This thread is really about James Dean
In the 70's the old jail also had the Porsche of movie actor James Dean.
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The cannon for many years was at a museum in St Augustine. It was made of wood and ....

This film clip is to commemorate The Pride and The Passion,
a movie from 1957 starring Sophia Loren, Cary Grant and Frank Sinatra.

The cannon for many years was at a museum in St Augustine.
It was made of wood and deteriorated over the years
and met it's final fate by burning.

There is a relationship history between the 3 main characters and
this scene is the Flamenco dance by Sophia Loren.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Op8IwfMRZCE



The singer at the start of the clip must have been a relative of someone.....

 

In the 70's the old jail also had the Porsche of movie actor James Dean.

Who owns the lost James Dean Porsche?


The mangled remains of 'Little Bastard,' James Dean's Porsche Spyder sports car in which he died during a high-speed car crash, being towed by a tow truck.

Hulton Archive/Getty Images


foxsports Nov 15, 2015 at 2:22p ET

The death of Batmobile creator George Barris has thrown a wrench into the search for another famous car connected to him.
A few months after actor James Dean died in a highway accident in 1955, Barris, known as the "King of the Kustomizers," acquired the remains of the star’s wrecked Porsche 550 Spyder, which Dean had nicknamed "Little Bastard."

Barris sent the Porsche on promotional tours around the country until 1960, when, according to him, it disappeared as it was being delivered from an event in Miami back to his shop in Los Angeles, never to be seen again.




Except I suspect that Barris had a chance to make a quick buck and sold it......to the owners of the Old Jail where it was on display maybe around 70's to 80's.

 

Or perhaps it was.
Earlier this year, Shawn Reilly, a 47-year-old Washington State resident, was undergoing psychological counseling when the subject of a scar on his finger came up. Reilly couldn’t remember how he got it, which had always bugged him, but the therapy revealed a memory.


According to his lawyer, Reilly recalled that his father, a carpenter, had brought him along on a job in 1974, when he was 6 years old. At a building that still exists, they met up with several men who wanted a wrecked sports car, which could have been the Porsche, hidden behind a wall. Reilly now remembers that he cut his finger on the car. He also thinks one of the men who were there may have been George Barris.


His account of seeing the Porsche has passed a lie detector test that was carried out on behalf of the Volo Auto Museum in Illinois, according to the museum’s director, which issued a $1 million bounty on the car in 2005. That money wouldn’t go to the car’s finder, but to purchase it from its owner. And that’s where things get tricky.


Barris always maintained that the car was legally his, a point that his spokesman, Ed Lozzi, reiterated to Fox News shortly before his death. Barris insisted that he knew nothing about the car’s whereabouts after it disappeared, but Lozzi would not tell Fox News if the wreck was insured at the time or if any payment was made to Barris, which could have transferred ownership to the insurer if it was found.


According to Volo Museum Director Brian Grams, who had a professional relationship with Barris, no one ever presented documented proof to him that the customizer was the car’s owner. He says ownership needs to be sorted out before he can pay a finder’s fee or make good on the $1 million offer to buy the car.


So, if the Porsche really is hidden away in an undisclosed building somewhere in Washington, who owns it?
Reilly’s lawyer says the location won’t be revealed until that question is answered, and that it could end up being anyone from Barris’ estate to the building owner or possibly even his client. But one Dean historian believes none of them is the rightful owner.


And quite likely it never made it to the state of Washington.............


Attorney Lee Raskin, author of "James Dean: On the Road to Salinas" and an outspoken critic of Barris’ stewardship of "Little Bastard," says the car was originally registered in California by its engine number, rather than the chassis number. After the Porsche was written off by Dean’s insurance company, it was sold for $1,092 to Dr. William F. Eschrich, who removed the engine and other drivetrain components before Barris took possession of the rest of the car.


Since no official record of that transfer has been discovered – and since Eschrich’s family still has the original pink slip for the car, along with the engine – Raskin believes the entire vehicle belongs to the Eschriches. But the family has made no claim to the missing parts of the vehicle or commented on the recent developments.


As for the parties directly involved in the ongoing discussion, Barris’ death has slowed the process, which means an attempt to find out if James Dean’s Porsche is hidden behind a wall is likely months away.

Article originally on FoxNews.com.

