Is it common knowege where James Dean's Porsche 356 Speedster is?

I think $1 million is a small fraction of what that car would sell for, if it still exists. It could well be one of the most valuable cars in the world, probably in McQueen Speedster territory and maybe even more. (Remember the 1970 911S from the film LeMans sold for $1M+, and that wasn't a Speedster or McQueen's personal car...)

AFAIK, though, it hasn't been located. It's chassis #80126, a white/black, 1500 "Super", the one shown in my profile picture. It was the first 1500 S delivered. Dean traded it plus $3500 on the $6500 550 Spyder, then his friend Lew Bracker went to Competition Motors and traded in his 1500 "Normal" Speedster for the ex-Dean 1500 "Super". The Super engine was a rare and hot item at that point and was swapped into another car, and according to Lee Raskin (who has studied Dean and his racing probably more than anybody...) Bracker drove #80126 as an everyday car before trading it in on a black Carrera Speedster. After that, #80126 went onto the used car lot and was probably bought by someone for a song, because the celebrity provenance wasn't a big deal back then and probably wasn't even tracked or mentioned.

Bruce Meyer never owned Dean's car. He bought McQueen's '58 Speedster and sold it back to McQueen in the '70s. Now Chad McQueen owns it.

If the Dean car turned up, I suppose someone could inspect the body and try to compare it to period photos, Porsche stamped the number all over the place on these cars, so it would be fairly difficult (IMHO) to replicate. For example, the first 200 or so Speedsters had individually numbered top frames and a unique design. Then the number was stamped into the frame in the front boot, and the last three digits (usually) were stamped into the inner door frames and front and rear deck lids. I doubt the engine and car both survived, and it's possible neither did. The early Hirth roller bearing 1500 Supers tended to fail early and often, and Dean blew an engine at one of his races. Period photos show it being pretty trashed, and the cars weren't worth anything till the 1980s. The authentication required would be immense. I believe Lee offered a $25K reward for information leading to the opportunity to purchase the car many years ago, and that resulted in no leads.

The 550 Spyder and controversy around it was probably a lot more interesting at the time, plus those were always extremely rare and exotic.

Before the Speedster, Dean had a red MG, which was his first sports car and which never seems to have been found or mentioned. I would guess that one was also lost to history and may not exist anymore.

 

Chad McQueen with his dad's Speedster when I visited him a while back.

Freeman
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That was an interesting read...thanks.

 

Last McQueen personally ordered car Porsche Turbo coming up at Mecum Monterey next Saturday the 14 th. $$$$$$???. Be interesting. I would think that if the Speedster being a one owner in family original ownership ride were ever to pop up for sale could easily match or bring more then the 275 GTB 4 Cam multi owner roof off and on from last year. Doubt it will happen any time in the future knowing reported CM net worth reputed to be 45-50 Mill + and growing every year with the dead celebrity licensing + other residual Steve McQueen estate assets and investment income continuing to mount up.

 

Where is this car now..or it's parts like engine etc to be exact? Rumors said that the car still exists.. But i imagine this is a repeatable story again and again without results.

 

Reminds me of this excellent book!
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Good ghost story here, although crappy video quality:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0S3GqfJ1jQ

The 550 was written off by the insurance company, and bought by William Eschrich for $2500. Eschrich removed the engine and transaxle, then sold the rest to George Barris. Supposedly the chassis then disappeared. Lee Raskin tends to paint Barris as a bit of a self-serving blowhard (see "James Dean At Speed" by Raskin), so what happened to the chassis is still a matter of controversy.

I recall some posts on FChat to the effect that a few people know where the wrecked 550 Spyder body is.

 

The book looks interesting. From a quick search on ebay i could find something. Do you know from where i can buy the book?

Thanks in advance.

Thank you for mention the above. Interesting!

 

From Wikipedia:


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_James_Dean

Although the legendary "Little Bastard" seemingly has disappeared from sight, Historic Auto Attractions in Roscoe, IL claims to have an original piece of Dean's Spyder on display (a small chunk of aluminum, a few square inches in size) that was actually pried off and stolen from an area near the broken windscreen while the Spyder was being stored in the Cholame Garage following the accident. Also, in 2005, for the 50th Anniversary of James Dean's death, the Volo Auto Museum in Volo, IL announced they were displaying what was purported to be the "Little Bastard's" passenger door. Volo and George Barris offered $1 million to anyone who could prove that they owned the remains of the "Little Bastard". No one came forth to claim the prize.



The 4-Cam Porsche engine (#90059) along with the original California Owner's Registration (aka CA Pink Slip) listing the engine number is still in the possession of the family of the late Dr. Eschrich. The Porsche's transaxle assembly (#10046), is currently owned by Porsche collector and restorer, Jack Styles in Massachusetts. Historian and author Lee Raskin originally documented and published all the serial numbers (VINs) for Dean's Porsche Spyder (chassis, engine, transmission); as well as for his 356 Super Speedster. To date, neither of Dean's Porsches have been located.


A piece of James Dean's Spyder? http://entertainment.ha.com/itm/movie-tv-memorabilia/memorabilia/piece-of-james-dean-s-porsche-550-spyder-this-belt-buckle-sized-piece-of-the-fragile-aluminum-body-and-glass-fragment-were/a/634-24470.s


And....On Dean's Speedster:

http://forum.porsche356registry.org/viewtopic.php?f=topic&t=23815
http://www.my356speedster.com/?contentid=16&id=118



Freeman

 

My guess (and it really is just that), is that the Spyder still exists and is simply being kept out of view -- Dean's death was a big deal 60 years ago, and the car was featured in newspaper headlines. Whether it was stolen off Barris' truck or the theft was faked as a publicity stunt, it was a significant car even back then. There's no way it would have been scrapped.

The Speedster... I don't know. It could very well be gone, given its relative lack of fame and value at the time. Dean probably owned it less than six months, and drove the hell out of it. Given the Internet and the frankly staggering amount of expertise over at the 356 Registry, I would be stunned if it was parked somewhere and no one knew about it today. Anyone with Google can find out that #80126 was the James Dean car. Even the engine would be quite a find.

But, the 60th anniversary of the crash at Cholame is coming up next month, and none of the guys who might know are getting any younger. Maybe we'll learn something.

 

more history .... eating this up...

 

Amazon has it.

Just be aware that once you start to read it you won't be able to put it down until you finish.

The Lost Spyder: C.S. Michael: 9780983306108: Amazon.com: Books

 

I wonder why the cover shows a 550A kit car and not Dean's 550RS?

Freeman

 

If you're referring to the book I recommended, its not about Deans car. I should have clarified that. Apologies.

 

Thanks for the clarification!

Freeman

 

I owned a 55 speedster #80426, 300 cars exactly after James Dean's. I couldn't help but feel a little like James Dean while driving it, or thinking what he thought of the car. Mine was red and not white though

 

They're very evocative cars. When I bought mine, it was supposed to have been a black/black car, but those are very rare and a little research turned up that it was white/black, which looked good to me, so we put it back to factory colors/spec.

I had expected it to be a little "too vintage" to actually drive, more of a bucket list/poster car that I had to buy. But when you're underway and the car's (finally...) warmed up, I sometimes forget that it's 60 years old. It definitely has a racer vibe to it and makes you want to throw it into corners. They're simple, robust, purposeful cars and feel like it.

I haven't driven anything else that really comes close. I wish I could have bought and driven mine back in 1956 when it was one of the faster cars on the road, but the cool factor and mechanical honesty makes up for it many times over. Awesome machines.

That said, if I could trade it and $3500 for a 550 Spyder, I'd have to consider...
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Yeah yeah yeah, now stop jabbering and taking photos and offer a ride to that female admirer!

 

Jon, do you know anyone who owns a 550 spyder? I know of people who own them. I've always wanted to go for a ride. Even just to sit in one.

 

I don't know anyone who has a one. But yes, absolutely, that would be my number one car to ride in.

 

I know this is an old post, and I'm probably wrong (I don't know much about cars), but is this the one? Is this Jimmy's Speedster?
My 356 Speedster

 

Good morning!

I am still a new user and busy scanning the threads, which can take a while!
There is just so much valuable information to digest.

I spoke to a friend, whose uncle was in James' car during the accident. Her aunt refuses to look into anything related to the car because her husband died in a similar accident later and concluded that there is a spell on this event. Apparently people who bought parts also weren't blessed with luck ever since.

If I understood all that correctly...

I told the niece that there is/was a finder's fee for the whereabouts of the car. But no luck.
I may try again, if you have a better strategy. Not that the widow of Rolf necessarily knows where the wreck is.

 

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This is the real 550 on tour for the CHP. Kind of pieced back together. front rim is bent badly matches some of my other pictures. I have been looking for the speedster for 25 plus years. I heard a rumor its in the bay area.....grain of salt here.

 

I read or watched something about this a few years ago. I believe the car had the engine and transmission removed and were in other cars and the current owner just keeps it locked up. But they never said where.

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