Claymobile: Stolen Custom 1965 Corvair Corsa Linked To Muhammad Ali, The Whole Story
The Claymobile almost got me arrested. I had no thought that the mysterious, custom car, with a rumored, legendary ownership, would eventually live stolen. The Claymobile floor fueled my journeying from junk yards to Junkyard Life together with is the argue I transcend along to document automotive history, 1 junkyard dream at a time.
Finally, the floor comes home.
The Claymobile facts
The Claymobile, previously owned yesteryear retired airplane pilot together with Corvair enthusiast, Orville Lippert, is a highly-customized 1965 Corvair Corsa convertible. The automobile is reportedly linked to boxing swell Muhammad Ali (previously known every bit Cassius Clay).
Legend has it that GM presented Cassius Clay with the modified Corvair inward 1964. Hence the holler “Clay”-mobile. Cassius Clay changed his holler to Muhammad Ali inward 1964. Skeptics are quick to banker's bill that the raised white lettering on the tires reads “CLAYMOBILE CORVAIR 1965,” together with that Ali would non have got accepted the Corvair with his “slave name” attached.
The Claymobile was stolen half dozen months afterwards I “uncovered” the custom Corvair together with published a floor virtually it online. I’m nonetheless searching for the truth together with the Claymobile.
Lead on Mystery Car
9:04 a.m. – Dec 6, 2008
“You’ve never seen a automobile similar this!”
My brother-from-another-mother, Michael Reeder, had been feeding me a tale virtually acres of Corvairs surrounding a mystery machine inward a field. He was convinced that 1 of the cars had to live a George Barris custom hot rod.
“Looks similar a home-built ‘Speed Racer’ car.”
I was determined to lay eyes on the mystery automobile myself on a blustery, mutual coldness Sabbatum inward Dec 2008. Three children tucked into the backseat of my battered, silver, Mazda 626. Reeder together with I drove toward an overgrown triangle of province inward Cullman County, Alabama. Armed with a photographic television camera together with a box of Pop Tarts, nosotros were develop for anything.
“Are nosotros there, yet?”
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| A mysterious, custom car, seemingly abandoned. The Claymobile! |
First look: The Claymobile
10:13 a.m. – Dec 6, 2008
“What the heck?”
The Bermuda Triangle of oddball cars sits along a 55 MPH stretch of two-lane highway. H5N1 gray together with dark 1965 Fitch “Sprint” Corvair was planted a few feet from the route together with served every bit our landmark. The location was desolate together with surrounded alone yesteryear farmland together with swift traffic along the province bordering the highway.
Hesitantly, our daddy daycare brood toured the abandoned automobile collection disguised every bit a junk yard. H5N1 draw of iv Corvair wagons, fighting a losing battle with the unrelenting hedgerow, caught our attending first. Stepping gently through the briar-laden property, with kids inward tow, Reeder together with I eye-balled dozens of complete, restorable cars. Almost all were mid-to-late 1960s-era. Mostly Corvairs. They were scattered alongside several vandalized together with heavily damaged buildings, including a cinder block garage together with single-wide mobile home.
Cast-off parts, including doors, hoods together with wheels, were piled, strewn together with stacked inward weeds. Bags of trash together with pockets of decay resembling a garbage dump together with nation of war zone were sprinkled roughly the holding for practiced measure.
Centered alongside the chaos sat the CLAYMOBILE!
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| Check out the smoothen plication on the top border of the frameless windshield together with dramatic swoop along the top border of the Claymobile’s eight-inch-thick doors. |
Walk-around
10:24 a.m. – Dec 6, 2008
An opened upwards air cockpit, tail fins together with long snout? Really, I had never seen anything similar it. Long together with depression with an exaggerated laid of tail fins together with enormous diamond-shaped exhaust ports. Movie laid rocket ships of the belatedly 1950s had zero on this car.
H5N1 closer hold off revealed a rear-mounted, flat-six, multi-carb Corvair engine together with a Corsa emblem on the glove box. All clues to Corvair origins. Raised, white missive of the alphabet tires proudly displayed “CLAYMOBILE CORVAIR 1965” roughly the vintage ET II wheels.
Was this a home-built tribute to the “Speed Racer” automobile of cartoon fame? Could it actually live a George Barris custom hot rod? Why was it sitting inward a plain side yesteryear side to a destroyed, single-wide trailer?
It was fourth dimension to inquire the nearest vecino virtually the place.
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| Custom, raised-white-letter tires say the story, “ Claymobile Corvair 1965,” together with dig those ET II mag wheels! |
Knock-knock!
