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  • Sinkhole Corvettes: What’s Happening Next

    Sinkhole Corvettes: What’s Happening Next

    Some the “Great 8” Corvettes, which fell into a sinkhole after the sinkhole opened up in the National Corvette Museum, may not be fixed, according to the latest CNN report. The damage, especially to the last three of four of the cars pulled out the sinkhole, has been that extensive.

    “The last three or four cars that came out of the sinkhole…we didn’t expect them to come out looking quite that bad,” Dana Forrester, lead Corvette restoration member of the museum’s board of directors, told CNN in a phone interview.

    Next month, the museum’s board of directors plans to meet with independent restorers and General Motors to determine what course of action to take regarding the damaged Corvettes. The most damage occurred to the 2001 Mallett Hammer Z06 and the 1993 ZR-1 Spyder. The Mallett Hammer was the last car pulled out of the sinkhole on April 9.

    Meanwhile, team members involved with the National Corvette Museum’s sinkhole recovery are analyzing why the sinkhole occurred at all. The team exploring the sinkhole found caves in the sinkhole, which Dr. Jason Polk, part of the WKU cave and karst team, said “is not surprising,” according to the National Corvette Museum’s blog.

    “You don’t typically have sinkholes without caves or voids of some type below them, so this finding was not surprising,” Polk said.

    He also stated that they found mineral deposits, which indicate that there are dry regions in the northern part of the cave. This means that the caves present in the sinkhole are thousands of years old and were there before the construction of the museum.

    The team is also exploring ways to rebuild the floor of the museum, though the museum is interested in preserving a part of the sinkhole, “helping to tell the story of what is now Museum and Corvette history.”

    “We will continue to explore these ideas as the process has not moved along far enough to know if keeping a portion of the hole is feasible or not,” said Wendell Strode, Executive Director of the Museum. “The interest in our sinkhole and the rescued Corvettes has been more than expected, and our attendance for March was up 56% over March of last year.”

    She added, “Our special display focusing on this event is now open in our Exhibit Hall. Current plans are to keep the cars on display as they are so that guests through the summer and especially the thousands attending our 20th Anniversary Celebration will have a chance to see the cars and witness the sinkhole for themselves.”

    Video via NDN
    Image via Facebook

  • ZR1 Blue Devil Corvette Recovered From Sinkhole

    The National Corvette Museum has started recovering the eight cars that fell into the sinkhole that appeared in the museum last month.

    The museum, which is located near the assembly plant where Corvettes are built, houses more or less 80 vehicles. The sinkhole appeared in the museum’s Skydome and swallowed eight vehicles. The hole has grown to 30 feet deep and 40 feet across. Cars that fell into the hole include a 2009 White 1.5 Millionth Corvette, 2001 Mallet Hammer Z06 Corvette, 1993 Ruby Red 40th Anniversary Corvette, 1992, White 1 Millionth Corvette, 1984 PPG Pace Car, 1962 Black Corvette, 2009 ZR1 Blue Devil, and the 1993 ZR-1 Spyder.

    The first vehicle to make it out of the sinkhole is the “Blue Devil” that made its way out of the doorway using its own power. The “Blue Devil” was driven a short distance and the only problem that they saw so far was an oil leak.

    Museum authorities reported that the vehicle came out nearly intact, but Chevrolet will still meticulously inspect it. Chevrolet has also offered to restore all the cars that fell into the hole, and all of them will be displayed in the museum for the public until August 3.

    A timeline for the other vehicles’ recovery was also provided by the museum. Next to be recovered is the Ruby Red 1993 40th Anniversary Corvette, followed by the 1962 Black Corvette that will be recovered tomorrow. The latter is said to be tricky to retrieve as a big concrete slab is partially resting on the front part of the car. They will be using two cranes to lift the concrete slab and the car at the same time.

    The museum has positioned webcams throughout the Skydome and time-lapse videos have been provided by the museum on their official YouTube channel.

    Image via YouTube

  • Corvette Museum: Sinkhole Consumes Eight Cars

    The Chevrolet Corvette has been an American icon since it was first unveiled in 1953 and has also become a very powerful status symbol among American drivers as well. With the popularity of the Corvette, a museum has been dedicated to the iconic muscle car in Bowling Green, Kentucky. If you are a die-hard Chevrolet Corvette fan, I do apologize for the news that I am about to bring you.

    According to Yahoo News, on February 12th, a sinkhole created under the foundation of the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, enveloped various Corvettes on display inside a section of the museum building. A phone call was made from the museum’s security company to its officials stating that the motion detection system inside the museum had been activated.

    At the time of the phone call, the Bowling Green Fire Department was alerted and arrived on the scene to secure the area. According to Yahoo! News, it is estimated that the size of the hole created inside the museum is 40 feet across and 25-30 feet deep. The Corvette types that were swallowed up by the sinkhole were:

    • 1993 ZR-1 Spyder (on loan from General Motors)
    • 2009 ZR-1 Blue Devil (on loan from General Motors)
    • 1962 Corvette
    • 1984 PPG Pace Car
    • 1992 Corvette (the one-millionth made)
    • 1993 Corvette (40th anniversary edition)
    • 2001 ZO6 Corvette
    • 2009 Corvette (1.5 millionth made)

    The actual creation of the sinkhole was caught on the museum’s security cameras, and various shots of the sinkhole swallowing these cars have been posted on the museum’s Twitter account: @corvettemuseum.

    In a report from FOX News, an estimation of the cost of the damage to the vehicles in the sinkhole and the structural damage to the museum has not been determined. Bowling Green City Spokeswoman Kim Lancaster told The Associated Press that this incident is the first of its kind to happen at the Corvette museum. No injuries from the sinkhole incident have been reported.

    Image via YouTube (0:46)

  • Sinkhole Swallows 8 Corvettes at National Corvette Museum

    According to the National Corvette Museum, a 40 ft-wide sinkhole opened up early Wednesday morning under the Skydome area of the museum. And with “heavy hearts” they are reporting that 8 corvettes fell victim.

    The cars affected include a 1993 ZR-1 Spyder on loan from General Motors, a 2009 ZR1 “Blue Devil” on loan from General Motors and six cars owned by the museum itself– a 1962 black Corvette, 1984 PPG Pace Car, 1992 white 1 Millionth Corvette, 1993 ruby red 40th Anniversary Corvette, 2001 Mallett Hammer Z06 Corvette, and a 2009 white 1.5 Millionth Corvette.

    Luckily, the incident happened early in the morning and nobody was in or around the museum at the time. The museum officials were notified of the sinkhole by motion detector alarms.

    The National Corvette Museum is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and was established in 1994 “as a home, library, archives and museum exhibit space for all things Corvette.”

    “The mission of the National Corvette Museum is the celebration of the Corvette’s invention, and the preservation of the legendary automobile’s past, present, and future. The Museum will serve as an educational and research model for all to enjoy,” says the museum.

    The National Corvette Museum is one of the most-popular automotive museums in the country. It sits right across the street from GM’s Corvette assembly plant, where all of the classic American sports cars are currently made.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons