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Click through the gallery to see before and after photos of the damaged cars." border="0" height="360" id="articleGalleryPhoto001" width="640"/>CLASSIC! This 1962 Tuxedo Black Corvettewas one of eight museum-piece 'Vettes that fell into a 60-foot-deep sinkhole February inside the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in February. Click through the gallery to see before and after photos of the damaged cars.
Despite the car's sinkhole ordeal, museum board member Dana Forrester said it appears the 1962 Corvette "really didn't sustain all that much damage, and I think it will be fairly easily restored. It's just going to need some repair of some punctured or cracked fiberglass. It kind of amazed me that that older fiberglass seemed to hold up better than some of the newer composite plastics that they have."
according to GM. It served in one of the world's richest racing events, the PPG Indy Car World Series.
Gear-heads will appreciate that it features a Katech engine with chassis by George Foller. The body is by Diversified Glass Product and the finish is Deltron Acrylic Urethane Orange Glow Candy. " border="0" height="360" id="articleGalleryPhoto003" width="640"/>CHOICE! The 1984 PPG Pace Car is a one-of-a-kind concept car developed by PPG in cooperation with Chevrolet, according to GM. It served in one of the world's richest racing events, the PPG Indy Car World Series. Gear-heads will appreciate that it features a Katech engine with chassis by George Foller. The body is by Diversified Glass Product and the finish is Deltron Acrylic Urethane Orange Glow Candy.
After workers hauled the PPG from the hole, it became apparent the Corvette had been chopped by a large slab of concrete, according to GM. This photo shows that its rear panels have gone missing.
GM says it was built around 2 p.m. on July 2, 1992, at Corvette's Bowling Green Assembly Plant. The 1 millionth Corvette was a white convertible with red interior, as was the first-built Corvette in 1953 -- like the car on the right." border="0" height="360" id="articleGalleryPhoto005" width="640"/>SWEET! This 1992 model is the 1 millionth Corvetteever produced. GM says it was built around 2 p.m. on July 2, 1992, at Corvette's Bowling Green Assembly Plant. The 1 millionth Corvette was a white convertible with red interior, as was the first-built Corvette in 1953 -- like the car on the right.
After it emerged from the sinkhole, the museum said the 1 millionth Corvette's "undercarriage and frame look to be in good condition and everything is repairable."
according to the museum. " border="0" height="360" id="articleGalleryPhoto007" width="640"/>HOT! This 1993 ZR-1 Spyder, on loan from General Motors, was built with"unique hood and front quarter panel vents" to help cool the engine. The car's windshield and side glass were designed to sit lower than other Corvettes to give it an even sleeker profile. Although the museum lists this modified car's year as 1993, mechanically, the Spyder is a stock 1990, according to the museum.
the website said." border="0" height="360" id="articleGalleryPhoto008" width="640"/>As a crane pulled the Spyder from underground, museum officials said it became apparent it was among the worst damaged. A large boulder was found lodged in the Spyder's cabin, according to the museum website. At the time of the sinkhole collapse, the car was on display with its hood open. The fall snapped the hood off, the website said.
NICE! The 1993 40th Anniversary Corvette stood out for its special ruby red exterior, matching leather seats and wheel centers. It also had a "40th Anniversary" logo emblazoned on its side. In total, 6,749 40th Anniversary Corvettes were built -- as coupes or convertibles, Forrester said.
told GM, "The 40th Anniversary looks much worse than it really is. Practically every body panel and piece of glass will need to be replaced. However, underneath the frame looks straight, the suspension seems to be intact, and the steering gear still works. It is definitely salvageable." A nearly identical 40th Anniversary Corvette was donated to the museum this month, after its owner saw what had happened to this one." border="0" height="360" id="articleGalleryPhoto0010" width="640"/>After it came out of the hole, Chevrolet manager John Spencer told GM, "The 40th Anniversary looks much worse than it really is. Practically every body panel and piece of glass will need to be replaced. However, underneath the frame looks straight, the suspension seems to be intact, and the steering gear still works. It is definitely salvageable." A nearly identical 40th Anniversary Corvette was donated to the museum this month, after its owner saw what had happened to this one.
according to GM. " border="0" height="360" id="articleGalleryPhoto0011" width="640"/>CHERRY! This custom-made 2001 Mallett Hammer Z06was in pristine condition before it tumbled into the sinkhole. Performance car modifier Chuck Mallett transformed this and other Z06 Corvettes into one-of-a-kind vehicles that took part in races all over the East Coast, according to GM.
After engineers hauled it to the surface, one museum official said the Mallett Hammer had been reduced to "just a tire." Sadly, no one at the museum disagrees that the Mallett Hammer sustained the worst damage of all eight sinkhole Corvettes. It's the least likely to be restored.