“Hi! You don’t know me but I’ve got some questions virtually that province with all the old Corvairs.”
Initially, the neighboring holding possessor was reluctant to divulge whatever details. But the floor was but also practiced to maintain secret.
I learned that Orville Lippert, the possessor of the province together with all the Corvairs, had passed inward 1989. Orville, originally from Michigan, was an bird mechanic, inspector together with pilot. He built his ain airplane, the Lippert-Fokker, together with established Lippert’s field, a landing strip inward Michigan. Orville survived a 1969 bird crash spell practicing touch-and-go landing inward his WWI German linguistic communication fighter plane. He moved from Michigan to Florida, so decided to retire together with motion to holding inward Alabama, where he maintained a large collection of Corvairs.
According to a neighbor, Eric, Orville’s son, had taken upwards residence on the holding but struggled to maintain the place, because he was working inward some other town. Eventually, Eric moved away together with seldom checked on his dad’s old place. Other alleged details from the neighbor, including arrests, drug busts, together with a meth lab explosion, seemed plausible considering the status of the property.
According to a neighbor, Eric, Orville’s son, had taken upwards residence on the holding but struggled to maintain the place, because he was working inward some other town. Eventually, Eric moved away together with seldom checked on his dad’s old place. Other alleged details from the neighbor, including arrests, drug busts, together with a meth lab explosion, seemed plausible considering the status of the property.
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| Giant tail fins together with large exhaust ports highlight the Claymobile’s rocketship styling. |
Retracing my steps, the commencement Claymobile story
4:00 a.m. – Dec 9, 2008
My automotive journalism career, if you lot tin telephone vociferation upwards it that, began inward March of 2008. I co-authored a spider web log on al.com with 2 like-minded, fellow, paper journalists, Chris Tutor together with Bill Kimber. We covered the local automotive scene for fun, receiving petty recognition for our unpaid pursuits. My commencement floor was virtually exploring junkyards. I was hooked.
I posted the commencement Claymobile floor 3 days afterwards I saw it inward that field. It was 4 a.m. together with I was anxious to uncovering out to a greater extent than virtually the mystery car.
Recognition
2 p.m. – Dec 9, 2008
H5N1 few hours afterwards the Claymobile floor hitting the web, Hemmings Motor News posted their ain story, consummate with my photos together with details virtually the Claymobile. My colleague, Chris Tutor, had sent them discussion of our Claymobile scoop. The Hemmings floor garnered immediate reaction. I watched every bit the Claymobile floor together with images spread to automotive websites together with forums across the globe. I presently added a brief video, walking viewers roughly the Claymobile, inward reply to a comment posted on the Hemmings site.
H5N1 local Corvair club, Vulcan Corvair Enthusiasts, inward Birmingham, Alabama reported that the Claymobile was originally painted yellow. H5N1 photograph from a belatedly 1970s automobile demo at Eastwood Mall shows that the Claymobile was painted majestic yesteryear 1977.
Many theories circulated, none confirmed. Joji Barris, George Barris’s daughter, dispelled the myth that the Claymobile was a Barris creation. “No recollection,” she said.
Ali Center, the Muhammad Ali museum inward Louisville, also had no knowledge of whatever Claymobile connections to Ali.
H5N1 rumor that the Claymobile appeared inward Playboy mag remains unfounded.
H5N1 local Corvair club, Vulcan Corvair Enthusiasts, inward Birmingham, Alabama reported that the Claymobile was originally painted yellow. H5N1 photograph from a belatedly 1970s automobile demo at Eastwood Mall shows that the Claymobile was painted majestic yesteryear 1977.
Many theories circulated, none confirmed. Joji Barris, George Barris’s daughter, dispelled the myth that the Claymobile was a Barris creation. “No recollection,” she said.
Ali Center, the Muhammad Ali museum inward Louisville, also had no knowledge of whatever Claymobile connections to Ali.
H5N1 rumor that the Claymobile appeared inward Playboy mag remains unfounded.
I did larn that master content, peculiarly automotive unicorns similar the Claymobile, volition live devoured yesteryear the spider web earlier you lot tin blink.
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| The Claymobile retained many 1965 Corvair Corsa-specific parts, similar the Corsa musical instrument cluster. |
Stolen
10:45 a.m. – June 28, 2009
“I ask to utter to you, now!”
The Claymobile was stolen half dozen months afterwards I unveiled it to the globe broad web.
Eric Lippert, the understandably shaken possessor of the Claymobile, reached out to me inward a desperate endeavour to locate his one-of-a-kind custom Corvair.
