ken Amrick
About 20 years ago, a dealer in order Corvettes, Ralph Montagnese purchased two '53 Corvette bodies from another Corvette dealer, Roger Williams. Shortly after getting the bodies, Ralph contacted Pete Wilzbach, who had just purchased a '54 Corvette to restore, and offered to sell him one of the bodies.
After Ralph showed him all the features that made it likely to be one of the first 25 Corvettes, Pete purchased the older of the two bodies with plans of just keeping it in his shop. There was no serial number tag or title for it, and it was mounted on a non Corvette chassis. The body became a static display in his shop, as Pete accumulated two other 1953 Corvettes (#095 & #225). But, when he began to compare them to the early '53 body, he saw a number of things that appeared very odd. It wasn't until 2001 though, after re-reading John Amgwerts' NCRS article from 1993 entitled "The Earliest Corvettes", that it occurred to him that this could be the body from #002.
Historical Data:
GM records indicate that #002 became an engineering test vehicle and was assigned #3951. A Chevrolet Work Order on October 26, 1953 directed engineering to install an experimental V-8 engine into #3951 to determine and facilitate design problems. A non-running mock up was made and notes were written on the body explaining the changes needed to have a V-8 in production '55s. Some items noted were the inner fender rework to relocate the battery, movement of the steering column to clear the exhaust manifold, and modification in the chassis frame rail to clear the fuel pump.
By the end of 1953, car #3951 (production #002) was being totally rebuilt with a running V-8 engine. More than 24 work orders were issued. Among them were work orders for a new cooling system, a 12 volt electrical system, new powerglide, and a new exhaust.
Engineering still used the car through 1954 as car #3951 was used in engine cooling tests and brake fade tests. The first electric wiper motor was installed and tested on this car and it was also the first Corvette to test a fresh-air heater system.
A new body was installed on #3951 in about May of 1955 when the car was rebuilt again for ride development. It was thought that the body of #3951 (production #002) that was removed from it's chassis in May, 1995, is the Corvette body that is the subject of the article.
Some Unusual Features Of This Corvette Body
Very Early Car?
1. Extremely crude fiberglass finish, expecially in trunk and an area behind seats.
2. One piece floor - estimated first 12 cars only. Then they were cut in 3 pictures for easier fit.
3. No dessicant box holes in license plate cove. Very first cars had them put in by work order, but #002 was already in engineering for V-8 engine modifications.
4. No drain holes in gas filler box.
Pre - #003?
5. Door skins rivited to door frame - 3 aluminum rivets at bottom - ground down before paint.
6. Large "trap doors" under seats made of aluminum and riveted in place to close opening.
7. Brake pedal arm is made differenty than any other Corvettes.
8. Emergency brake is mounted differently than other Corvettes.
9. Structure of rear deck cover is different than other Corvettes.
Photo: Gas filler box has no drain holes
Photo: Floor area showing the aluminum trap door under the driver seat.
#3951 Work Orders?
10. Right side inner fender reworked with factory type materials to allow fit of 12V battery.
11. Left side inner fender reworked w/ factory type materials to allow steering gear fit with V-8.
12. Wiring harness has crude 12V components - hand-scribed 12V on flasher unit - All wires are yellow-cloth wrapped with no color coding.
13. Odd radiator support. Angle iron fabrication w/ multiple holes. Radiator angle testing?
14. Many sets of holes indicate multiple placements of heater motor and hoses at firewall.
15. Holes present for both vacuum and electric type motors on the upper middle of firewall.
Photo: Right side inner fender showing the change to accomodate the battery.
Photo: Left side inner fender showing indent where the steering box was moved over. The cut in it was probably to access the A arm behind it. Note the unusual wiring.
Photo: Right side firewall showing multiple heater hose holes.
Photo: Upper firewall showing holes for both vacuum and electric wiper motors.
New Exhaust Testing?
16. Normal exhaust holes were covered w/ factory type materials.
17. Horizonal lips for normal 1953 rear bumpers were ground off and smooth finished.
18. Evidence of exhaust holes cut in rear fenders where '56 style exhausts were cut.
19. Crude cuts where the exhaust pipes would have changed routing from original exhaust holes to the 1956 type holes.
20. It is possible that the trap doors under the seats and the square openings on the trunk sides had something to do with the new exhaust testing.
In conclusion, if anyone has anything to add to the information gathered so far about this early Corvette body, please contact the owner, Pete Wilzbach at peterwilzbach@msn.com. He would love to hear of any past history of the car's ownership, or any bit or piece of information that members can report about this car.
Peter Wilzbach supplied the photos and information for this story.Comment
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