GM Press Release: Chevrolet to Oversee Restoration of Historic Corvettes

[Rob]

Chevrolet to Oversee Restoration of Historic Corvettes

Museum cars damaged in sinkhole collapse will be shipped to Warren Mich.

2014-02-13

Related Video: http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com...museum-press-conference-february-13-2014.html

DETROIT – To help the National Corvette Museum recover from the massive sinkhole that opened under the facility this week, Chevrolet will oversee restoration of the Corvettes damaged. General Motors Design in Warren, Mich., will lead the project.

“The vehicles at the National Corvette Museum are some of the most significant in automotive history,” said Mark Reuss, executive vice president of General Motors Global Product Development. “There can only be one 1-millionth Corvette ever built. We want to ensure as many of the damaged cars are restored as possible so fans from around the world can enjoy them when the Museum reopens.”

Ed Welburn, vice president of GM Global Design, will oversee the restoration.

When the cars are recovered, they will be shipped to the Mechanical Assembly facility, a small specialty shop within GM Design, where the best restoration approach will be determined. Mechanical Assembly has been part of GM Design since the 1930s, and today maintains and restores many of the vehicles in the GM Heritage Collection and GM’s historic concept cars.

The National Corvette Museum is independently owned, and supported solely by charitable donations from enthusiasts. It is currently accepting donations on its website to assist in refurbishing the facility. Donations are tax-deductible.

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world's largest car brands, doing business in more than 140 countries and selling more than 4.9 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature spirited performance, expressive design, and high quality. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at Chevrolet Cars, Trucks, SUVs, Crossovers and Vans.

 

[Rob]

Attention GM: Thank You!!!!

 

[ROCKETBLOCK]

Attention GM: Thank You!!!!

Absolutely! I second that. Thank You GM.

 

[Tom Bryant]

Great News

Thank you GM!!

 

[6 Shooter]

Cool - It'll be interesting to see how long it takes to get everything done...

 

[catbert]

They have, arguably, the second most influential person at GM personally supervising the rebuilds. I don't know how long it will take, but they will be perfect. Thanks Ed Welburn.

 

[Z16#952]

Who better to do the restoration of these cars than the company that originally built them. Thanks to General Motors. Makes me proud to be a lifelong Chevrolet and Corvette owner.

 

[67vet]

Thanks to GM and thanks to Ed.

 

[redvett]

Thanks to GM and thanks to Ed.

Thanks to GM and thanks to Ed Welburn.

Just wondering why the NCM wants contributions since the Museum and vehicles are insured.

 

[catbert]

Thanks to GM and thanks to Ed Welburn.

Just wondering why the NCM wants contributions since the Museum and vehicles are insured.

The Museum always wants contributions. It's the nature of a museum not funded by a government entity, fat cat regular sponsors or foundations (I was a museum administrator in a distant past life). It's only a guess, but maybe some of the discretionary funds are being used across the Interstate. I've always feared that the Museum is trying to do too much to the detriment of saving, caring for and displaying classic and historical Vettes, but I could be wrong.

 

[67vet]

I agree with Catbert.
Never pass up an opportunity for a donation.
I am on a the board of a small Aircraft Museum in Puerto Rico and we are always in need of donations.

 

[Tom Bryant]

The release where they told about their insurance also said they had deductibles. I would think on this type of insurance that the deductibles be quite substantial.

 

[catbert]

A well run museum frequently has a specified permanent reserves for the purpose of meeting liability and casualty deductibles. My hunch is the NCM already has the deductible amount in pocket. The donation thing may be about paying themselves back for the deductible Sounds logical, but who knows?

 

[Bob Chadwick]

Got to rebuild the reserve for the next unexpected incident.

 

[unclevito]

Not sue GM is the best for Restoration

Who better to do the restoration of these cars than the company that originally built them. Thanks to General Motors. Makes me proud to be a lifelong Chevrolet and Corvette owner.

GM is 'good' at building new cars not restoring old classics. How many classics has GM restored in its history? ZERO? Get a classic Corvette restorer to do the job. Call up NCRS or Bloomington? Gold and get the BEST. PLEASE. GM WILL ONLY BOTCH THIS UP. They have never restored a classic corvette before and I never have known anyone to ask them to.

 

[catbert]

The GM Heritage Collection has many cars restored by GM, a number of them several times.

 

[unclevito]

GM Restoration.

The GM Heritage Collection has many cars restored by GM, a number of them several times.

Have they ever been judged by the NCRS, Bloomington Gold or the Average Corvette Club at an NCCC car show. Ever see an NCRS member take their care to a Chevy dealer for a restoration? I rest my case.

Have any been sold at a Barrat Jackson auction? Would saying your 1962 was restored at a Chevy Dealer impress anyone? I do not think so....

 

[redvett]

There were many cars sold at Barrett Jackson auctions that came from the GM Heritage Collection in 2010-11. GM has a special shop at the Tech Center that has restored many vehicles and maintains the Collection along with any special vehicle needing work.

Have they ever been judged by the NCRS, Bloomington Gold or the Average Corvette Club at an NCCC car show. Ever see an NCRS member take their care to a Chevy dealer for a restoration? I rest my case.

Have any been sold at a Barrat Jackson auction? Would saying your 1962 was restored at a Chevy Dealer impress anyone? I do not think so....

 

[unclevito]

GM restorations

There were many cars sold at Barrett Jackson auctions that came from the GM Heritage Collection in 2010-11. GM has a special shop at the Tech Center that has restored many vehicles and maintains the Collection along with any special vehicle needing work.

OK. I will take your word for it that GM is CAPABLE of good restorations. I have just seen amazing collections of GM cars (Leno, Otis Chandler, Gilmore, Harrah, Petersen, Rick Hendrick, etc) and NONE of them have their cars restored or maintained by GM. They use their own private car genius. Most folks I know whould never consider GM to be a great car restorer. My guess is that for the Heritage museum, GM used outside companies for their work. For that recovered black 62, for instance. Is GM going to know how to scour the junk yards for 62 vintage fiberglass to patch onto that car. Do they know how to perfectly make the seams like in 1962? Unless they have restoration people doing this type of work continuously 24/7 they are not going to be the best at it. My guess is GM is going to farm out the restoration of these sink hole cars anyway. Of course, they will claim that they did the restoration for PR purposes. On a similar vein, who do you think knows best how to take apart and reassemble a 327? Someone who does it every day such as a mom and pop Corvette restorer or perhaps you think one of these guys is on the GM payroll? At best, GM is going to hire this guy or farm the job out and them claim they did the job themselves.

 

[redvett]

GM is not in the business of restoring vehicles only caring and restoring vehicles that important to their Heritage.