BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - The recovery of eight classic cars swallowed by a huge sinkhole has begun at the National Corvette Museum in Kentucky.
The first car was pulled out of the giant hole Monday by a crane at the Bowling Green museum.
Cheers went up when the engine of the 2009 ZR1 Blue Devil was cranked up and the prize vehicle was driven a few feet.
Facility and Display Manager Bob Hellmann ended up in the driver's seat.
"It's something that I'll treasure for the rest of my life. I tell ya," said Hellman.
Even though the car has spent the last month in a sinkhole, it only suffered a few dings ad scratches.
The project manager Mike Murphy of Scott, Murphy and Daniel LLC, said the rest of the cars will not be as easy to remove.
"It's just a big relief to get that first one out. Anything you do it for the first time, you know, it's a big relief," said Murphy.
A 1993 Ruby Red 40th Anniversary Corvette was also removed Monday. Next will be a 1962 Black Corvette. Workers will have to use two cranes to lift it and a large concrete block at the same time.
The other cars won't be pulled out until workers further stabilize the sinkhole -- which could take two or three weeks.
Chevrolet will oversee restoration of the cars at a Michigan plant.
(The Associated Press Contributed To This Report.)
