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/