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NCM car recovery

19K views 95 replies 12 participants last post by  Junkman2008 
#1 ·
Well, the Great Eight Car recovery is underway and the first car (ZR1 Blue Devil) is out of the hole and was driven out of the Skydome under it own power. Except for an oil leak, it looks pretty good.



 
#63 ·
I'm just the messenger. Don't shoot the messenger!:surprised

Dr. Jason Polk, a Cave and Karst Specialist from Western Kentucky University, will be going into the sinkhole/cave and is the specialist that is advising NCM. Shoot him. :laughing:

 
#70 ·
I fully understand why they had to take the cars out of the sinkhole . . . the EPA required it, but the last couple and especially this one and the Spyder has me wondering if a couple are worth restoring/replicating. The Spyder had its frame almost twisted in half during the removal process and other than the hood that was signed by those who assembled it what can be restored? This one is appearing the same. Nice car, but at the end of the day a car.

I remember when we first getting Vettes in the family. My dad said enjoy the car and don't feel bad if something happens and at the end of the day it is just a nice car. I love Corvettes passionately and it is sad when the very best go into a museum to enjoy and something like this happens, but at the end of the day they are just nice cars. I'm thankful that nobody was hurt and hope people can put that into perspective.
 
#77 ·
I've said it before and I'll say it again. None of these cars, NONE, should be restored. They should all be placed in the room after it is repaired in their original spots with all the dirt and debris on them from the hole. Just another piece to the history of the place.
 
#79 ·
Let's put this into perspective. This car had a full roll cage.



Here is what the former owner who donated the car had to say.

The Mallett Hammer was donated to the Museum this past December by Kevin and Linda Helmintoller of Land O' Lakes, Florida, Lifetime Members of the Museum and previous R8C Museum Delivery participants. Upon hearing the car had been located, Kevin traveled to Kentucky to witness the rescue operation. "I expected bad, but it's 100 times worse," he said. "It looks like a piece of tin foil... and it had a roll cage in it! It makes all the other cars look like they're brand new."

Strode had forewarned Helmintoller that the car would be in bad shape and he might not want to watch the recovery process. "Honestly though, I'm still glad I'm here because I would have never believed it was this bad. I'm not positive I would have recognized it - there are just a few little pieces that give it away."

Helmintoller added that he sent pictures of the damaged car to his engine builder, who (jokingly) was quick to point out that the motor was not covered under warranty. :rolling:

(at least he has/had a good sense of humor over it!)
 
#89 ·
I think the Historical Corvettes like the 1M and the 1.5M should be [restored / repaired] and remain on pristine display forever.

As for the others, I think "replace-ability" and common sense should prevail. Auto week pointed out that a replacement example of the Mallett can be bought for $50k. It would cost GM more than $50k to turn that slag heap into a fresh looking Mallet. Put (at least) this one on display and GM will save money if they just hunt down and deliver another Mallott to NCM.

BTW, that generous couple that donated the now-flat Mallett should continue to be mentioned in the message displayed under the smashed Mallett IMO.
 
#90 ·
Here is a post from NCM regarding the fixing of the site and the restoration of the vehicles. I thought this was worth posting.

Operation Corvette Plus Team Meets to Review Sinkhole Findings, Discuss Skydome Plans


Last Tuesday, team members involved with the National Corvette Museum’s sinkhole recovery and remediation met to discuss the future of the Skydome and construction plan moving forward. Presentations were made of all of the findings, from drillings, to microgravity readings, and the WKU cave and karst team’s exploration into the hole.

Dr. Jason Polk with WKU shared that the void discovered beneath the Skydome extended in two directions– one leading from the Skydome towards the Museum’s truck parking lot, and the other leading from the Skydome towards the pond. Both cave areas start approximately 50 feet underground. According to Dr. Polk, “You don’t typically have sinkholes without caves or voids of some type below them, so this finding was not surprising.” He also indicated that in our area of Kentucky we drive through and around sinkholes and caves every day, with some types of sinkholes even being miles wide. There are dozens of known, mapped caves in the Bowling Green city limits, and over 200 documented caves in Warren County.

Dr. Polk stated that they found mineral deposits which are indicative of dry conditions in the northern extension of the cave. This information means that this portion of our cave is likely thousands of years old and has been there since long before the Museum was constructed. The cave also probably hasn’t had flowing water in a very long time.

