Last discovered Cunningham LeMans Corvette sells at Amelia Island....

[Duke W.]

...to a most interesting buyer. I wonder how much the restoration will cost?

https://www.corvetteblogger.com/2021/05/24/video-briggs-cunningham-1960-corvette-sells-for-785k-at-rm-sothebys-amelia-island-auction/

Duke

[Michael G.]

Re: Last discovered Cunningham LeMans Corvette sells at Amelia Island....

Hard to tell Duke, from what’s been published. It sounds like the body is largely unusable. Moreover, after descriptions of the the racing accident, and 60 years of corrosion, who knows if what remains of the frame. I doubt the original engine exists. It’d be way easier and far cheaper (but almost sacrilegious) to just to buy a nice car, move the tags, and alter it to race livery. Many would choose that option.

Given that the Cunningham family bought it, that last option likely won’t happen, so a long (and detailed) effort to save what’s left could cost $200K or much more.

[Bill M.]

Re: Last discovered Cunningham LeMans Corvette sells at Amelia Island....

It would be great if the restoration of the car became a documented show on lets say Auto Biography . those 2 guys are great and hopefully we would see how and what was used to put the car back together. Or mabe in 2 years we will see it roll out having ben restored using all of the available original parts.

[Duke W.]

Re: Last discovered Cunningham LeMans Corvette sells at Amelia Island....

Hard to tell Duke, from what’s been published. It sounds like the body is largely unusable. Moreover, after descriptions of the the racing accident, and 60 years of corrosion, who knows if what remains of the frame. I doubt the original engine exists. It’d be way easier and far cheaper (but almost sacrilegious) to just to buy a nice car, move the tags, and alter it to race livery. Many would choose that option.

Given that the Cunningham family bought it, that last option likely won’t happen, so a long (and detailed) effort to save what’s left could cost $200K or much more.

I was thinking somewhere along those lines. IIRC the only VIN on C1s is the tag riveted to the steering column (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.). So you find a restorable '60 and use the steering column from the LeMans car and any other parts you can salvage like the HD brake and suspension hardware, if they're still there.

I recall a published comment by the late Bob Donner when he owned the last of the three original 1964 250 GTOs with the series 2 body. He was vintage racing it back in the seventies and I think into the eighties. A reporter asked him if he worried about the car getting wrecked. His answer was what he owned was a serial number (5575 GT) and a racing history, and even the worst wreck could be repaired for about $50K (back then).

That was quite a logical and pragmatic philosophy. The GTO was just a slick aerodynamic body on a "common" 250 GT chassis. In fact it was back in the eighties or nineties that a Swiss guy was reproducing GTOs by buying worn out 250 GTs, restoring the chassis/drivetrain, and fabricating new GTO bodies for them. He was mysteriously murdered, and I don't know if the assailant was ever caught.

Duke

[Mike M.]

Re: Last discovered Cunningham LeMans Corvette sells at Amelia Island....

c-1 frames had the vin derivative stamped on them. the early c-1's had the vin plate pan head screwed to the door post on drivers side then later c-1's had vin welded to the steering col mast jacket underwood. mike

[Sal C.]

Re: Last discovered Cunningham LeMans Corvette sells at Amelia Island....

Any thing short of the original body on the original frame is not the same car.

[Michael G.]

Re: Last discovered Cunningham LeMans Corvette sells at Amelia Island....

Any thing short of the original body on the original frame is not the same car.

[Sal C.]

Re: Last discovered Cunningham LeMans Corvette sells at Amelia Island....

Just my opinion. I have found that it mostly depends on what area of the car hobby that is being dealt with. For hard core enthusiasts a re- bodied Camaro is not looked upon kindly. A famous vintage drag car that is (restored) made up from one or two original body panels carries bad juju with it forever, and everyone will know about it. Maybe the Corvette hobby is more forgiving.

[Michael G.]

Re: Last discovered Cunningham LeMans Corvette sells at Amelia Island....

Not much different in Corvettes. There are all kind of people involved in Corvettes though, for many of them, its all about the money.