“I don’t have got whatever paperwork or VIN data on the car,” Lippert said. “Did you lot convey a photograph of the VIN?”
Unfortunately, I did not.
The automobile was Eric’s menage unit of measurement treasure. He inherited the automobile from his father, Orville Lippert, inward 1989, together with had plans of restoring the automobile to its old glory. He planned to sell the car, for what he hoped would live a huge profit, to fund his daughter's educational activity together with his ain retirement.
Lippert, similar a shot living inward a distant city, rarely visited the Claymobile property. As presently every bit the Claymobile was discovered missing, Lippert notified the sheriff’s piece of work together with reported the theft. The regime were unable to offering assistance without photos, paperwork or VIN information.
Blame game |
| I gave the car's shark olfactory organ front end terminate a theatre tap. It responded with the dull thud of Pb or Bondo. It must have got been molded solid. |
Lippert looked to the spider web for help. He Googled “Claymobile,” together with Boom! my photos appeared.
Mystery solved.
Lippert sought my assist –– afterwards deciding non to press charges against me for trespassing.
I received a telephone phone vociferation upwards from the sheriff’s piece of work together with my employer’s legal squad were involved. Luckily, I kept my job. My boss allowed me to transcend along posting content, that did non involve the constabulary or lawyers, to al.com.
2nd Story Plea
11:00 p.m. – June 28, 2009
I wanted to assist Lippert uncovering his Claymobile. The automobile was to a greater extent than than the amount of Corvair parts molded into a custom hot rod. It represented the family’s dreams. Lippert, convinced that the Claymobile 1 time belonged to Ali, planned to consummate the car’s restoration inward hopes that it would garner the menage unit of measurement a windfall. The same twenty-four hours I found out virtually the theft, I posted a novel floor alerting readers of the news. It included Lippert’s contact information.
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| The Claymobile was stolen from an overgrown triangle of province inward Alabama where it had been stashed for many years, uncovered. |
Still missing. Lippert has no leads on the Claymobile.
“Maybe it volition demo upwards 1 day?,” Lippert said. “If they didn’t sink it inward a lake.”
“Maybe it volition demo upwards 1 day?,” Lippert said. “If they didn’t sink it inward a lake.”
More vehicles went missing from his Cullman holding afterwards the Claymobile vanished.
Lippert had enough.
“I got tired of everyone stealing everything,” said Lippert.
Eric decided to chip the remaining cars together with sold the land. His father’s Corvair collection is no more.
The Claymobile, together with the Cassius Clay connection, a distant memory.
What did I learn?
The floor beneath the rust has value. Original content is manful individual monarch together with everybody wanted a slice of the Claymobile for their website. Before I brought this floor to light, few had always seen the automobile or knew details virtually the mystery surrounding its existence.
The photos I took together with excerpts from my stories tin live found on blogs together with forums across the web. The mystery of Muhammad Ali together with the Claymobile created quite a stir together with led me to say my tales on Junkyard Life.
I transcend along to dig for dream cars on the cheap together with volition say the stories of the people who held the keys.Jody Potter
— Junkyard Life
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| Fins from the 1950s together with imaginative pattern helped to brand the Claymobile a one-of-a-kind custom that volition never live recreated. |
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| Small pillars back upwards the windshield. High-backed bucket seats. Seat belts? No. |
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| What was a custom Corvair built for Cassius Clay doing inward a field? |
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| Power locks or ability window switch on the door panel of the neglected interior? |
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| Imagine rowing through the gears inward the opened upwards cockpit. Did the legendary Muhammad Ali 1 time concur the Claymobile’s steering wheel? |
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| Multi-carb, rear-mounted apartment half dozen Corvair engine powered the Claymobile. |
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| A TV was installed inward the glovebox of the heavily customized Claymobile when the automobile was commencement completed. Note the Corsa emblem. |
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| The headlight trim down together with mouth-like grill were created inward the use-what-you-have schoolhouse of design. Notice the majestic pigment nether layers of primer? |
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| The Claymobile’s seats included headrests. |
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| Vintage ET II mag wheels were wrapped with Silvertown tires lettered with "Claymobile Corvair 1965." |
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| The Claymobile was advertised inward Hemmings inward the late-1970s. |
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| Claymobile inward 1977 at an Eastwood Mall Corvair demo – Birmingham, Alabama. |
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| Surprised at how practiced the Claymobile looks inward 1977? What a divergence thirty years tin brand when parked out inward the elements. |
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