The team reviewed the construction documentation from the original building and Skydome. Prior to construction of the building a geo-technical test was completed in accordance with normal standards. They found nothing to indicate any problems. “Normally if there is enough rock, it doesn’t matter what is below it,” said Danny Daniel of Scott, Murphy & Daniel Construction. Daniel also indicated that rebar was not required in the concrete flooring of the Skydome. “It’s no different than the floor of your garage at home. Rebar was not needed to support the weight of the cars in the Skydome,” he added. [EDITORS NOTE: SMD Construction did not build the original portion of the Museum]

The team thinks that our sinkhole was caused by the collapse of a portion of a cave roof, although they are still compiling data. Several things could have caused this, including the extra weight from clay soils above the roof becoming saturated from heavy rain. The team stressed that there is no reason for anyone to be any more concerned for safety here than any other area prone to significant karst development and sinkhole collapse, and it is important to note that much of Bowling Green/Warren County is located in just such an area.

Dr. Polk and Dr. Leslie North, also with WKU Center for Cave and Karst Studies, will be conducting a presentation on Saturday, April 26 at 3:15pm CT on the sinkhole collapse and how it happened. The presentation will be in the Museum's Conference Center.

Moving forward the team is exploring ways to rebuild the Skydome floor. One such plan includes drilling with micro piles then adding beams to ensure the Skydome floor is fully secure. The Museum is also exploring various ideas, which would in some way preserve a portion 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,” Strode 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.”

On Thursday the Museum received a donation of a 40th Anniversary “Ruby Red” Corvette. Lynda Patterson of Louisville, Kentucky donated her car in response to the news of the sinkhole swallowing another “Ruby.” The complete release on Ms. Patterson’s car donation is available online here.

Representatives from GM will be meeting with the NCM next month to inspect each of the Great 8 and determine which ones are appropriate to be restored. The Corvettes that are not restored will be kept on permanent display as part of preserving and telling the story of the February 12th Sinkhole Collapse.
 
#91 ·
This post is specifically for Junkman. He was wondering about safety and about the sinkhole/what caused it/ will it happen again etc. This is what the NCM is doing to monitor the situation going forward. I had to stand on a stool for this to not go over my head. To early in the morning.

On February 12, 2014, a catastrophic sinkhole opened up at the National Corvette Museum (NCM) and swallowed in it eight rare Corvettes. Since then, a diverse team of professionals has been working together with the NCM, led by Scott, Murphy, & Daniel, LLC Construction, to assess and remediate the collapse. As part of this effort, Western Kentucky University (WKU) and project partners are collecting data to research the various environmental factors contributing to the cause and evolution of the sinkhole, as well as monitoring the area during the remediation. These types of collapse features are common in karst regions, like south-central Kentucky, where water flows underground and forms caves and voids as it dissolves away the bedrock.

Since water flowing underground is part of the process of sinkhole development over geologic time, and often difficult to research since it exists underground, a method to monitor stormwater and groundwater in karst regions that can capture high-resolution data about water movement is necessary. Recently, YSI, Incorporated designed a new, submersible water monitoring sonde, the EXO II, which is capable of capturing and logging high-resolution (every 10 minutes in this case), continuous data for several parameters, including water depth, pH, temperature, specific conductivity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, and others. This logger provides everything from Bluetooth accessibility to real-time monitoring capabilities with additional peripheral devices that are available, and can be used in wells, streams, or any other water monitoring location.

Through a partnership between WKU’s Center for Water Resource Studies (WKU CWRS), Fondriest Environmental, YSI Incorporated, the City of Bowling Green Public Works Department, and the National Corvette Museum, one of these EXO II sondes outfitted with multiple water parameter probes was loaned to WKU CWRS for use at the NCM sinkhole site. The sonde is being used to monitor water in an adjacent pond area that serves to collect runoff and exists as a perched water feature, which can provide information as work continues of any changes in the water from the drilling process and storms that could pose a threat to the remediation process. This monitoring provides an additional measure of safety and data collection to help understand the dynamics of the sinkhole and its natural formation processes.

The data collected through this monitoring project will support efforts by K&S Engineering, Hayward Baker Incorporated, EnSafe, Scott, Murphy & Daniel, LLC, DDS Engineering, and other project partners in their collective work to remediate the sinkhole. It will simultaneously provide invaluable scientific information to WKU CWRS’s research on sinkhole processes and karst landscape evolution.

