Massive Explosion Likely Destroyed $1 Million Worth Of Historic Corvettes

Jan. 27, 2020 3:15 PM ET by Martin Bigg / 3 Comments

15 Corvettes that were being restored are currently trapped inside two buildings destroyed by the recent Houston factory explosion.

Last week, a major explosion devastated the Watson Grinding and Manufacturing plant in Houston, Texas, killing two people. In fact, the blast was so severe, it damaged buildings up to half a mile away. One business that was caught in the blast was Houston Corvette Service, which specializes in restoring classic Chevrolet Corvette cars.

Luckily, the owner of the business, Gordon Andrus, wasn't inside the shop at the time of the explosion, but two of the buildings collapsed, trapping several Corvettes that were undergoing restoration. The extent of the damage isn't known yet, but 15 Corvettes worth $1 million could potentially have been destroyed.

"The charge blasted across the street, right over our buildings and then on into the neighborhoods where you've heard about all the houses that have been damaged," Andrus told CNN. "The rest of street had very minor damage but my two buildings are flattened."

"I don't think they're [the cars] destroyed but the buildings will have to be torn down," he said. "So the question is, what do I have to do to shore the building up enough to get them cars out of there and what's it going to take to repair the cars?" Houston Corvette Service has been running for 25 years and occupies four buildings, two of which were destroyed. Two additional buildings are used for paint and bodywork but are still intact.

All affected customers have been contacted and some of the Corvettes trapped inside are owned by Andrus, but they aren't his priority right now. "Every car is insured, and we're in the business of repairing and restoring cars," he said. "We will make it right one way or another." Andrus plans to move operations to his paint shop.

This incident reminds us of the sinkhole disaster that damaged several Corvettes at the National Corvette Museum in Kentucky. Let's hope all 15 Corvettes can be recovered and restored back to their former glory.