GM says it was designed to be the "fastest production automobile that GM has ever built. Never in the history of GM has a production automobile been produced with a 638 HP and a top end speed in excess of 200 mph."" border="0" height="360" id="articleGalleryPhoto0013" width="640"/>BOSS! This 2009 ZR1 Blue Devil -- on loan from General Motors -- included body panels constructed out of lightweight carbon fiber. GM says it was designed to be the "fastest production automobile that GM has ever built. Never in the history of GM has a production automobile been produced with a 638 HP and a top end speed in excess of 200 mph."
Spencer told GM. "Cosmetically, the carbon fiber running boards are shattered," he said. "There's some minor paint damage, and a small crack in the windshield. Mechanically, the worst damage is a split in the oil-supply line ... If you fixed that, you could drive the ZR1 back to Detroit."" border="0" height="360" id="articleGalleryPhoto0014" width="640"/>When it exited the sinkhole, the Blue Devil was deemed to be in "remarkable shape," Spencer told GM. "Cosmetically, the carbon fiber running boards are shattered," he said. "There's some minor paint damage, and a small crack in the windshield. Mechanically, the worst damage is a split in the oil-supply line ... If you fixed that, you could drive the ZR1 back to Detroit."
according to GM. "While the weakening economy was clearly on everyone's mind, there was still an excitement in the air..." " border="0" height="360" id="articleGalleryPhoto0015" width="640"/>SLEEK! This is the 1,500,000th Corvette ever built. It came off the assembly line in Bowling Green on May 28, 2009, according to GM. "While the weakening economy was clearly on everyone's mind, there was still an excitement in the air..."
Seen here after its rescue, the "1.5 Millionth" Corvette obviously took a beating.
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- Museum in Kentucky wanted to preserve 40-foot-wide sinkhole, citing significance and appeal to visitors
- But preservation would be more expensive than filling it, board says
- Sinkhole swallowed eight Corvettes in February; three are to be restored
- The other five, still damaged, will be displayed
(CNN) -- The virtual cathedral for one of America's most revered cars will reluctantly fill a monster sinkhole that brought it both pain and gain.
The National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, also said Saturday it and Chevrolet will restore three of the eight vehicles that the 45-foot-wide hole swallowed in February, but will leave the remains of the five others -- too wrecked to fix -- on display.
"We really wanted to preserve a portion of the hole so that guests for years to come could see a little bit of what it was like, but after receiving more detailed pricing, the costs outweighs the benefit," museum Executive Director Wendell Strode said.
Why was the hole's filling ever in doubt? Visitor traffic since February jumped 70% compared to the same period last year, as people lined up to see not only the brand's past but also the newly mangled vehicles and gaping earth, museum spokeswoman Katie Frassinelli said.
But the board learned that preserving part of the hole would cost $1 million more than it would to fill the whole thing. And the effort required to keep it safe -- eyesores like 35-foot retaining walls and steel beams -- made preservation even less appealing, Frassinelli said.
Sinkhole becomes attraction at museum
Watch sinkhole devour Corvettes
See last Corvette pulled out of sinkhole
<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The sinkhole. (Click to expand)
The sinkhole. (Click to expand)
<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The hole is 60 feet deep. (Click to expand)
The hole is 60 feet deep. (Click to expand)
"That's no longer a naturally occurring, interesting sinkhole," she said.
Frassinelli said the museum isn't revealing how much the renovation will cost. The project will start sometime after early November.
The privately funded, not-for-profit attraction has gone from shock to proudly displaying its own spectacular damage in months.
The ground opened at the museum's Skydome section in the early morning of February 12. Surveillance video showed the hole devouring some of the eight cars that it took down.
The hole was measured at about 45 feet wide, 60 feet long and up to 30 feet deep.
Western Kentucky is cave country, and it turned out a previously undetected cave was under the Skydome, Frassinelli said. Sinkholes pop up regularly in the area, sometimes caused by ground water eroding underground limestone over many years.
After experts examined the cave and determined the rest of the facility was safe, the museum reopened -- and started letting visitors view the sinkhole behind plexiglass five days after the incident.
By late April, visitors could walk into the Skydome and stand just feet from the hole's edge. The museum also brought up the fallen cars -- some sliced or mashed -- and put them on display as mangled as they were found.
But on Saturday the museum announced three cars would be restored, including a 2009 ZR1 prototype known as the Blue Devil, among GM's fastest production cars. Also getting restored: the 1-millionth Corvette produced (a white 1992 convertible), and a 1962 tuxedo black Corvette, which was the oldest to fall.
The others were too damaged. But their remains will continued to be displayed -- eventually back in the Skydome, where an exhibit will be dedicated to the sinkhole, the museum said.
General Motors will provide nearly $250,000 to help recovery efforts, the museum said.
The damage got the attention of gearheads worldwide. Reports estimated the total value of the cars at more than $1 million.
Experts call the Corvette the most collected car in America, and General Motors calls it the "world's longest-running, continuously produced passenger car." Since the 'Vette's 1953 debut, more than 1.5 million have rolled off Chevrolet assembly lines. The sleek silhouette has transformed into a pop culture icon across TV, films and advertising.
Watch: How the museum has been showcasing the sinkhole
CNN's Thom Patterson contributed to this report.