Dr. Jason Polk (Director, WKU CWRS) and his graduate student, Dan Nedvidek, are using these sondes in other locations in the City and elsewhere to monitor stormwater runoff and measure water quality and other parameters related to karst hydrology. Collectively, these data provide a new, advanced method by which the study of karst processes and hydrogeology can be studied to inform our understanding of groundwater and associated karst features, like sinkholes. Dr. Polk said, “Partnerships like this one with Fondriest and YSI are the essence of collaborative scientific research, and allow us the capabilities to collect data and quickly put together information to inform how to move forward in situations like this one. It’s a great benefit to be able to use new, advanced equipment that will lead the way for future research in this field and others.”

Special thanks to Paul Nieberding (Fondriest Environmental) and Brandon Smith (YSI, Incorporated) for their assistance in making this project possible.
 
#93 ·
Here is the final decision on which cars get restored and what the Corvette Museum decided to do with the sinkhole. There is some sadness in this decision because some cars are lost.

Museum Board Finalizes Decision on Sinkhole, Great 8 Corvettes

The National Corvette Museum Board of Directors held their quarterly meeting and finalized plans for repair of the Museum’s Skydome building, and the eight Corvettes affected by the February 12, 2014 sinkhole collapse.

After careful review of additional information and revised plans with price quotes from the construction company, the board voted to completely fill in the sinkhole.

“We really wanted to preserve a portion of the hole so that guests for years to come could see a little bit of what it was like, but after receiving more detailed pricing, the cost outweighs the benefit,” said Museum Executive Director Wendell Strode. “At the June board meeting, the information available at that time indicated a cost of around $500,000 more to keep the hole, but after incorporating additional safety features and vapor barriers for humidity control, the price tag rose to $1 million more than the cost to put the Skydome back how it was.”

Keeping even a portion of the sinkhole would require 35 foot retaining walls to be built inside of the sinkhole, additional micro piling, visible steel beams running through the hole, and soil nailing. All of these additional structural features are to ensure the safety of the sinkhole and prevent cracking and breaking of the sides in the future, which could result in stability issues, but take away from the natural look of the original sinkhole. The board also considered future maintenance issues that could arise if the hole was kept and the possibility that the hole wouldn’t look like a naturally occurring sinkhole any longer.

“The interest in our new attraction has been phenomenal so we do plan to leave it ‘as-is’ through our Vets ‘n Vettes event November 6-8, 2014, after which time we will begin the process of remediating and filling the hole,” Strode added.

Chevrolet and the National Corvette Museum will restore three of the Corvettes that were damaged when they were swallowed up by the sinkhole.

Chevrolet will restore the 2009 Corvette ZR1 prototype, known as the Blue Devil, and the 1-millionth Corvette produced – a white 1992 convertible. The GM Heritage Center will oversee this process. In addition, the restoration of the 1962 Corvette will be funded by Chevrolet, but will be handled by the National Corvette Museum. A restoration shop has not yet been determined. The remaining five cars were determined to be too badly damaged to warrant restoration. They will remain in their as-recovered state to preserve the historical significance of the cars and what happened on February 12, 2014. They will become part of a future display at the Museum.

In total, General Motors will provide nearly $250,000 in support to help the Museum recover from the sinkhole. The National Corvette Museum celebrates its 20th anniversary this weekend as it welcomes the Corvette enthusiasts nationwide who have helped expand and support the non-profit Museum.

“Our goal was to help the National Corvette Museum recover from a terrible natural disaster by restoring all eight cars,” said Mark Reuss, GM Executive Vice President, Global Product Development. “However, as the cars were recovered, it became clear that restoration would be impractical because so little was left to repair. And, frankly, there is some historical value in leaving those cars to be viewed as they are.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by Corvette enthusiasts from around the globe.

“There has been an outpouring of messages from enthusiasts the world over, asking us not to restore all of the cars,” said Wendell Strode, executive director for the National Corvette Museum. “For Corvette enthusiasts, the damage to the cars is part of their history, and part narrative of the National Corvette Museum. Restoring them all would negate the significance of what happened.”
Timelines for the start and projected completion dates for the three Corvettes’ restorations have not been established. They will be announced later.

Sinkhole summary
On Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014, at 5:44 a.m., National Corvette Museum (NCM) personnel received a notification from their security company about motion detectors going off in the Skydome area of the museum. When those personnel arrived on site, a sinkhole was discovered, eventually measuring about 45 feet wide, 60 feet long and up to 30 feet deep.

Security camera footage showing the Skydome floor’s collapse has been viewed nearly 8.3 million times on YouTube.

