James Dean, 356 Driver

If he were still alive today, one of the most famous Porsche 356 owners would be turning 70 this February 9, 2001. Dean will likely be the subject of more nostalgia, and his film work has already stood the test of time, but Registry members and Porsche enthusiasts around the world will remember him as a Porsche owner and racer first, a star in the Hollywood heavens, second.

Unfortunately, it seems that Dean's death will always eclipse what he accomplished in life. There's a fascination about his Spyder, the wreck, what happened before and what happend after that fateful accident.

There's a book on the last 24 hrs of James Dean's life:

The Death of James Dean by Warren Newton Beath

Excellent research includes copy of the speeding ticket he got shortly before the accident and multiple California Highway Patrol maps and photos of the accident itself.

However, Warren Beath was not a knowledgeable Porsche person...and missed many important details. You might want to follow up with some other Porsche
references:

• Porsche Panorama, July 1984, Little Bastard: The Search for James Dean's
  Spyder
• Excellence Magazine, November 1995, How Fast Was James Dean Really Going?
• Excellence Magazine, December 1995, Through James Dean's Rear View Mirror....a rebuttal to November, 1995 article.
• Brian Redman's "Double Fifty", Watkins Glen Program, August, 1998, Just East of Eden....On The Road To Salinas.
• James Dean at High Speed, video, Speedvision 1998, and currently advertised in Excellence magazine

Also more info on Dean web site: http://www.jamesdeangallery.com

And what became of
'Lil Bastard'?

On Dean's 70th birthday, the Chicago Sun Times wrote this fairly cynical article: "Legend of James Dean: little more than that".

See below for significant corrections to the this article. The "curse" of Dean's car remains a strong myth more then 45 years after the accident.

On the 356 Talk email list, the issue of where Dean's 550 Spyder, "Lil Bastard" is today. Lee Raskin of Brooklandville, MD tells it thus: "Actually, the entire wreck was purchased from insurance co. by Drs. Troy McHenry and William Eschrich--both 550 owners. The engine, tranny, steering, brakes and other mechanical parts were taken as spares....the remains was sold to George Barris..for his traveling circus tour. Both Drs. are deceased.

"Tranny was rebuit by Al Cadrobbi in S. CA...later purchased by Jim Barrington of Stinson Beach, CA....and now in possession of Jack Styles of Boston, MA. Tranny not being used in a vintage 550 at this time.

Lots of stories...most have been embellished by George Barris...and others."

Brad Ripley, of NLA Ltd., chimes in: "Jack Styles at Paul Russell Restorations has the tranny. He put it on Ebay only a few months ago." Lee says, Transaxle # 10046...or as the official Factory letter said: gearbox 10046...it was reworked after the accident by Al Cadrobbi in Southern California.

Lee Raskin continues: "After Dr. Troy McHenry and Dr. Wm. Eschrich purchased the wrecked Spyder from the insurance co. ( not George Barris as he says)...Eschrich put the Carrera engine in a Lotus 9...and ran it unsuccessfully at Pebble Beach. In 1956, PCAer Jim Fleming took a photo of it ..with the engine mounted up front.
"Troy McHenry replaced some older parts with the Dean parts on his 550. Unrelated to that...McHenry's steering broke...the pitman arm failed at Pomona in 1956 and he crashed into a tree..killing him. The tranny went to Al Cadrobbi (S. CA) and then to Jim Barrington (N. CA) ..and now it lives with Jack Styles in MA...has been for sale on ebay recently. The 550 engine remains with Dr. Eschrich's son Tyler. Dr. E died about 10 yrs.ago. See James Dean At High Speed video..for most answers."

The Crash

There is a reproduction of the Dean crash at: http://www.fail.com/multimedia/cases/dean.html

Pat Tobin wrote about this reproduction:

Upon reading that article I felt that the process was badly flawed and the conclusions worth almost nothing. A few issues later, Excellence printed something that mounted to a sort of apology and partial retraction, saying that experts had pointed out major flaws in the assumptions and/or the process.

It seems that this "analysis" was done by a start-up company which intended to specialize in computer-aided re-enactments of traffic accidents. I got the impression that they were not necessarily commissioned, but did the Dean wreck analysis and brought it to Excellence, who bit it hook, line and sinker, for its publicity value.

I think the prevailing theory, which I buy, is that Dean was really honking it on. The Ford had stopped, and Dean saw that he could get by without slowing substantially. However, the Ford driver, who probably didn't properly perceive the speed and proximity of a very small, daylight-colored car which was moving right at him, started up and moved into Dean's path.

There's a real safety message here: drivers' perception of speed and proximity is largely controlled by image size, with vehicle color also playing a role. Lots of drivers make left turns in front of motorcycles because the small image size has fooled their half-alert cognitive system into thinking that vehicle is still a safe distance away. Rarely indeed do we hear of anyone making a left turn too close in front of a
garbage truck or a bus.

For that very reason, when driving a small car I keep my lights on (low beam) if visibility is other than broad daylight. And it wouldn't hurt to keep them on then. It helps the other drivers gauge your speed and proximity.