Volo Museum Lands the 1959 Corvette from Animal House

Way back in January we found out that the long lost 1959 Corvette from the movie Animal House had resurfaced and was going to be offered for sale. The red roadster was eventually purchased by Volo Museum Auto Sales in Illinois, who are featuring it along with others from the National Lampoon movies.

“We’re transforming the entryway to Showroom 1 into a temporary tribute to National Lampoon’s best-loved films,” said Volo Museum Director Brian Grams. “We’ve got the 1959 Corvette from ‘Animal House,’ the family truckster from ‘Vacation,’ and a ‘Christmas Vacation’ RV photo op backdrop your cousin Eddie will love.”

The three National Lampoon vehicles are part of a special Christmas Vacation exhibit running through January 2nd.

The Corvette had been owned by Paul Smith for decades and as an automotive wrangler who helped find time-period appropriate cars for movies, he offered his 1959 Corvette to be used in the movie by Delta House’s Eric “Otter” Stratton who was played by Tim Matheson in the film.

After receiving $400 for the month-long rental of his car for the movie shoot, Paul’s Corvette ended up in the back of his garage where he seldom drove it, and it would remain there until fall of 2021 when the Volo Museum agreed to the unique selling terms for the roadster.

Grams said Smith wanted his the payment of the six-figure price tag to be paid in cash, specifically $100 bills. That’s despite the fact that Smith had lost the keys and the car hadn’t been started since the ’80s. However, the sale included both a signed copy of the film’s original script as well as the receipt of the $400 rental payment. That’s on the top of the fact the 1959 Corvette featured the high performance dual-quad 283/270 and the paint is still original to this day.

“Corvette people are purists,” Grams said. “They love original paint, even if it does have a few battle scars.”

You can see the National Lampoon Christmas Display through January 2nd at the Volo Museum in Volo, Illinois. The museum is open 10 am to 5 pm daily.

Source:
Volo Cars

Related:
[VIDEO] Lost for Decades, the ’59 Corvette From Animal House Is Coming Up For Sale
[VIDEO] This Fast and Furious Stunt with a C2 Corvette Cost $25 Million to Pull Off
[VIDEO] ‘The Batman’ to Feature a 1963 Corvette as Bruce Wayne’s Daily Driver