The sinkhole swallowed eight historic Corvettes – two on loan from GM and six owned by the museum:
1993 ZR-1 Spyder (on loan)
2009 ZR1 “Blue Devil” prototype (on loan)
1962 Corvette
1984 PPG Pace Car
1992 1-millionth Corvette
1993 40th Anniversary Corvette
2001 “Mallett Hammer” Z06
2009 1.5-millionth Corvette.

On March 3, the 2009 Blue Devil was the first car recovered and despite significant damage was started and driven out of the Skydome. The 1.5-millionth Corvette and Mallett Corvette were the last cars pulled from the sinkhole, on April 3 and April 9, respectively – after workers were initially unable to find them amid the collapsed earth.

All eight cars were placed in a special display, fueling a nearly 70-percent jump in museum visitor traffic in the months after the sinkhole appeared.

Construction is expected to take approximately 6 months to complete. The Museum will remain open during the process, and the work in the Skydome will be viewable via a Plexiglas wall.
The Museum plans to create a meaningful sinkhole exhibit within the Skydome, featuring the cars involved, 3D interactive images of the sinkhole, videos, photos and more.

The Museum is located at I-65, exit 28 in Bowling Green, KY - just one hour north of Nashville, TN and less than two hours south of Louisville, KY. Open daily, 8am-5pm CT, admission to the Museum is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors age 65 and over, $5 for kids age 6-16 and children age 5 and under are free. Access to view the sinkhole is included with regular admission. Guests who enter the Skydome to view the sinkhole must be age 8 or older. For more information on the Museum, visit their website at www.corvettemuseum.org or call 800-538-3883.
 
#94 ·
I feel that, overall, they made the correct decision. While it certainly won't please everyone, that was never going to happen anyway no matter what decision was reached. The Board's primary concern had to be the long-term financial well being of the NCM, while weighing the historical significance of the sinkhole event. I think that a display of some of the more badly damaged cars commemorates the event and demonstrates the power and destructive force it wielded, while restoring the cars that can be realistically restored fulfills the museum's desire to return to normalcy and maintain the integrity of the collection as much as is practical. The building itself must take precedence in any future plans as well, and the safety and stability of the main structure are paramount. A "display sinkhole" never made a lot of sense to me, and the description of what such a display would end up looking like only confirms my beliefs.

So, good job by the NCM Board, and let's move forward. :thumbsup:
 
#95 ·
The first car to fall into the sinkhole has been restored. The 2009 ZR1 "Blue Devil".

LAS VEGAS – Chevrolet today unveiled the restored 2009 Corvette ZR1 that was damaged earlier this year when a sinkhole developed beneath the National Corvette Museum. It’s on display this week at the SEMA Show, before heading back to the museum in Bowling Green, Ky.

The ZR1, nicknamed the “Blue Devil,” is the first of the eight cars swallowed by the sinkhole to be restored. One of two show cars used to introduce the all-new Corvette ZR1 in January 2008, the car was on loan from Chevrolet to the National Corvette Museum when the sinkhole developed.

Museum personnel were alerted about motion detectors going off in the Skydome area of the facility on the morning of Wednesday, Feb. 12. They arrived to find a sinkhole measuring about 45 feet wide, 60 feet long and up to 30 feet deep – and it had swallowed eight Corvettes.

Three weeks later, the ZR1 was pulled out of the sinkhole. Despite falling nearly 30 feet, it started and drove out of the Skydome under its own power.

“After that unprecedented event, the ZR1 was the first car to be lifted out of the sinkhole,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. vice president, performance vehicles and motorsports. “It was great to recover it, bring it back to Chevrolet and begin the restoration of this significant Corvette.”

The ZR1 remained on display at the museum until September, when it was returned to Chevrolet for restoration. The damage included:
* Cracked carbon-fiber ground effects and a broken passenger-side rocker panel
* Damaged passenger front fender, as well as cracks in both doors
* Cracked windshield, hood window glass and passenger headlamp assembly
* Bent rear control arms on the driver’s side
* Cracked oil lines to the supercharged LS9 engine’s dry-sump oiling system.

Six weeks after work began, the restored ZR1 was started for the first time at the General Motors Heritage Center.

Two other cars will be restored next year – the 1-millionth Corvette and a 1962 Corvette – while the other five will remain in their as-recovered state to preserve their historical significance. They will become part of a future display at the museum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8WH66CY9iA







 
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