The problem is, there’s enough un-tapped value in the Cunningham car that those in the hobby for just the money would not hesitate to do whatever they deemed necessary, cost wise, to bring that car back to racing livery, so they could get maximum profit. If you doubt this, just consider the ownership battle that has already taken place, none of it about what was good for the provenance of the car. With the Cunningham family involved, I would hope that the restoration saves as much as possible of the old car, but who knows.

[Richard M.]

Re: Last discovered Cunningham LeMans Corvette sells at Amelia Island....

Coincidentally, Kevin and I spent some time on the phone yesterday about some L88/L89 dealer ordering data he's helping me with for a buddy.

We interacted a lot over the weekend. Auction speak, etc. He was also there with Lance Miller's #3 LeMans car.


So on the phone after the L8x discussion, I asked him about the upcoming #1 restoration. He said he's going to save as much as possible from the existing body. I recall he said the nose will likely need replacement and is looking for a original donor. Also one original door and maybe a original trunk iirc.

The frame vin and steering column welded on vin tag was verified long ago when Lance acquired the car, the sold to Kevin.

Remember the story, that Lance's dad Chip promised Kevin if he ever found the #1 car he'd pass it to him, this after Kevin restored the #3 car.

As we know, Chip sadly passed before #1 was found. Well, fullfilling his dad's dream, Lance did what Chip promised. Wow.
Chip was looking down helping his son fulfill the new quest(pun intended).

Here we are.

Rich

[Sal C.]

Re: Last discovered Cunningham LeMans Corvette sells at Amelia Island....

Bottom line remains. If that car isn't repaired and reused, it's worth nothing more than the car used to replace it. If not there is no legend to speak of. And what do you do with the actual car that was part of Corvette history? Throw it away? Destroy it? The money has to be spent to do it the right way, whatever it takes. Everyone will make out that way, Kevin, the Cunninghams, everyone. Otherwise all you have is a VIN tag that once ran around a track in France.

[Daniel S.]

Re: Last discovered Cunningham LeMans Corvette sells at Amelia Island....

There are plenty of well know rebodied L88s, race cars, ZL1 Camaros, COPO Camaros and other high performance dealer cars of the period. No need to share my opinion of the rebody process but it preserves a VIN/history. Rebodies have their spot in the hobby and market... it comes down to disclosure, photos of restoration, documentation and honesty to ensure the next owner is fully aware.

Dan

[Michael G.]

Re: Last discovered Cunningham LeMans Corvette sells at Amelia Island....

Rich,
Sounds like its in the right hands.

[Bob B.]

Re: Last discovered Cunningham LeMans Corvette sells at Amelia Island....

Don't tell that to the race car guys, at any given time we had 3 engines in the trailer. Body work even on 68 and newer race cars got changed darn near every year

Any thing short of the original body on the original frame is not the same car.

[Bob B.]

Re: Last discovered Cunningham LeMans Corvette sells at Amelia Island....

I was thinking somewhere along those lines. IIRC the only VIN on C1s is the tag riveted to the steering column (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.). So you find a restorable '60 and use the steering column from the LeMans car and any other parts you can salvage like the HD brake and suspension hardware, if they're still there.

I recall a published comment by the late Bob Donner when he owned the last of the three original 1964 250 GTOs with the series 2 body. He was vintage racing it back in the seventies and I think into the eighties. A reporter asked him if he worried about the car getting wrecked. His answer was what he owned was a serial number (5575 GT) and a racing history, and even the worst wreck could be repaired for about $50K (back then).

That was quite a logical and pragmatic philosophy. The GTO was just a slick aerodynamic body on a "common" 250 GT chassis. In fact it was back in the eighties or nineties that a Swiss guy was reproducing GTOs by buying worn out 250 GTs, restoring the chassis/drivetrain, and fabricating new GTO bodies for them. He was mysteriously murdered, and I don't know if the assailant was ever caught.

Duke

The same thing is rumored to have happened in So Cal in the 90's long story best not told