ALERT! Have you Seen the Missing Corvair "Claymobile"

[bbodie52]

I have seen bits and pieces of this story on the Web and on some Corvair Facebook pages. Pictures of its original glory and how the great has fallen. Somebody considered it valuable enough to steal it! So for what it's worth...

CLAYMOBILE STOLEN! Help find this custom Corvair

Published: Sunday, June 28, 2009, 11:00 PM Updated: Thursday, May 13, 2010, 10:09 PM

By Jody Potter -- The Birmingham News

The Claymobile has been stolen from its hiding place in Cullman County, Alabama! The customized 1965 Corvair convertible was rumored to have originally belonged to Cassius Clay. Clay, the boxing legend, changed his name to Muhammad Ali in 1964 so speculation arose as to why he would own the 'Claymobile' if his name had been changed. That being said, this one-of-a-kind car was taken from owner, Eric Lippert, off his property in Cullman, Alabama during the past week. Eric's father, Orville Lippert, collected Corvairs and left him the car when he died. Eric had plans to restore the car and eventually sell it, using the proceeds to fund his daughter's education and his retirement. He is desperately seeking help finding his car.


Have you seen this car?

INFORMATION WANTED
If you have any information about the whereabouts of this car please contact Eric at justeric1agn@yahoo.com. A reward may be forthcoming. Engine Block readers spread the word and help Eric.


Help the owner find his 'Claymobile'

WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Check out the photos. Have you seen anything like it this side of the 'Speedracer' movie or TV series? It has three distinct tires with raised, white-letter 'Claymobile Corvair 1965' molded into the rubber. Three of the wheels are Mickey Thomson ET IIs. A Corsa emblem is on the glove box and it has a weathered wood steering wheel. The custom body is 45-years-old and showing cracks on the seams and is covered in multi-colored paint splotches. Diamond-shaped exhaust ports exit at the rear of the car.


'Corvair 1965 Claymobile' is on three of the original Silvertown tires. Three Mickey Thompson ET II wheels are on the car.

ORIGINAL CLAYMOBILE DETAILS
Eric says the Claymobile had changed colors over the years. When his father got it, 'it was painted purple and had a TV in the glove box. It was originally painted canary yellow. The car was also featured in 'Playboy' magazine, a paint brochure and in a TV special about classic collector cars.'


The Claymobile has vanished from the owner's hiding place.

CLAYMOBILE FAME TO BLAME?
When I saw the car in December, it was somewhat visible from the road. More noticeable and scattered across a triangular patch of property in rural Cullman County were dozens of vehicles including more Corvair models. A Fitch Sprint Corvair sits mere feet from the heavily traveled road. I documented the Claymobile with photos here and a video here. I hope the small splash of Engine Block fame didn't contribute to its theft. I'm bummed out about the disappearance of the 'Claymobile'. I hope good will conquer evil and the Claymobile is safely returned to it's rightful owner.


The 1965 Claymobile is reported to have originally been owned by Cassius Clay.

INFORMATION WANTED
If you have any information about the whereabouts of this car please contact Eric.




Engine compartment of the 1965 Claymobile Corvair.


There was a rusty metal plate on the center of the dash. Perhaps it was a plaque detailing the Claymobile's authenticity?


Detail of the front of the Claymobile.






You won't miss these exhaust ports. Find this car.


Pattern on seats carried over onto door panels.


Corsa emblem is on the Claymobile's glove box.




If you see a car that looks like a rocket ship, you've just seen the Claymobile.

http://blog.al.com/engine-block/2009/06 ... nd_th.html

THEORY: Perhaps this car never really belonged to Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali). Perhaps the term "Claymobile" refers to a large quantity of Bondo contained in its skin!

I think the owner might have been overly optimistic in thinking that he could finance his daughter's college education and his own retirement with the proceeds from selling a restored "Claymobile"!

[flat6_musik]

Wow.....looking at those pics, I have to wonder how anyone in their right mind could think this thing looks good. But!......looking at it in purple in the top pic, it does have decent profile, sort of like the Speed Racer car, as was mentioned. Those rear vertical fins look like they're made of concrete. I'd like to see if there's any documentation at all as to whether it once belonged to Mohammed Ali.

[davemotohead]

My question is,Who in their right mind would want to steal that thing? looks pretty much used up in those pics?

[bbodie52]

The current theory seems to reject the idea that the car was built for Muhammad Ali, because by 1965 he had rejected his original birth name when he joined the Nation of Islam (formerly known as the Black Muslims) and renounced his name – changing it in March 1964 from Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. to Muhammad Ali following his conversion to Islam and affiliation with the Nation of Islam. For this reason it is doubtful that he would have commissioned a custom car to be built from a 1965 Corvair that would be named after the name he had rejected – Clay – in 1964. The adoption of this name symbolized his new identity as a member of the Nation of Islam. He announced that "Cassius Clay is my slave name".

[flat6_musik]

My question is,Who in their right mind would want to steal that thing?

And not only that, but.....where in the hell would anyone ever drive it or even show it?! I guess it could've been loaded onto a container and headed for Europe or some other destination. More likely, they'll yank the drivetrain and leave the body or just part the whole thing out.

Man, those square exhaust ports in the back are really.......amazing.

[bbodie52]

I can see a little LM Corvair surviving in the middle (fuel tank door). The front end reminds me of a Gran Torino...





