Corvette No. 002 found?

[Loren Smith]

I think the frame under the Kerbeck car is supposedly a newer frame, notched for the V8 fuel pump.

 

[53 Blue Flame]

That may be correct OR the frame was modified for the "bump" for the fuel pump. You are probably right though.

 

[Loren Smith]

Is this the same 002 body discussed in these threads? The question was raised whether this might actually be the body from 009:

http://www.ncrs.org/forum/archive28.cgi?review=244412
http://www.ncrs.org/forum/archive33.cgi?review=302699

Of course, a prior owner could have written 002 with a grease pencil on a panel with little effort, so you can imagine a little more provenance might be required by the Corvette community to accept this car as the 002 car, especially when 003 has previously been billed as the oldest surviving Corvette, as sold for $1 million at B-J a couple of years ago.

 

[53 Blue Flame]

From the charcateristics of the car and all of the modifications that have been done to the body, I have to believe it is what it is said to be. I also know Pete. There is documentation of engineering tests that back up the things done to the body. I have seen the hand written letter from one of the engineers from 53 verifying all of these modifications. Quite a neat thing. I do understand how most people will be skeptic, without seeing the proof if writing though.

 

[Loren Lundberg]

Corvette No. 002 found?

By Old Cars Weekly staff

Ken Amrick reports in the Fall 2006 issue of On Solid Ground that the body from Corvette No. 002 may have been located. On Solid Ground is the publication of the Solid Axle Corvette Club.

Many modifications and oddities about the early Corvette body appear to be consistent with records showing that body No. 002 served as a test car for production Corvettes, including whether the then-developmental small-block V-8 would work in the two-seater.

GM records show body No. 002 was assigned duty as an engineering test vehicle (and assigned No. 3951), and was used in various V-8 design tests, as well as cooling system, 12-volt power, Powerglide and exhaust development. The body that was recently found was removed when car No. 3951 received a new body in May 1955.

Among the contributing evidence for the found body to be No. 002 are:

• The body has a one-piece floor, thought only to exist among the first 12 Corvette bodies.
• The fiberglass finish is extremely crude, especially in trunk and behind seats, per early cars.
• The right-side inner fender has been reworked to fit a 12-volt battery.
• The brake pedal arm and emergency brake have differences from any other Corvette.
• Several sets of holes in the firewall indicate multiple placements of heater motor and hoses.
• The normal exhaust holes were covered with factory-type materials, and there is evidence that extra exhaust holes were cut in rear fenders, as on 1956-’57 V-8 models. An early photograph known to be of body No. 002 shows two sets of exhaust holes, and they are in the same location on the body of the car in question.

The earliest known Corvette is No. 003, which has been restored to show condition. Corvette No. 001 is known to have been destroyed in a burn test by General Motors.

For more on this early Corvette body, watch your upcoming Old Cars Weekly editions for expanded interviews surrounding this car. If you have any details about Corvette No. 002, please contact the owner, Pete Wilzbach, at peterwilzbach@msn.com.

For details on joining the Solid Axle Corvette Club, contact Lucy Badenhoop, SACC secretary, P.O. Box 2288, N. Highlands, CA 95660, call 916-991-7040, or e-mail badenhoop.lucy@bigfoot.com.

Source: http://www.oldcarsweekly.com/Default.aspx?tabid=520&articleid=4032&articlemid=1549#1549Articles

Let's see - the first time this story came up, I believe it went something like this: 1) The guy who sold the body to the now-deceased RJ Williams actually
showed the 002 VIN to RJ, but the VIN was not included in the sale.; 2) The guy who sold the body to RJ showed him the back of the dash (that part that is covered by vinyl) and "002" was written on it grease pencil. The dash
was not included in the sale.
Anybody else see a pattern here?
Anybody here who has seen the body? Lloyd is correct in that it is an early body. The real problem is compounded by the fact that Phil should have been asking these questions when the people involved were still around,
For example, that's a nice picture used to show testing - but nothing to indicate that it is 002 OR THE BODY IN QUESTION.
There is perhaps more DISINFORMATION in this thread than can be believed.
Why not claim that it is the body from 001? (It was the Motorama car body that was used in the fire test......not 001)
Anyone who sees the body in question will testify that this is now a "remnant" that has been abused beyond belief, whether as a drag racer, swamp buggy or movable target at a shotgun range. Having known RJ back in the 80's, I would be surprised if the sales price to him exceeded $500. I have no idea what Phil W. paid RJ, but I KNOW RJ didn't lose $$$.
Maybe this is an example of "documentation" in the 21st Century - put out an idea/thought/claim and hope you outlive those who challenge it or don't accept it. How about a simple question: "Why do you say that?".

 

[67HEAVEN]

Loren,

Welcome to the Glad to see you.

 

[Verle]

Loren,

I have looked at this "002" body several times.
It exhibits many of the features described in the engineering documents.
It is obviously one of the very earliest bodies.
There is nothing to definitely identify which early body it is, or is not. No frame, no VIN tag, no accompanying documentation, no comprehensive owner history.

If it were mine I would claim it is 002 also.

Verle