{"id":2333,"date":"2022-08-09T11:57:57","date_gmt":"2022-08-09T03:57:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.icaridea.com\/?p=2333"},"modified":"2022-08-09T11:57:57","modified_gmt":"2022-08-09T03:57:57","slug":"apollo-15-astronaut-al-wordens-1971-chevrolet-corvette-rediscovered-and-ready-for-restoration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.icaridea.com\/?p=2333","title":{"rendered":"Apollo 15 astronaut Al Worden’s 1971 Chevrolet Corvette rediscovered and ready for restoration"},"content":{"rendered":"

close \"Fox Video <\/p>\n

Fox News Autos Test Drive: 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray<\/h4>\n

The 2020 Corvette Stingray is the first mid-engine version of the all-American sports car. Fox News Autos Editor Gary Gastelu found out if it has what it takes to compete with the world’s best.<\/p>\n

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It’s an out-of-this-world project car.<\/p>\n

A 1971 Chevrolet Corvette originally driven by Apollo 15 astronaut Al Worden, which was all but forgotten and left to the elements on a used car lot for years, will soon be ready to hit the road again.<\/p>\n

The coupe was one of three that were leased to the mission’s crew for a year for just $1 each by Melbourne, Florida, Chevrolet dealer and 1960 Indy 500 winner Jim Rathmann.<\/p>\n

Rathmann had been leasing Corvettes to astronauts since the Mercury program, fully aware of the promotional value of having American heroes cruising around in his cars, but the Apollo 15 crew was the last.<\/p>\n

GENERAL MOTORS BUILDING LUNAR TERRAIN VEHICLE FOR RETURN TO THE MOON<\/p>\n

\"Worden's <\/p>\n

\n Worden’s 1971 Corvette features a 454 cubic-inch V8.
\n (Max Kaiserman)<\/p>\n

Command module pilot Worden and his crewmates, James Irwin and David Scott, ordered theirs in red, white and blue with coordinating stripes. Worden chose a white one with a 454 cubic-inch V8 under the hood and a Muncie 4-speed manual transmission.<\/p>\n

He returned it at the end of the lease, and it was sold into private ownership, changing hands several times and ending up in Texas.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where noted Corvette collector Danny Reed discovered it and added it to his collection in 2017, officially documenting its history in the process.<\/p>\n

Reed also owns Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean\u2019s 1969 Corvette, which he purchased directly from GM in 1971, along with Dave Scott\u2019s blue 1971 model. Worden\u2019s car was functional when Reed found it but very weathered from sitting outside for who knows how many years.<\/p>\n

\"Max <\/p>\n

\n Max Keiserman knew Worden through his business Luna Replicas.
\n (Max Kaiserman\/NASA)<\/p>\n

Max Kaiserman, the owner of space program merchandise marketplace Luna Replicas and friend of Worden\u2019s, told Fox News Autos that Worden\u2019s grandson, Will Penczak, found out about the car and visited it at Reed\u2019s in 2020. Worden passed away the same year, and Penczak and Reed got to talking about what should happen to the car.<\/p>\n

\n

“We want to continue Al Worden\u2019s legacy of inspiring young people to get into science and math and the arts”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Kaiserman and Penczak decided to team up and purchase it; not to fix and flip it at an auction but to become its custodians and share it with the world. They\u2019ve now started Project AstroVette Endeavor and plan to restore it to some extent and use it as an educational tool by displaying it at science museums and other events.<\/p>\n

OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD DRIVER EUGENE CERNAN RECOUNTS HIS RIDE ON THE MOON<\/p>\n

“We want to continue Al Worden\u2019s legacy of inspiring young people to get into science and math and the arts, all of which the space program and the Corvette represent,” Kaiserman said.<\/p>\n

The 80,000-mile car currently runs and is mostly-rust free, but it\u2019s had some minor repairs and a few parts replaced over the years, so they\u2019re still deciding what to do with it. Whether to preserve it as-is or bring it back to as close to original condition as possible.<\/p>\n

\"Worden's <\/p>\n

\n Worden’s Corvette has been repaired but not restored.
\n (Max Kaiserman)<\/p>\n

A refresh to the standards of the National Corvette Restorers Society could run over $100,000, according to Kaiserman, while an extensive rotisserie show car-quality restoration might cost a quarter-million or more.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re open to any support for the project and are also asking anyone with photos of the car from the 1970s to share them to help get a better sense of its original condition, right down to what tires were on it when Worden had it. As of now, they only have one photo from Life magazine featuring the three astronauts and their cars parked behind the mission’s Lunar Roving Vehicle, which was the first to go to the moon.<\/p>\n

“How incredible is that the first astronauts to drive on the moon were also the last to drive Rathmann Corvettes,” Kaiserman said.<\/p>\n

\n

“Al always exuded that classic \u2019right stuff\u2019 attitude that you associate with the Apollo-era astronauts”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

“Al always exuded that classic \u2019right stuff\u2019 attitude that you associate with the Apollo-era astronauts,” American space program historian and collectSPACE editor Robert Pearlman, who also knew Worden, told Fox News Autos.<\/p>\n

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“I believe he would be thrilled to know that his AstroVette was not only being restored but being done so with the help of his grandson. And he would certainly want to be in the driver\u2019s seat again when it is ready to hit the road.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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