For the James Dean collectors

[Adam Wright]

Recent auction of what looks like insurance pics of the crash site and cars. Sold for $22,000.

Description reads,
"Unprecedented collection of 30 unpublished original glossy photos, 8.25 x 10 and 10 x 8.25, which vividly document the fatal car crash site of Hollywood actor James Dean, who was tragically killed at the age of 24 when his 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder, coined the ‘Little Bastard,’ collided with a 1950 Ford Custom driven by Donald Turnupseed on September 30, 1955; the accident occurred when the actor was driving westbound on U.S. Route 466 en route to a racing event at the Salinas, California Municipal Airport.

The collection consists of 12 overhead views of the junction of Route 466 and Route 41, which lay a fascinating visual groundwork of the surrounding landscape and for a strip known as ‘the racer's route’. Also featured is a total of 18 ‘ground-level’ photos, with nine showing Routes 466 and 41 in up-close detail—replete with telephone poles, mountainous vista, disrupted road shoulder, and fresh skid marks and vehicular fluid stains—and nine others showing the terrifying aftermath photos of Dean and Turnupseed’s mangled automobiles; the interior or exterior of Dean’s significantly damaged Porsche 550 is visible in six of the photographs, as is Dean's No. 130 racing number and "Little Bastard" painted in black by car customizer Dean Jeffries.

The photos, distinguished by date, are as follows: four of the ground-level aftermath photos are dated to the day of the accident, September 30, 1955; nine ground-level photos of Routes 466 and 41 are dated to the following day, October 1, 1955, with one photo of Turnupseed’s damaged Ford Custom in a garage similarly dated; seven aerial photos dated June 21, 1958, and five aerial photos dated July 10, 1958. Four vehicle aftermath are undated, but were assuredly taken on September 30th or on early October 1st.

Reverse of 26 photos stamp-dated with “Russ Schober Photo” or “Stevens Studios” address stamps and annotated with corresponding photo numbers. The reverse of all ground-level photos annotated in pencil, “Wutherich vs. Turnupseed-Dean-Coulter,” which alludes to the surviving passenger in Dean’s car, Porsche mechanic Rolf Wutherich, who attempted to sue the insurance companies of both Dean and Turnupseed for the array of injuries he incurred, such as a double fractured jaw and a severely torn left hip that required multiple surgeries. The legal proceedings never came to fruition, however, with Wutherich returning to West Germany in 1957. The other driver in the accident, Turnupseed, was practically physically unscathed, with no more than a bloody nose and scratches. In overall very good to fine condition, with scattered creasing, one edge tear, and one clipped corner.

Accompanied by a signed letter of provenance from Robert A. Coyle, the son of Robert Everett Coyle, who served as the attorney on behalf of Turnupseed and his insurance company. The letter, in part: “Official photos taken at the scene after the crash and published by Stevens Studios in Paso Robles, CA…used in court case Wutherich vs. Turnupseed, Dean, Coulter…Our father, Robert E. Coyle, was the attorney for Donald Turnupseed…When the case was dropped, he was still in possession of the photographs and being a history buff, made sure they were not destroyed.”

Like other leading men Steve McQueen and Paul Newman, Dean developed a passion for auto-racing and began to purchase vehicles shortly after filming East of Eden. In Palm Springs on March 26-27, 1955, he entered his first amateur race, taking the top spot in the novice class and placing second in the main event. Barred from all racing activities during the filming of Giant, it wasn’t until the end of production that Dean traded in his 1955 Porsche Super Speedster for his ‘Little Bastard,’ the faster and more powerful 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder, which he planned to drive in the upcoming Salinas Road Race event scheduled for October 2. The early death of James Dean reverberates to this day, with some of these never-before-seen images offering an intensely unique perspective of the crash location and the resulting carnage, with many of the photos taken only hours after the accident."

[Harlan Halsey]

Chuck Forge had a '56 Carrera which had a racing type rear view mirror which Rolf Wutheric had transferred from the wreck when both cars occupied the same garage. Several of us urged Chuck to get in touch with Wutheric, then in Germany, to see if he could authenticate the story. But then, Rolf was killed in a car accident. By current accounts, Rolf never recovered fully, mentally, from the accident. Occasionally, parts of the wreck used to surface. I recall seeing a transmission with the Dean car transmission number over in Santa Cruze. Rumor was that those bits carried bad luck. Perhaps the reason Chuck showed so little interest in authenticating the mirror.

There is a little town, Colma I think, about 5 miles west of the crash site. In the 50s or 60s a Japanese Dean fan commissioned a large monument to Dean which is located there. Sadly it had been vandalized quite a bit when I saw it in the 1980s. Both 41 and 46 are quite different now from what they were in 1955.

I used to think that a 4 cam Carrera only tour, up from LA, tracing his route up 33 through Blackwell corner might be a good thing....arriving at the junction, staring into the western sun at 5pm on September 30....then over to Jack's restaurant in Colma.

[Adam Wright]

I was driving across Cali Porsche hunting, filling a rented truck with parts and quite by surprise, drove past this sign.

[Steve Raucher]

At one time the late Jim Barrington owned Dean's 550 transmission.
Lee Raskin is the writer and expert on all things Dean, has two fine books out about the Rebel.
In 2000 dad and I went to inaugural F1 race at Indy. Drove out to Fairmont farm and met with Dean's uncle Winslow, and a French film crew that was in the garage with replica Spyder. They briefly interview dad as he had memories of seeing Dean race in Santa Barbara and So. CA.
Stopped into the Fairmont museum and bumped into old friend Ron Ramage RIP, small world then on to the cemetery to pay respects.
Only the good die young

[Adam Wright]

At one time the late Jim Barrington owned Dean's 550 transmission.
Lee Raskin is the writer and expert on all things Dean, has two fine books out about the Rebel.
In 2000 dad and I went to inaugural F1 race at Indy. Drove out to Fairmont farm and met with Dean's uncle Winslow, and a French film crew that was in the garage with replica Spyder. They briefly interview dad as he had memories of seeing Dean race in Santa Barbara and So. CA.
Stopped into the Fairmont museum and bumped into old friend Ron Ramage RIP, small world then on to the cemetery to pay respects.
Only the good die young

The gearbox is in Boston now, or was last time I heard. The engine I think is still in a Lotus 7 in Cali. The rest of the car, I'll keep hunting...

[Vic Skirmants]

Lotus 7? I thought it was a Lotus 9? The full-bodied early one.
Don't see how you could stuff one into a 7.

[Adam Wright]

Lotus 7? I thought it was a Lotus 9? The full-bodied early one.
Don't see how you could stuff one into a 7.

Shows how much I know about Lotus'