With a roaring blaze, the Woolsey fires have swept through California taking canyons, homes and even rare cars. Gary Cerveny’s collection is just one of many. Here’s the story.
One of the Best
Mr. Cerveny’s collection was, without question, one of the coolest in the country. The crown jewel may have been this Norman Timbs Special that was a one-off from 1948. The bodywork alone on this car makes your jaw drop and that’s long before you see the interior. This was just one of the many rare cars lost in this beautiful collection.
image courtesy of legenarycollectorcars.com
Marty Robbins NASCAR
Another one of the cars in the collection was a former NASCAR auto that Marty Robbins raced. Marty was a legend in the sport, which made this one of the more coveted cars in the collection. While race cars are always getting crashed and rebuilt, the damage a car receives during a fire is far worse.
image courtesy of hemmings.com
>>Join the conversation about these awesome cars lost in the Woolsey blazes right here in the 6SpeedOnline Forum!
’65 GTO Gasser
A handful of these was made with the goal of getting down the dragstrip as quickly as possible. The 1965 Pontiac GTO Gasser looks mean to the core. Unfortunately, Cerveny’s red example did not survive. From the sound of it, absolutely nothing is recoverable.
image courtesy of pin-img.com
>>Join the conversation about these awesome cars lost in the Woolsey blazes right here in the 6SpeedOnline Forum!
Could Anything be Done?
Short of moving these cars out of the area, it’s difficult to see what could have been done. The Woolsey fires came on so quickly it would have been difficult to move all of the cars out—not something that should even be a priority if you are thinking about evacuating. In addition to those unique automobiles, a few others were lost as well, including some Indy cars.
image courtesy of thedrive.com
>>Join the conversation about these awesome cars lost in the Woolsey blazes right here in the 6SpeedOnline Forum!
Insurance Only Does So Much
Many will say that Cerveny has insurance that will pay out, but realistically, that doesn’t account for the emotional distress or the true historical value of the cars. Sadly, these weren't the only highly valuable automobiles destroyed in the fires last month. This was a pretty tough loss for one genuine car enthusiast and another example of how much the Woolsey fires have taken.
image courtesy of kinja-img.com
>>Join the conversation about these awesome cars lost in the Woolsey blazes right here in the 6SpeedOnline Forum!