 

Click:
Who owns the lost James Dean Porsche? | Fox News

 

James Dean's Porsche found? Mystery man claims he knows where it is

By Gary Gastelu

Published September 29, 2015 Fox News



Mystery of James Dean's Porsche solved?

The long-lost – and some say cursed -- car that James Dean died in may soon be found, if a half-century old memory can be believed.
The 24-year-old Hollywood star was killed when the Porsche 550 Spyder he was driving to an automobile race he was scheduled to compete in collided with a Ford Tudor coupe at an intersection in Cholame, Calif., on Sept. 30, 1955.

Nicknamed “Little Bastard,” the tiny Porsche was totaled in the crash. The wreck was sold to one of Dean’s competitors, who removed the engine and other useable components, then passed what was left to famed car customizer George Barris.

Dean’s car gained the reputation of being cursed in the wake of several incidents over the years, including the death of a racer whose car reportedly was built using some of its parts.
After shelving plans to restore the Porsche, Barris began lending it to the National Safety Council to use to promote car safety, and showing it at automotive events. While being shipped back to Los Angeles from Miami in 1960 it mysteriously disappeared from the locked container it was in, either on a train or truck, depending on the report.

Since then, the mysterious car’s whereabouts have been unknown. But in 2005, in conjunction with an exhibit marking the 50th anniversary of Dean’s death, Chicago’s Volo Auto Museum made a public offer to buy the car for $1 million from whoever had it.

Museum director Brian Grams told FoxNews.com that many tips have come in over the years, but none led to the car. But a break may have come after the story of the car and the reward was retold on a recent episode of “Brad Meltzer's Lost History” that aired on the History channel.
This past spring, the museum got a call from a man in Whatcom County, Wash., who said that, as a boy in the 1960s, he had witnessed the car being hidden behind the false wall of a building. Grams said the story included details that rang true, such as the then-boy cutting his hand on the car.

With so much at stake, the museum asked the man, who the museum has not identified, to take a polygraph test. He passed with flying colors, according to Grams.
Unfortunately, the man doesn’t own the building and has no claim to the car himself. Its location is still being kept secret as the two parties hash out an agreement regarding a reward.
Volo’s lawyers are “vigorously” trying to determine all of the ownership issues involved, including whether or not Barris has a claim to the car, as there was no paperwork involved in his acquisition of the wreck, Grams said.

Volo is hoping to resolve the situation soon and move forward with the car’s discovery. As for what it’s worth, Grams said the $1 million offer to buy it from its rightful owner is still on the table.

 

The Curse of James Dean's Porsche

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James Dean driving his new Porsche with his mechanic Rolf Wutherich on the day of his death.

James Dean's Porsche Friends told James Dean that the car was trouble when they saw it - a rare Silver Porsche Spyder, one of only 90 in 1955. Nicknamed "The Little Bastard," the car carried the iconic screen rebel to his grave on September 30, 1955.
After the accident, many fans refused to believe Dean was dead. A story circulated that he was still alive although terribly disfigured, and in true urban legend fashion this tale took on a life of its own.
I won't go into all the James Dean as a cult idol stuff except to say his mystique has staying power. For example, his tombstone was stolen twice in 1983, and in 1985 had to be replaced because of damage done to it by fans. Seems he was still the popular fellow despite having been dead for three decades.


After the tragedy, master car customizer George Barris bought the wreck for $2,500. When the wreck arrived at Barris' garage, the Porsche slipped and fell on one of the mechanics unloading it. The accident broke both of the mechanic's legs.
While Barris had bad feelings about the car when he first saw it, his suspicions were confirmed during a race at the Pomona Fair Grounds on October 24, 1956. Two physicians, Troy McHenry and William Eschrid, were both racing cars that had parts from the "Little Bastard." McHenry died when his car, which had the Porsche's engine installed, went out of control and hit a tree. Eschrid's car flipped over. Eschrid, who survived despite serious injuries, later said that the car suddenly locked up when he went into a curve.

Early Porsches and some other cars, had a swing axle rear suspension, where the rear wheels under hard cornering would tuck under the car, and the axle would lever the car up into the air and suddenly flip it over to the outside of a turn. A racing Porsche was generally lowered by it's owner and was a little less likely to have the wheels tuck under,
something generally not known to journalists who copied other articles because they knew little about cars.

