The Curse of James Dean Porche

The "curse" of James Dean's car, the "Little Bastard", has become part of America's cultural mythology. The story of the "curse" begins before the car itself had been involved in any crash; in his 1985 autobiography Blessings in Disguise, British actor Alec Guinness relates that on his first night in Los Angeles on September 23, 1955, after leaving a restaurant with no table available and starting to look elsewhere, he and his friend Thelma Moss met Dean, who invited them to dine with him at his table at the place that they had just left. Dean showed them his silver Porsche and said: "It's just been delivered." Guinness allegedly warned Dean to never enter the car: "Please, never get in it. It is now ten o'clock, Friday the 23rd of September, 1955. If you get in that car you will be found dead in it by this time next week." The following Friday, his prediction came true. After the fatal crash, Warren Beath, a James Dean archivist and author, attributes the existence of the "curse" to George Barris, the self-described "King of the Kustomizers," who says he was the first to purchase the wrecked car. Barris promoted the "curse" after he placed the wreck on public display in 1956. Over the years, Barris described a mysterious series of accidents and car crashes that occurred from 1956 to 1960 involving the "Little Bastard" that resulted in serious injuries to spectators and even a truck driver's death. Raskin states many claims regarding the "curse" appear to have been based on Barris' 1974 book Cars of the Stars. Raskin's 2005 book James Dean: At Speed states that the wrecked Spyder was declared as a total loss by the insurance company, which paid Dean's father Winton fair-market value as a settlement. The insurance company, through a salvage yard in Burbank, sold the Spyder to Dr. William F. Eschrich, who had competed against Dean in his own sports car at three race events in 1955. Eschrich dismantled the engine and mechanical parts and installed the Porsche four-cam engine in his Lotus IX race car chassis. Eschrich then raced the Porsche-powered Lotus, which he called a "Potus," at seven California Sports Car Club events during 1956. While driving the car at the Pomona Sports Car Races on October 21, 1956, Eschrich was involved in a minor "shunt" with another driver. Barris' Cars of the Stars states that a Dr. McHenry, "driving a car powered by the engine from Dean's car, was killed when his vehicle went out of control and struck a tree in the first race in which the motor had been used since Dean's mishap. Another doctor, William F. Eschrid of Burbank, was injured in the same race when his car, which contained the drivetrain from Dean's car, rolled over." Eschrich, interviewed a day after McHenry's fatal crash, said he had loaned the Dean transmission and several other parts to McHenry: "I don't believe he was using the transmission when he crashed, but he was using the back swinging arms which holds the rear end." McHenry appears to have the distinction of being the only bona fide victim of the "curse". Raskin states that although Barris may have customized several cars for Rebel Without a Cause, he never customized any of Dean's personal cars and neither of his Porsches. Lew Bracker, Dean's best friend in Los Angeles and fellow Porsche racer, maintains that Barris was not involved with Dean's racing activities; he was never considered to be part of Dean's "inner circle" invited to go to Salinas on September 30, 1955. It is not known exactly how Barris knew Eschrich, but he was given the Spyder's mangled body after Eschrich had stripped out the Porsche. In 1956, Barris announced that he was going to rebuild the "Little Bastard", but that proved to be a Herculean task as the wrecked chassis had no remaining integral strength. Instead, Barris decided to weld aluminum sheet metal over the caved-in left front fender and cockpit area. He proceeded to beat on the aluminum panels with a 2x4 to try to simulate what would appear to be collision damage. Later in 1956, Barris loaned out the "Little Bastard" to the Los Angeles chapter of the National Safety Council for a local rod and custom car show. The gruesome display was promoted as: "James Dean's Last Sports Car". During 1957–1959, the exhibit was toured in various rod and custom car shows, movie theatres, bowling alleys, and highway safety displays throughout California. There are few stories associated with the "curse" that can be corroborated. For example, a wire service story on March 12, 1959, reported that the "Little Bastard", temporarily stored in a garage at 3158 Hamilton Avenue in Fresno, caught fire "awaiting display as a safety exhibit in a coming sports and custom automobile show". However, on May 12, 1959, The Fresno Bee, reported that the fire occurred on the night of March 11 and only slight damage occurred to the Spyder without any damage to other cars or property in the garage. No one was injured: "The cause of the fire is unknown. It burned two tires and scorched the paint on the vehicle." Later that year, the "Little Bastard" toured national auto shows and traffic safety exhibitions. Legend also holds that the "Little Bastard" mysteriously disappeared in 1960. According to Barris, the Spyder was returning from a traffic safety exhibit in Florida in a sealed truck. In Barris' book and in many TV interviews, he said the "Little Bastard" was being shipped back in a sealed boxcar. When the train arrived in Los Angeles, Barris said he signed the manifest and verified that the seal was intact—but the boxcar was empty. Raskin believes that Barris' "Little Bastard" side show had lost its fan appeal just as the 1960s pop culture began to focus on "big block" Muscle Cars. Raskin also believes that Barris opted to misplace the "Little Bastard". The mysterious disappearance stories were Barris' way of perpetuating the Dean myth, especially on the milestone anniversaries of Dean's death. Although the "Little Bastard" remains missing as of 2022, Historic Auto Attractions in Roscoe, Illinois, claims to have an original piece of Dean's Spyder on display. It is a small chunk of aluminum, a few square inches in size, that was stolen from an area near the broken windscreen while the Spyder was being stored in the Cholame Garage following the crash. In 2005, for the 50th anniversary of Dean's death, the Volo Auto Museum in Volo, Illinois, announced they were displaying what was purported to be the passenger door of the "Little Bastard". Volo and Barris offered $1,000,000 to anyone who could prove that they owned the remains of the "Little Bastard". No one came forth to claim the prize. The 4-Cam Porsche engine, along with the original California Owner's Registration listing the engine number, is still in the possession of the family of the late Dr. Eschrich. The Porsche's transaxle assembly, is currently owned by Zak Bagans Haunted Museum. Raskin originally documented and published all the serial numbers (VINs) for the Spyder (chassis, engine, transmission); as well as for his 356 Super Speedster. To date, neither of Dean's Porsches have been located.