Author Topic: Craig Breedlove sues Chicago Museum for damaging his 1965 Spirit of America Car.  (Read 8024 times)

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Offline J79

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Lawsuit filed.

https://jalopnik.com/former-land-speed-record-holder-to-sue-museum-for-fucki-1791067864

Matter settled. Car returned to Craig Breedlove.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-breedlove-jet-car-museum-lawsuit-0124-biz-20170120-story.html

Does anyone know how the frame was damaged? Did they drop the car or hit it with another vehicle while moving it inside the museum? Hard to prevent vandalism from school children.
« Last Edit: February 03, 2018, 07:38:39 PM by J79 »
"My, people come and go so quickly here." Dorothy, from the movie Wizard of Oz.

"I have marveled often at the thin line that divides success from failure, and the sudden turn that leads from apparently certain disaster to comparative safety." Ernest Shackleton, Antarctic Explorer, 1874-1922.

From the movie Dr. Strangelove, General Jack D. Ripper:

"Mandrake, in the name of Her Majesty and the Continental Congress come here and feed me this belt boy... Mandrake, come over here, the Red Coats are coming!"

"He said war was too important to be left to the generals. When he said that, 50 years ago, he might have been right. But today, war is too important to be left to politicians. They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought. I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious "automotive" bodily fluids."

Offline Milwaukee Midget

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He parked a car in Hyde Park for 50 years?

When I'm in Chicago, I can't find a spot for 50 seconds to grab a hot dog from a street vender!

"Problems are almost always a sign of progress."  Harold Bettes
Well, I guess we're making a LOT of progress . . .  :roll:

Offline edinlr

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Sad to hear that this happened.  I wonder how Illinois handles lawsuits against non-profits?  In Arkansas it is virtually impossible to sue a 501(c)3 due to their charitable functions.  My guess is only the attorneys will win on this one.
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Offline PorkPie

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Craig has all right to do it, as the racer was loan out and the museum broke the contract in several ways very bad. I know the whole story and I can not believe how the museum acts in the last 50 years......

Sad to hear that this happened.  I wonder how Illinois handles lawsuits against non-profits?  In Arkansas it is virtually impossible to sue a 501(c)3 due to their charitable functions.  My guess is only the attorneys will win on this one.
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Offline edinlr

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It is not the right, in the US anyone can sue anyone else, but in many states it is hard or impossible to sue charities.  I hope Craig recovers on this. 

When I was a kid in Texas he brought the Screaming Yellow Zonker car to our Corvette shop for emergency body and paint work after an incident.  He was a very nice guy as I remember.  I owned an AMX in those days and he told me about racing one at Bonneville, so I am sure that helped start this lifelong passion of mine.
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Offline J79

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I know the whole story and I can not believe how the museum acts in the last 50 years......
PorkPie. How did the Museum damage the frame and damage the panels? I can understand how school kids can vandalize by hopping over barriers and carving their names into things.

Is the car going to Rio Vista, CA (60 miles east of San Francisco) where Craigs shop is/used to be, or to another museum?

How much do you think the car would sell for if it needed to be sold?
« Last Edit: January 21, 2018, 01:36:42 PM by J79 »
"My, people come and go so quickly here." Dorothy, from the movie Wizard of Oz.

"I have marveled often at the thin line that divides success from failure, and the sudden turn that leads from apparently certain disaster to comparative safety." Ernest Shackleton, Antarctic Explorer, 1874-1922.

From the movie Dr. Strangelove, General Jack D. Ripper:

"Mandrake, in the name of Her Majesty and the Continental Congress come here and feed me this belt boy... Mandrake, come over here, the Red Coats are coming!"

"He said war was too important to be left to the generals. When he said that, 50 years ago, he might have been right. But today, war is too important to be left to politicians. They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought. I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious "automotive" bodily fluids."

Offline J79

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Found this note

"They moved it two times through the freight elevator — they have a 17-foot freight elevator, and of course the car is 38 feet long,  so they cut it apart twice and welded it back together twice, and unfortunately now the body panels don’t fit because of the frame misalignment and everything.”

"The lawsuit claims that Spirit of America suffered damage while in the museum’s care over the last 50 years, noting that children had scratched names and initials into the aluminum skin, and that the frame was poorly cut and re-welded while the streamliner was moved through the museum’s elevator. Additionally, the fuel tank, water tank, turbojet tail cone, miscellaneous front suspension components, turn-around dolley, and Tony Nancy-built seat were also found to be missing, leaving Spirit of America without a wealth of one-off, original parts. Even the custom-made tires by Goodyear (which were $25,000 in 1962, nearly $200,000 adjusted for inflation) were periodically left flat, causing damage to them. Throughout the 50-year stewardship, the suit also claims that the museum made numerous repairs without Breedlove’s consent, and failed to report the extent of Spirit of America’s damage to him."

