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One of the two 68 mustang fastbacks used in the filming of the bullit movie has been found rotting away in a junkyard in Mexico. According to the Marti report it is the one thought to be destroyed, the one Steve McQueen put in the ditch at the end of the car chase scene. The other car is thought to be locked away in some collection in Kentucky and hasn't been seen since 1977.
So, I wonder what engine it has. I've seen arguments over the years as to whether it had a small block or big block. I personally saw Steve Mcqueen on a talk show way back when where he said it had a specially prepared small block. Others who claim to know claim it had a 390. Perhaps one of each?
I've read that the Chargers called General Lee in the tv show "The Dukes of Hazard" had small engines for the jumping scenes and big blocks for other scenes. I also read that they destroyed over 70 of those chargers in the 3 years of filming that tv show. That's about one per episode.
The Hot Rod article claims they both had 390/4 speeds when they rolled off the line. The studio may have replaced the 390 with a small block for the jump scenes in one of them. Either way, when it was found it had no engine at all. Basically all they found was the shell.
When I first saw the movie, I was disappointed when he did a one wheel burnout. Traction Lock was not a very common item with Ford cars in the mid-60's. Just about all of the hot rod Chevelles and GTOs came with posi-traction. I ordered my 65 Chevelle with posi along with the 300hp 327 engine, tachometer, 4 speed manual, and 3.31 rear gear. If you got a tachometer, the clock was put on top of the dash so you knew if one had a factory tach just by seeing it from the outside.
Some collector will probably spend a fortune rebuilding that car to look like new.
Interesting find if it turns out to be the real deal
According to Kevin Marti, it is. In the classic mustang world Kevin Marti is the authority, period. He has all the old records from ford for the Mustangs, from 64.5 thru 70. When you want to know the history of a mustang and what it originally had, right down to the color, you send for a Marti report. So if he says it's real, then you can take that to the bank.
WOW, wow, wow! Growing up that was one of my favorite movies, and cars. That is so good to here. I'm gonna start following it now. Who remembers "the California Kid"? 1934 Ford three window coupe starring Martin Sheen. Man, those were the days of good old fashioned American iron and stunts. A lot of cool car movies then. How about American Graffiti? and Corvette Summer with Mark Hammill and Annie Potts? The 1959 Caddy convertible in Pink Cadillac with Clint Eastwood and Bernadette Peters. Still have my Dads beloved '59 Caddy convertible down in the garage. Ok, I'll stop......
I have a copy of the movie "Bullitt". That was the first car chase that was filmed at actual speed. Prior to that, they sped up the tape and did other crap to make it look more exciting, they thought.
I remember "The California Kid". It came out in the early 70's as I remember.
Incidentally, the '55 in "Two-Lane Blacktop" reappeared a few years later in "American Graffiti".....
Hollywood is still doing that, reusing cars in other movies. Remember the black honda S 2000 in the first fast and furious movie, it was repainted pink and used again in 2 fast 2 furious.
Came back to this thread to see more replies. Reading the posts, I just remembered another movie. All I could remember is that Peter Fonda was in it, and he was in a Dodge Charger. I could picture the girl with him but couldn't remember who she was. So I looked it, then it all hit me. It was "Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry". It was a '69 Dodge Charger. Man that was a nice car. Remember in the end they ran into a freight train? Doing a little reading on Wikipedia, Susan George played Dirty Mary, and had a souped-up '66 Chevy Impala. Any way, a little more trivia.
When I first saw the movie, I was disappointed when he did a one wheel burnout. Traction Lock was not a very common item with Ford cars in the mid-60's. Just about all of the hot rod Chevelles and GTOs came with posi-traction. I ordered my 65 Chevelle with posi along with the 300hp 327 engine, tachometer, 4 speed manual, and 3.31 rear gear. If you got a tachometer, the clock was put on top of the dash so you knew if one had a factory tach just by seeing it from the outside.
Some collector will probably spend a fortune rebuilding that car to look like new.
Makes me think of the courtroom scene from My Cousin Vinny about the posi-traction rear end! The '66 GTO I ordered had the 3.90 Saf-T-Track that was Pontiacs limited slip setup. Probably an Indian name for Posi-traction!