The car's malevolent influence continued after the race: one kid trying to steal the Porsche's steering wheel slipped and gashed his arm. Barris reluctantly sold two of the car's tires to a young man; within a week, the man was nearly involved in a wreck when the two tires blew out simultaneously.


Feeling that the Porsche could be put to good use, Barris loaned the wrecked car to the California Highway Patrol for a touring display to illustrate the importance of automobile safety. Within days, the garage housing the Spyder burnt to the ground. With the exception of the "Little Bastard," every vehicle parked inside the garage was destroyed. When the car was put on exhibit in Sacramento, it fell from its display and broke a teenager's hip. George Barkuis, who was hauling the Spyder on a flatbed truck, was killed instantly when the Porsche fell on him after he was thrown from his truck in an accident.


The mishaps surrounding the car continued until 1960, when the Porsche was loaned out for a safety exhibit in Miami, Florida. When the exhibit was over, the wreckage, en route to Los Angeles on a truck, mysteriously vanished. To this day, the "Little Bastard's" whereabouts are unknown.

Sources:
AMC's Hollywood Ghost Stories television special
Winer, Richard and Nancy Osborn. Haunted Houses.

 

 

 

July 3, 2009 by JP
[h=1]“LITTLE BASTARD” | THE SILVER SPYDER THAT DROVE JAMES DEAN TO HIS GRAVE[/h] James Deans “Little Bastard” Silver Porsche 550 Spyder. This shot was taken just hours before Jimmy’s tragic death.

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James Dean’s love for speed, racing and “living on the edge” are all well documented in many books, documentaries and bios– so I won’t belabor the point here. Check out the video after the jump for a “James Dean legend” primer. What is fascinating is the tremendous staying power, cult status and curse stories that surround not just James Dean, but also the 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder that he tragically lost his life in. The Porsche 550 Spyder is now forever linked with James Dean– it’s nearly impossible to recount one icon without the other. *
James Dean and his 1955 Silver Porsche 550 Spyder– “Little Bastard”

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James Dean (with friend / mechanic Rolf) and his 1955 Silver Porsche 550 Spyder– “Little Bastard”
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James Dean’s success in Hollywood afforded him the luxury of indulging in a love of race cars– Porsches to be specific. His first Porsche was a Speedster convertible, but when the opportunity arose to upgrade to the new performance-driven 550 Spyder– it was a no-brainer. Dean set out right away on putting his unique mark on the racer and called on George Barris, known as King of the Kustomizers (Barris later built the original Batmobile & Munster Koach), to get to work on the Spyder. Legend has it that under Jimmy’s guidance, Barris added custom tartan covered seats to the new Spyder. The large “130” racing number on the doors, hood and engine cover, and the now infamous “Little Bastard” badge, were applied by another auto legend– master pinstriper and customizer Dean Jeffries who had a shop next to George Barris. True to the legendary curse, the possessed Porsche did not fail to live up to it’s name. * * James Dean in happier days washing his first Porsche– a Speedster convertible.

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James Dean enjoying the suds and sun washing his convertible Porsche Speedster.

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James Dean behind the wheel.

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September 1955, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA — Actor James Dean gives a thumbs-up sign from his Porsche 550 Spyder, the , while parked on Vine Street in Hollywood. Dean, who had taken up racing the year before, owned the car only nine days when he lost his life in a fatal highway accident while driving the Porsche to a Salinas race.

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James Dean and his mechanic and friend, Rolf, in the Porsche shortly before Jimmy’s tragic death.

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January 1954, Palm Springs, CA. Original caption that ran with the news of Dean’s death– Young Movie Star Killed in Auto Accident. Los Angeles, California: James Dean, 24 year old movie actor who shot to stardom in his first picture, , was killed last night at the wheel of his $7,000 racing car when he collided with another auto on a highway intersection near Paso Robles, Cal. This photo, showing Dean in the cockpit of his Porsche sports car, was made after he won a race at Palm Springs last January. He is talking to Ed Kretz, motorcycle racer. Dean was driving a new Porsche Spyder when he was killed.

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James Dean, the original “Little Bastard” for which his Porsche 550 Spyder was named.

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Check out the definitive read– Lee Raskin’s James Dean: At Speed
Lee Raskin sets the record straight on George Barris HERE