Ntl. Corvette Museum Sinkhole
#1
02-12-2014, 07:08 PM
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Posts: 4,779
Ntl. Corvette Museum Sinkhole
Update
The Nat'l Corvette Museum's car removal process began this past Monday, March 3rd at 9AM CT and will most likely take a few weeks. They have live webcams available on their website to watch the work + pictures of the cars as they are removed. The first car out will be the blue 2009 ZR1 followed by the red 1993 40th Anniversary and black 1962. The Museum plans on displaying all 8 cars "as-is", as they are recovered, now through August 3. Then they will be sent to GM where GM and Chevrolet will both manage and oversee the restorations.
To Recap
The morning of February 12th, 2014 a 40 foot wide by 25-30 feet deep sinkhole opened up directly beneath the floor in the sky dome area of the Museum, taking 8 rare and/or significant Corvettes into it. Six of the cars are owned by the Museum, on loan from private owners, and two are on loan from General Motors. The value of these cars is substantial; estimated to be around $1 Million.
**All pictures and videos are by National Corvette Museum.
1962 Corvette - Recovery photos page 3, post #29
1984 PPG Pace Car - Recovery photos page 4, post #39
1992 "1 Millionth" Corvette - Recovery photos page 4, post #37
1993 ASC ZR-1 Spyder - Recovery photos page 5, post #44 - On loan from GM; 1 of 12 designed by ASC and assembled on Corvette assembly line
1993 "40th Anniversary" Corvette - Recovery photos page 3, post #26
2001 Mallet Hammer Z06 - Recovery photos page 5, post #48
2009 "1.5 Millionth" Corvette - Recovery photos page 5, post #45
2009 ZR1 - Recovery photos page 3, post #22 - On loan from GM; THE early press photo car + possibly THE car displayed at Detroit Auto Show
A little bit about each of the 8 Corvettes
These are the Eight Corvettes that Fell into the Corvette Museum’s Sinkhole
The Nat'l Corvette Museum's car removal process began this past Monday, March 3rd at 9AM CT and will most likely take a few weeks. They have live webcams available on their website to watch the work + pictures of the cars as they are removed. The first car out will be the blue 2009 ZR1 followed by the red 1993 40th Anniversary and black 1962. The Museum plans on displaying all 8 cars "as-is", as they are recovered, now through August 3. Then they will be sent to GM where GM and Chevrolet will both manage and oversee the restorations.
To Recap
The morning of February 12th, 2014 a 40 foot wide by 25-30 feet deep sinkhole opened up directly beneath the floor in the sky dome area of the Museum, taking 8 rare and/or significant Corvettes into it. Six of the cars are owned by the Museum, on loan from private owners, and two are on loan from General Motors. The value of these cars is substantial; estimated to be around $1 Million.
**All pictures and videos are by National Corvette Museum.
1962 Corvette - Recovery photos page 3, post #29 1984 PPG Pace Car - Recovery photos page 4, post #39 1992 "1 Millionth" Corvette - Recovery photos page 4, post #37 1993 ASC ZR-1 Spyder - Recovery photos page 5, post #44 - On loan from GM; 1 of 12 designed by ASC and assembled on Corvette assembly line 1993 "40th Anniversary" Corvette - Recovery photos page 3, post #26 2001 Mallet Hammer Z06 - Recovery photos page 5, post #48 2009 "1.5 Millionth" Corvette - Recovery photos page 5, post #45 2009 ZR1 - Recovery photos page 3, post #22 - On loan from GM; THE early press photo car + possibly THE car displayed at Detroit Auto ShowA little bit about each of the 8 Corvettes
These are the Eight Corvettes that Fell into the Corvette Museum’s Sinkhole
Last edited by 06mistreSS; 01-24-2015 at 02:20 PM.
#2
02-12-2014, 07:22 PM
This is sad
! I live in Kentucky and everyone is talking about it here.The one that I wish wasn't in it is the 62! I could care less about the new ones there a dime a dozen but the old one.....there hard to come by!
! I live in Kentucky and everyone is talking about it here.The one that I wish wasn't in it is the 62! I could care less about the new ones there a dime a dozen but the old one.....there hard to come by!
Last edited by Shelbo Mustang; 02-13-2014 at 07:39 PM.
#6
02-12-2014, 10:39 PM
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Posts: 4,779
From The NY Times article:
"James Currens, a hydrologist with the Kentucky Geological Survey, said in a telephone interview that because of the area’s distinctive geology, sinkholes form there from time to time. The ground beneath Bowling Green and the surrounding region is permeated by caves, sinking streams and springs he said, alluding to a report his office published on the subject more than a decade ago.
“There’s a good chance that there’s a cave that the soil below the building was eroding into,” he said, explaining that looser soils can be carried away by precipitation into caves, leaving a void where once there was solid ground."
"James Currens, a hydrologist with the Kentucky Geological Survey, said in a telephone interview that because of the area’s distinctive geology, sinkholes form there from time to time. The ground beneath Bowling Green and the surrounding region is permeated by caves, sinking streams and springs he said, alluding to a report his office published on the subject more than a decade ago.
“There’s a good chance that there’s a cave that the soil below the building was eroding into,” he said, explaining that looser soils can be carried away by precipitation into caves, leaving a void where once there was solid ground."
#8
02-13-2014, 06:02 AM
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Mentor, Ohio
Posts: 12,156
I heard about this issue the other day! That is unbelievable. The plus side, it happened while they were closed and no one was injured. Now I wonder what will become of the cars that fell in. I would assume they would be restored and place back in the museum.
#9
02-13-2014, 06:38 AM
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: London, Ontario
Posts: 5,611
Good point about the cars Jason. Those particular cars probably have greater collector value than ever cuz they were part of "The Great Kentucky Sinkhole Catastrophy of 2014". Probably worth more unrestored...
#10
02-13-2014, 07:28 AM
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Posts: 4,779
Haha the Museum can display the salvaged cars as the "cars swallowed by the sinkhole".
This is also from The NY Times article:
"'We’re just tickled that no one was hurt; that thing was deep,' Greg Wallace, manager of the General Motors Heritage Center in Sterling Heights, Mich., said in a telephone interview. 'We really don’t know yet what the value of the cars is, but we’ll fix them up and you’ll never know they were damaged.'"
"The Tennessean newspaper reported that emergency personnel had allowed the staff to remove one irreplaceable car nearby that had not fallen into the sinkhole: the only surviving 1983 Corvette, a prototype from a model year when no Corvettes were produced for sale because of quality problems."
This is also from The NY Times article:
"'We’re just tickled that no one was hurt; that thing was deep,' Greg Wallace, manager of the General Motors Heritage Center in Sterling Heights, Mich., said in a telephone interview. 'We really don’t know yet what the value of the cars is, but we’ll fix them up and you’ll never know they were damaged.'"
"The Tennessean newspaper reported that emergency personnel had allowed the staff to remove one irreplaceable car nearby that had not fallen into the sinkhole: the only surviving 1983 Corvette, a prototype from a model year when no Corvettes were produced for sale because of quality problems."