... and the rear reminds me of the Batmobile from the 1960s...





... but overall, I'm sorry to see that a Corsa was sacrificed to form a basis for such a custom car, although it appears that a two-carburetor 110 hp engine was used for power.

[flat6_musik]

The front end reminds me of a Gran Torino...

[bbodie52]

Boy, that is a hard stare! I did not mean to offend Mr. Eastwood or insult his movie. I loved his movie! Honest!! I even vote Republican!

[Swngaxl]

This to me is a sad story. I remember the car, and I believe I was at the show where that picture was taken. The owner was in my club, and we had a show in a local shopping mall, when mall's were still fairly new. This would have been in the mid 70's.

The owner was a great fellow, with a marvelous collection of Corvairs and collectible items. At the time, the car was touted as having once belonged to Mohammed Ali, and no one had any reason back then to doubt the story. I do not know when it was built, but do know that Corvairs were dirt cheap in those days. For example, my dad turned down a running '63 Spyder coupe because $150 was just too much to pay for another car we didn't need, since he had bought a '69 that was still under factory warranty for around $400. At that time, we paid $35 for my '64 Spyder convertible that needed restoration, and $100 for my mother's '66 convertible. And, Corvairs were routinely cut up at that time to make dune buggies out of, the 140 engines were especially prized. Yep, plentiful and cheap.

But those days are over. The man who owned the car passed away some years ago, I went to help sort out his collection. It was an amazing stash of Corvair items, everything from magazines and toys to one of the most perfect Spyder dashes I've ever seen, which he kept in a glass case. I got a few parts, including a set of 13" slotted mag wheels.

So now, that man is gone, his collection is being parted out, my wheels were stolen, and the Clay Mobile was even taken from where it was unceremoniously dissolving into the ground. So when I look at this story, I see the passage of time, the loss of a friend, and the end of a lifetime of Corvair collecting. To me, it is more than a mystery of a stolen car.

But I will end this recollection on a happier note, and add a bit of lore to the story of the Clay Mobile. There may still be others who remember, but I remember very well that this car had a unique horn. The guy who owned it set it off a couple of times at that mall show, and it was fun to watch him smile as the passersby stopped to listen as the horn played "Yes Sir, That's My Baby!"

[bbodie52]

Thank you for some valuable memories and first-hand insight regarding this Corvair-related history. I have scanned the Internet for more clues on this car, but little historical information remains, other than the one photo when the car was in good condition and all of the others while it was in a state of decay. Whether the custom styling appeals or not, it is a part of the Corvair's history from that period. The name of the builder and the car's actual history as a custom project seems to elude us, and may never be known. The reason for its theft and the ultimate ending for this car may also never be known.

[Swngaxl]

Thanks Brad. I would like to clarify one thing, the owner I knew sold the car long ago. I had lost track of it, hadn't heard anything about it for 25+ years, and wondered whatever happened to it. I figured it was stashed away in a basement somewhere, and would eventually turn up in a museum. Then it turned up in this story instead. I hated to see it had been stored outdoors, we all know what that does to a car, especially to a convertible with the top back. I never met the man who had it stolen from him, but have known others who counted on a stash of Corvair parts for retirement money only to see it wasn't worth nearly what they thought it would be.

But from what I remember, like it or not the car was a good build. Back in those days, you didn't build something like this on a whim, someone obviously put lots of time and money in it. I never rode in it, but it was driven quite a bit to club events.

[UNSAFE]

. I would have agreed that it had more to do with how much clay the body had in it as opposed to Cassius Clay ever having anything to do with it but
further research may prove otherwise ?

[Nickshu]

Great post, love the history. The Corvair and it's enthusiasts live on!!

This to me is a sad story. I remember the car, and I believe I was at the show where that picture was taken. The owner was in my club, and we had a show in a local shopping mall, when mall's were still fairly new. This would have been in the mid 70's.

The owner was a great fellow, with a marvelous collection of Corvairs and collectible items. At the time, the car was touted as having once belonged to Mohammed Ali, and no one had any reason back then to doubt the story. I do not know when it was built, but do know that Corvairs were dirt cheap in those days. For example, my dad turned down a running '63 Spyder coupe because $150 was just too much to pay for another car we didn't need, since he had bought a '69 that was still under factory warranty for around $400. At that time, we paid $35 for my '64 Spyder convertible that needed restoration, and $100 for my mother's '66 convertible. And, Corvairs were routinely cut up at that time to make dune buggies out of, the 140 engines were especially prized. Yep, plentiful and cheap.

But those days are over. The man who owned the car passed away some years ago, I went to help sort out his collection. It was an amazing stash of Corvair items, everything from magazines and toys to one of the most perfect Spyder dashes I've ever seen, which he kept in a glass case. I got a few parts, including a set of 13" slotted mag wheels.

So now, that man is gone, his collection is being parted out, my wheels were stolen, and the Clay Mobile was even taken from where it was unceremoniously dissolving into the ground. So when I look at this story, I see the passage of time, the loss of a friend, and the end of a lifetime of Corvair collecting. To me, it is more than a mystery of a stolen car.

But I will end this recollection on a happier note, and add a bit of lore to the story of the Clay Mobile. There may still be others who remember, but I remember very well that this car had a unique horn. The guy who owned it set it off a couple of times at that mall show, and it was fun to watch him smile as the passersby stopped to listen as the horn played "Yes Sir, That's My Baby!"