[Danial]

Alan B. Shepard's gen 4 Camaro is up for sale with documentation. Here's the link to the CL ad:

https://lasvegas.craigslist.org/ctd/...675126195.html

My dad worked on the fringe of the astronaut training program at Edwards Air Force Base in the late 60s thru early 70s and actually met this man and others during his time there. I met some of them but was only 5-9 years old while we lived there, so couldn't tell you who.

The story and pics in the write-up are pretty cool if you're into such things. Shepard was the first American in space, for those not in the know.

[dkp2LT]

Extremely cool - but not $295,000 cool.

Still, would love to see in person.

[Tony-8]

I live in the town and a couple of miles from where he was born. My wife teaches at the high school he attended and its teams are called the "Astros." Local hero and if I hit the Powerball, that might make it to my garage.

[redcoats1976]

very cool,i wonder if he got the same deal as they got with the corvettes.i think the vettes were a dollar a year lease,but the publicity was worth it.

[Danial]

Originally Posted by dkp2LT

Extremely cool - but not $295,000 cool.

Still, would love to see in person.

No, not $300K worth of cool, unless you were the one to hit the $1.73 bil Powerball...grin, but pretty neat.

Originally Posted by Tony-8

I live in the town and a couple of miles from where he was born. My wife teaches at the high school he attended and its teams are called the "Astros." Local hero and if I hit the Powerball, that might make it to my garage.

Great story! I called my dad last night after I sent him the link. He remembered meeting him with a couple of the others but couldn't remember if I was tagging along that day. I think I was there. We went to look at this huge camera (and by huge, I mean this thing filled the center of the room and was as tall as my dad, facing upwards) that was used to track orbiting objects. This group of guys came in and there was a lot of general hubbub around them. I remember my dad smiling and shaking hands.

[Danial]

Originally Posted by redcoats1976

very cool,i wonder if he got the same deal as they got with the corvettes.i think the vettes were a dollar a year lease,but the publicity was worth it.

I knew they got a deal on the 'vettes but I had no idea it was that good!

[1JEWLDSSRS]

That's pretty cool Daniel!! But wow, that's a lot of money!! We just might see this one on either Mecum or Barrett Jackson sometime..

[Schpungus]

Originally Posted by Danial

I knew they got a deal on the 'vettes but I had no idea it was that good!

If I remember correctly, they weren't allowed to accept "gifts" from private enterprise as government employees, so GM decided they'd offer them the $1 lease deal for the Corvettes so that they were technically being "purchased" and not gifted.

[redcoats1976]

Originally Posted by Danial

I knew they got a deal on the 'vettes but I had no idea it was that good!

i read about in in a book,think it might have been "the right stuff".gus grissom had a vette,so did some of the other astronauts.you have to figure it was more than just another car coming off-lease,the dealer probably didnt lose any money on them.and who wouldnt want to drive a new vette every year for a buck a year?

[Danial]

Originally Posted by 1JEWLDSSRS

That's pretty cool Daniel!! But wow, that's a lot of money!! We just might see this one on either Mecum or Barrett Jackson sometime..

They sold one of the astronaut-owned Corvettes at auction last year for over $300K. I sent an email to the guy and he responded back that this one will end up at one of the big auctions as well. They are giving 50% of the sale to the scholarship foundation that Shepard started.

[Danial]

Originally Posted by redcoats1976

i read about in in a book,think it might have been "the right stuff".gus grissom had a vette,so did some of the other astronauts.you have to figure it was more than just another car coming off-lease,the dealer probably didnt lose any money on them.and who wouldnt want to drive a new vette every year for a buck a year?

Right? I love this kind of history.

[Danial]

I had emailed the sellers about this car and my somewhat connection through my dad with the astronaut training program. They sent this note back. I thought it was very generous of his time to respond like this:

"DC, great story. Sounds like you actually read our ad. At 69 yes old, I have been in the auto business most my life & you can go thru your whole life & not be as fortunate as we are in purchasing Admiral Shepard’s car from the family. Fortunately it was in great 68k mile original condition & we painstakingly took many hours to get it to what you see today. We even put in a $7k lift just so we could give the underside the detail it deserved & as you can see it is in almost new condition.

We knew making $$$ selling would be easy but we decided to complicate things by raising the price & giving half the net proceeds to the ASF which The Admiral founded w the original Mercury 7 Astronauts.

Sounds like you had a very fortunate childhood w your dad @ Edwards. I would have loved to had the opportunity to meet The Admiral.

This has turned into a very political journey & we just got the support from the ASF. Next step is get support from NASA & then we will be able to advertise on both of their social media platforms. Our goal is to have the car sold by end of this year.

Please give my regards to you dad & stay tuned, its going to be a awesome journey.

Phil Collum
AutoQuest Jeeps
Home of the Astronaut Car
Waller TX 77484
832.473.7588
aqjeeps@gmail.com

[redcoats1976]

saw one of the mercury capsules on grand turk,its on display after a splashdown nearby.thin metal,only about 7 feet long.no way would i think about going into orbit in that.those guys earned their vettes...

[SS376]

Fantasy price. The '68 Vette reference in the ad was an L89 car and probably worth low 6 figures even without the Alan Shephard connection. Add to that is the fact that the '68 was from the era when he was an actual astronaut.