“They tried to camouflage the damage with a quickie-fast paint job and a bunch of bondo before they shipped it [back],” he reports. “The people who built that car were the best professional that existed in this country, it’s just sad to see what happened.”

http://www.hotrod.com/articles/heres-craig-breedlove-suing-chicago-museum-science-industry-400000/
« Last Edit: January 21, 2018, 03:03:30 PM by J79 »
"My, people come and go so quickly here." Dorothy, from the movie Wizard of Oz.

"I have marveled often at the thin line that divides success from failure, and the sudden turn that leads from apparently certain disaster to comparative safety." Ernest Shackleton, Antarctic Explorer, 1874-1922.

From the movie Dr. Strangelove, General Jack D. Ripper:

"Mandrake, in the name of Her Majesty and the Continental Congress come here and feed me this belt boy... Mandrake, come over here, the Red Coats are coming!"

"He said war was too important to be left to the generals. When he said that, 50 years ago, he might have been right. But today, war is too important to be left to politicians. They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought. I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious "automotive" bodily fluids."

Offline noboD

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Can you honestly leave any object in someone else's care for 50 years that has no financial interest and expect them to take care of it? Most museums I know of charge to keep objects on display that they do not own unless there is a big interest to bring people in. Does anyone other then car people even know what the Spirit is?

Offline Milwaukee Midget

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Let me put my previous cynical comment aside.

I've seen the Spirit of America at the S&I, and it was displayed with a whole lot of other large items.

I guess what I don't understand is how they can get a locomotive in without damaging it -

http://www.21stcentech.com/chicagos-museum-science-industry/

- and the 999 sat directly across the room from the Spirit of America for years.

Hell, they've got a 737 hanging from the ceiling in the same exhibit!
"Problems are almost always a sign of progress."  Harold Bettes
Well, I guess we're making a LOT of progress . . .  :roll:

Offline J79

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Picture of the car in the museum.
"My, people come and go so quickly here." Dorothy, from the movie Wizard of Oz.

"I have marveled often at the thin line that divides success from failure, and the sudden turn that leads from apparently certain disaster to comparative safety." Ernest Shackleton, Antarctic Explorer, 1874-1922.

From the movie Dr. Strangelove, General Jack D. Ripper:

"Mandrake, in the name of Her Majesty and the Continental Congress come here and feed me this belt boy... Mandrake, come over here, the Red Coats are coming!"

"He said war was too important to be left to the generals. When he said that, 50 years ago, he might have been right. But today, war is too important to be left to politicians. They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought. I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious "automotive" bodily fluids."

Offline J79

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Sounds like if you leave your car with a Museum and a contract to maintain it and they cut the car in half to fit inside an elevator
Breach of Contract
Dereliction of Duty
Gross Negligence.

Where is the car now?
"My, people come and go so quickly here." Dorothy, from the movie Wizard of Oz.

"I have marveled often at the thin line that divides success from failure, and the sudden turn that leads from apparently certain disaster to comparative safety." Ernest Shackleton, Antarctic Explorer, 1874-1922.

From the movie Dr. Strangelove, General Jack D. Ripper:

"Mandrake, in the name of Her Majesty and the Continental Congress come here and feed me this belt boy... Mandrake, come over here, the Red Coats are coming!"

"He said war was too important to be left to the generals. When he said that, 50 years ago, he might have been right. But today, war is too important to be left to politicians. They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought. I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious "automotive" bodily fluids."

Offline J79

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Here is a picture of the framing. Where was the car cut? I'm guessing it was cut behind the drivers seat and forward of the engine. You would end up with 2 pieces about equal size.
« Last Edit: January 31, 2018, 07:11:06 PM by J79 »
"My, people come and go so quickly here." Dorothy, from the movie Wizard of Oz.

"I have marveled often at the thin line that divides success from failure, and the sudden turn that leads from apparently certain disaster to comparative safety." Ernest Shackleton, Antarctic Explorer, 1874-1922.

From the movie Dr. Strangelove, General Jack D. Ripper:

"Mandrake, in the name of Her Majesty and the Continental Congress come here and feed me this belt boy... Mandrake, come over here, the Red Coats are coming!"

"He said war was too important to be left to the generals. When he said that, 50 years ago, he might have been right. But today, war is too important to be left to politicians. They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought. I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious "automotive" bodily fluids."

Offline Stan Back

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Where do you think they cut the locomotive?
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Offline Seldom Seen Slim

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Stan, all my life I've wondered where the rest of the locomotive was stashed.  I must have yanked on the controls of that steam engine a hundred times - never without wishing the rest of the machine were there for me, too. :? :?
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Offline N72727

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