"Real" GL for sale

[Brock Lee]

First of all, Lee1 was built first, they didn't realize the rocker trim was going to an issue. Had it been built second or third, they would have removed it. Removing it after they built it into a General Lee was more work than they wanted to do. The car was so rough, they likely planned on killing it first anyway. Of the 3 cars pilot cars built, it was the only car completed in California as a fully caged stunt car. The Elm Street car arrived mostly done, but the cage, interior dye/paint and other odds and ends were wrapped up after arrival in Georgia.

By all accounts I've heard/read, LEE3 was built first; it is the one that they used for the promotional photos taken in Griffith Park, California, before they even decided to put "01" on the doors:



And it was probably the nicest Warner Bros. General Lee ever from what I've heard/read: R/T SE (440 engine) with power windows and factory saddle tan interior.

First of all, that one was labeled Lee2. I am to blame for the misnumbering of that car. It goes back many years with some work I did with Steve Stanley. I always told him I didn't want to carve the car numbers in stone as I was unsure. I am no longer unsure, but that numbering system has been a thorn in my side. But people even screw up the police car numbers, and those still exist.

It was not the first General Lee. It was the first close up General Lee. What is the difference? It was a cleaner car and they applied a special base coat to make the orange "pop" versus the other cars with orange sprayed directly on the stock color, which made them look blotchy. How do I know they did this? I own that door. I also own pieces of Lee1 and Lee3 which clearly show how they were painted.

Lee1 was built before the cast was even selected. Lee2 was still being built when these photos were taken. There is still masking tape in spots.

Lee1's flag was revised right on the car. It originally had 1/2" wide white boarders. They went back and beefed them up to 1" after the paint dried and that became the standard.

The text also evolved right on Lee1. You can see the E's evolve right on the drivers side. No 2 are alike. By the passenger side they figured it out. Lee2 continued that style on both sides.

Another bit of misinformation about Lee2. It did NOT have painted numbers! I have no idea where this load of shit came from. It had the same crap vinyl as Lee1. You can see it bubbling in certain shots. They peeled the numbers off, stuck them to a wall, then used them on the first car Don's crew built. There was a "shadow" of the 01's left behind that was adhesive. Maybe someone saw that shadow on the 71 car and assumed it was paint..but it isn't.

[Ghoste]

For someone who was never deep into DOH this has been a fascinating thread, just wanted to butt in and tell you guys that.  Your knowledge of the cars on that show is impressive.

[Brock Lee]

Ghoste, I appreciate that. But there is a big difference here. I have actual hands on experience with this stuff. I know what I know because not only did I handle parts, but when I spoke to guys like Don, I had no fear of challenging their memories when things didn't jive (and that happened a lot). Others just took his memory as gospel.

Here is an example. Don would spin this yarn about a young couple selling him a rough Charger. The body was so out of whack, he had to weld a door shut so it stayed closed. I told him that was interesting as he had to do that to the 71 car. Lee1's body was so tweaked after the jump that after they swapped its passenger side door with Lee2's, it wouldn't latch. He says "Well, that is the car I am thinking of. I only did it once. I guess I remembered it differently."

That is just ONE example of such things.

[1965gp]

Really, this is fascinating info- considering as a kid I could never understand hey my dukes card had a picture of her next to a car next to a General without the 01!

Any other interesting stories you would like to share? I'm sure many of us are curious.

Thanks for what you have shared so far.

[MaximRecoil]

First of all, that one was labeled Lee2. I am to blame for the misnumbering of that car. It goes back many years with some work I did with Steve Stanley. I always told him I didn't want to carve the car numbers in stone as I was unsure. I am no longer unsure, but that numbering system has been a thorn in my side. But people even screw up the police car numbers, and those still exist.

It was not the first General Lee. It was the first close up General Lee. What is the difference? It was a cleaner car and they applied a special base coat to make the orange "pop" versus the other cars with orange sprayed directly on the stock color, which made them look blotchy. How do I know they did this? I own that door. I also own pieces of Lee1 and Lee3 which clearly show how they were painted.

Lee1 was built before the cast was even selected. Lee2 was still being built when these photos were taken. There is still masking tape in spots.

Lee1's flag was revised right on the car. It originally had 1/2" wide white boarders. They went back and beefed them up to 1" after the paint dried and that became the standard.

The text also evolved right on Lee1. You can see the E's evolve right on the drivers side. No 2 are alike. By the passenger side they figured it out. Lee2 continued that style on both sides.

