{"id":64032,"date":"2020-09-29T06:59:37","date_gmt":"2020-09-29T10:59:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/?p=64032"},"modified":"2020-09-28T21:46:26","modified_gmt":"2020-09-29T01:46:26","slug":"a-major-part-of-james-deans-porsche-550-spyder-surfaces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/a-major-part-of-james-deans-porsche-550-spyder-surfaces\/","title":{"rendered":"A Major Part of James Dean’s Porsche 550 Spyder Surfaces"},"content":{"rendered":"

OAKDALE, N.Y., Sept. 29, 2020 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Sixty-five years after the infamous crash, a major component of the James Dean Porsche 550 Spyder\u00a0has surfaced. Found in rural Massachusetts, the original and complete transaxle assembly will see the light of day after being stored in a wooden crate and hidden from public view for over 30 years. Porsche collector\u00a0Don Ahearn\u00a0unveils\u00a0this discovery from the car that many Porsche enthusiasts consider to be the most famous of the marque.<\/p>\n

\"Major
PHOTO CAPTION: A Major Part of James Dean\u2019s Porsche 550 Spyder Surfaces. Porsche collector Don Ahearn unveils this discovery from the car that many Porsche enthusiasts consider to be the most famous of the marque.<\/em><\/p>\n

This assembly may be the only documented and provable part of the James Dean Spyder known to still exist,\u00a0and\u00a0it\u00a0is certainly the only part anyone may be able to see publicly. It is one of\u00a0three permanently traceable components of a 550 Spyder.\u00a0These\u00a0include;\u00a0the chassis,\u00a0the\u00a0engine, and\u00a0the gearbox\/transaxle. This\u00a0transaxle\u00a0is stamped with the\u00a0correct\u00a0factory serial number #10046.<\/p>\n

The transaxle has been in\u00a0continuous, documented ownership\u00a0and it has been\u00a0authenticated by experts as\u00a0far back\u00a0as 1984 as being the original component to the Dean 550.<\/p>\n

The history of James Dean and his 550 Spyder has been well written elsewhere so\u00a0there is\u00a0no need to repeat it here in detail.<\/p>\n

The original body\/chassis #550-055 was reported stolen in 1960 while returning from a highway safety exhibit,\u00a0never to be seen again. There have been rumors in past years of the whereabouts of the lost wreck though\u00a0none have been substantiated. The original engine #P90059 is reported to still be in California,\u00a0though it has\u00a0not\u00a0been seen nor verified in decades. This gearbox assembly could be the only verifiable part of the famous car that will ever be available to be seen by fans of James Dean.<\/p>\n

Now removed from the wooden crate, the transaxle is mounted in a display stand\u00a0that was\u00a0custom fabricated by expert metal shaper\u00a0Steve Hogue.\u00a0It displays the assembly exactly as it was in the original 550 Spyder.<\/p>\n

Future plans\u00a0for this incredible piece of history\u00a0call for the possible sale to a major collection or museum. The sale will be the first time ever\u00a0any part of the original Spyder is offered publicly. September 30,\u00a02020\u00a0marks the 65th anniversary of the legendary actor’s death.<\/p>\n

Questions and\u00a0inquiries\u00a0should be directed to\u00a0DAhearn67@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Photos and documentation: https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/sh\/ghrumlpq3sfmsgp\/AABqeM7NHPTF4bfUZdVE86coa?dl=0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OAKDALE, N.Y., Sept. 29, 2020 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Sixty-five years after the infamous crash, a major component of the James Dean Porsche 550 Spyder has surfaced. Found in rural Massachusetts, the original and complete transaxle assembly will see the light of day after being stored in a wooden crate and hidden from public view for over 30 years. Porsche collector Don Ahearn unveils this discovery from the car that many Porsche enthusiasts consider to be the most famous of the marque.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8535,"featured_media":63990,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[71,12804,1,901,8],"tags":[14347,14345,14346],"class_list":["post-64032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-automotive-news","category-ap","category-business-news","category-collectibles","category-new-york-news","tag-car-collectors","tag-james-dean","tag-porsche-550-spyder","has-post-title","has-post-date","no-post-category","no-post-tag","no-post-comment","has-post-author"],"acf":[],"views":5632,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8535"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64032"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64032\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}