James Dean Porsche story- true or false?

[twin plugged targa]

My Boss recently told me a 2nd hand story of how James Dean's Porsche after crashing and killing him was rebuilt and then went on to have another crash killing someone else!.
The car was then totalled and the engine the only part which was salvageable. This was then put into another donor which then crashed killing someone else!.
IS there any truth to this story or is it just a 'shaggy dog story?'
rgds Ben

[MMARSH]

The car wasn't rebuilt. But the motor was used in another car that crashed and killed it's driver. the mangled wreck also fell off a display injuring someone. Do a search here on Pelican. It's been discussed several times.

[ejm914]

Stories about Deans car have been around forever but they are mostly Urban legend

[sundaypunch]

Speed channel just had the story in one of their "Autorotica" episodes last week. An hour about the history of the 550 Spyder and the Dean / Porsche relationship.

[Zeke]

So who used or installed the motor in another car? I speculated on another thread that it was Vasek Pollack.

[sundaypunch]

Susposedly George Barris bought the wreck and sold off some of the parts. The engine went to some Doctor that put it in his Spyder and got killed the first time he raced it.

[mjshira]

there was something on this on the speed channel recently, there seems to be a lot of different versions on it, I still don't think they know where the car finally ended up. From what I recall from the show, the car was sent to a show and didn't get returned (someone stole it)

James

[Racerbvd]

Here is some more info, true or not, still very interesting. I have been told that the tranny is in a South FL. car, same area where the car disappeared

http://www.qsl.net/w5www/dean.html

James Dean's Porsche
Friends told James Dean that the car was trouble when they saw it - a rare Silver Porsche Spyder, one of only 90 in 1955. Nicknamed "The Little Bastard," the car carried the iconic screen rebel to his grave on September 30, 1955.

After the accident, many fans refused to believe Dean was dead. A story circulated that he was still alive although terribly disfigured, and in true urban legend fashion this tale took on a life of its own.

I won't go into all the James Dean as a cult idol stuff except to say his mystique has staying power. For example, his tombstone was stolen twice in 1983, and in 1985 had to be replaced because of damage done to it by fans. Seems he was still the popular fellow despite having been dead for three decades.

After the tragedy, master car customizer George Barris bought the wreck for $2,500. When the wreck arrived at Barris' garage, the Porsche slipped and fell on one of the mechanics unloading it. The accident broke both of the mechanic's legs.

While Barris had bad feelings about the car when he first saw it, his suspicions were confirmed during a race at the Pomona Fair Grounds on October 24, 1956. Two physicians, Troy McHenry and William Eschrid, were both racing cars that had parts from the "Little Bastard." McHenry died when his car, which had the Porsche's engine installed, went out of control and hit a tree. Eschrid's car flipped over. Eschrid, who survived despite serious injuries, later said that the car suddenly locked up when he went into a curve.

The car's malevolent influence continued after the race: one kid trying to steal the Porsche's steering wheel slipped and gashed his arm. Barris reluctantly sold two of the car's tires to a young man; within a week, the man was nearly involved in a wreck when the two tires blew out simultaneously.

Feeling that the Porsche could be put to good use, Barris loaned the wrecked car to the California Highway Patrol for a touring display to illustrate the importance of automobile safety. Within days, the garage housing the Spyder burnt to the ground. With the exception of the "Little Bastard," every vehicle parked inside the garage was destroyed. When the car was put on exhibit in Sacramento, it fell from its display and broke a teenager's hip. George Barkuis, who was hauling the Spyder on a flatbed truck, was killed instantly when the Porsche fell on him after he was thrown from his truck in an accident.

The mishaps surrounding the car continued until 1960, when the Porsche was loaned out for a safety exhibit in Miami, Florida. When the exhibit was over, the wreckage, en route to Los Angeles on a truck, mysteriously vanished. To this day, the "Little Bastard's" whereabouts are unknown.

Sources:

AMC's Hollywood Ghost Stories television special

[john walker's workshop]

i see that the volo auto museum is offering a million bucks for the remains, wherever it is.

[304065]

Given the scarcity of four-cam parts I would think it entirely likely that parts from #130 are installed in more than one car of that vintage by now.

[herman maire]

Byron
cool story
man they shoulda straped that sucker down to stop it from falling on people.Damn possessed cars.
I would love to catch that on TV.

[SLO-BOB]

Ahhh, but there's more! Supposedly the scrap from the car the Arch Duke Ferdinand was assasinated in, went to a yard in Germany. You guessed it. The same yard that Porsche got lots of it's metals from.

So the whole thing supposedly starts waaaay earlier than the whole James Dean thing. I saw a show that linked about a dozen tragedies together and The James Dean Crash was the last of the series of KILLER METALS!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!