Another bit of misinformation about Lee2. It did NOT have painted numbers! I have no idea where this load of shit came from. It had the same crap vinyl as Lee1. You can see it bubbling in certain shots. They peeled the numbers off, stuck them to a wall, then used them on the first car Don's crew built. There was a "shadow" of the 01's left behind that was adhesive. Maybe someone saw that shadow on the 71 car and assumed it was paint..but it isn't.

So you're saying they were built in the same order in California in which they eventually got numbered for filming purposes in Georgia? That's different than everything else I've ever read/heard on the matter, which is that they were arbitrarily numbered LEE1, LEE2, and LEE3 for filming purposes without regard to in which order they were built in California.

So if LEE1 (#71 Richard Petty commercial car) was the first General Lee built, that changes everything people have said about it for the past 10 years or so (and makes it more significant), because in pretty much every thread and article about it online, it is pointed out that it was labeled LEE1 arbitrarily for filming purposes, not because it was the first one built.

By the way, I noticed a few years ago that the "font" of the "0" on the door matches the "font" of the "O" in the Hollywood Sign, which is atop a hill in Griffith Park. So the car goes into Griffith Park for promotional photos with no "01" on the door, and then it has a "0" which matches the "O"s in the Hollywood sign. I doubt that's a coincidence, considering the rather unique font (rather unique due to its 35 degree angles as opposed to the far more common 45 degree angles in "collegiate" or "varsity" style fonts. Do you know anything about this? I made a thread about it here, and here are the pictures I posted:

[Brock Lee]

The fact is the numbering on the 5 cars sent from California (3 Lee's and 2 Police cars) was done before they arrived in Georgia. Don would get asked "Did you label them in order of build?" Don said "No" because he didn't. But he didn't label those pilot cars. Lee3 was labeled before the interior was painted (you can see they just wiped the wet paint off). Don had a similar label maker, but the font was different.

There is so much wrong info out there about these early cars I wouldn't even know where to begin. And lately, I have very little interest in even getting into it.

[TUFCAT]

Brock, I know that same feeling from some other threads I've been on ...the 4-dr 'Cuda thread comes to mind.  

[jaak]

Just to go off topic for a second... I always thought this screen cap was funny. Notice "General" is spelled incorrectly, it says "Genreral".



Jason

[Ghoste]

Hahaha, never spotted that before.

[VoloBrian]

To me, if the Volo car was never readied for filming, and given its "uniform" only after filming ended and after the other cars left for California, then it's more of a replica, albeit a significant one that's worth more than most if not all other replicas...but it's just not worth $150K +, no way.

Just a replica , worth what volo paid for it , which at the time when it was on ebay $40k

To me, if the Volo car was never readied for filming, and given its "uniform" only after filming ended and after the other cars left for California, then it's more of a replica, albeit a significant one that's worth more than most if not all other replicas...but it's just not worth $150K +, no way.

Just a replica , worth what volo paid for it , which at the time when it was on ebay $40k

It’s funny how people with no firsthand knowledge spread rumors on “hearsay” without doing their own research.  The Schisler car, admittingly, was never screen used and never did we claim it to be.  However it was owned by WB and built by WB with the intention of being used and that has been proven.  Don purchased the car Dec of 1979.  The car can be proven to have been built some time prior to Nov. 1979 and there is both firsthand claims and other evidence that says it was built during the Xmas break after filming and before the move to CA. This is what Henery Holman said in an interview and stated in his letter of authenticity, Calling it the 6th car built and the last one for the show.  Ronnie Edwards, who did the graphics, said in writing that he did 2 cars for Don, one for the show with a 360 in it and a 440 replica.   The Schisler car is a 360.  In an interview with John Schisler, when asked about it being built as a replica for him out of a parts car, his response was “there’s nothing further from the truth”.  He also gave a letter of authenticity stating this was the last GL built for the show.  Jon Blanchette who bought the car from Don said that Don told him it was built by WB for the show.  The only thing that exsits in the world that says it was built as a replica is hearsay that “Don said” it was a parts car.  The issue with that is Don also said, in writing, “Owned and built by Warner Brothers for the Dukes of Hazzard TV Series, not a replica”.  See Dons original ad from 1980 attached.  So by saying I’m full of it, you are saying Don Schisler, John Schisler, Hernry Holman and Ronnie Edwards, all 1st hand sources, are also full of it.

[lukedukem]

This thread is over three years old. Must of been eating on you for awhile.

Luke

[BeeOrange]

I know this thread is 3 years old, but I am fascinated by this General Lee

Any comments on this article about it:

https://jimsuva.typepad.com/blog/2019/12/last-built-general-lee-in-georgia.html