Fast And Furious Charger

[JMF]

Looks like it's to be sold

http://www.kruseinternational.com/auctions/detail.asp?CONSIGN=3061&MAKE=Dodge&AUC_CODE=AUBFALL07&AUC_BREAD=Auburn%20Fall%202007&SEARCH_NAME=Dodge&PAGE=1

[Blakcharger440]

It will be awesome to see that car on the road again! That car will be worth alot of money when fixed up. I hope anyone that buys it will restore it and bring it back to life! 

[TruckDriver]

I think the car is pretty much junk at this point

[Mike DC]

 
Not everyone in the musclecar hobby loved that movie, but I think the seller's right about the eventual historic position of that car. 

The first F&F movie really was a big moment in the minds of a lot of younger kids.  And that Charger was portrayed like a mythical scary "beast from olden times" in the movie.  It was like Vinnie had to awaken the monster to kill the bad guys, but not even the hero of the movie could hold onto the saddle for more than one good race before being bucked off. 

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The climactic "old versus new" final car showdown is typical in the car movies of every time period, and IMHO the F&F Charger took its rigthful place in that lineup:

American Graffiti:  32 Ford vs 55 Chevy.

Two Lane Blacktop:  (the same) 55 Chevy vs 1971 GTO

Fast & Furious #1:  70 Charger vs 1996 Supra Turbo 

     

[Blakcharger440]

I think the car is pretty much junk at this point

I disagree. There is always someone who is willing to take on a project like that. If they can restore Lee #1 then the Fast and the Furious car can could be done also.

Not everyone in the musclecar hobby liked the Dukes series either so that is a moot point. 
But I do agree that the car was potrayed as the mythical scary beast of a ole school street monster....which i think is pretty cool! 

[bigroge1]

that is the reason why i bought a charger. before i saw the movie i was just gonna get a 72 nova, then after i seen the last scene of the movie i said to myself "that thing has to be mine" so thus i went into the darkside of the mopar life style

[Blakcharger440]

that is the reason why i bought a charger. before i saw the movie i was just gonna get a 72 nova, then after i seen the last scene of the movie i said to myself "that thing has to be mine" so thus i went into the darkside of the mopar life style

Yep, the movie did potray that black 70 Charger as a wicked machine in which if you dare to drive it....you may just rule the streets!!! And that my friends is how legends are made!
Welcome to the darkside Bigroge! 

[chargerkid]

We were walkiing in the car corral at the Kruse Auction this past weekend.  Someone said a Charger rolled off a trailer...it was the Fast & furious Charger.

[Ghoste]

So if it's historical, is it worth more as rolled or as it was in the beginning of the film?

[Silver R/T]

It will take a lot of money to fix that, I doubt it will be fixed very soon

[68charger383]

I'm surprised they actually used the hero car for the crash seen. I figured like the Dukes, they had the hero car and a beater for the crash.

[Mike DC]

 

I'm surprised they actually used the hero car for the crash seen. I figured like the Dukes, they had the hero car and a beater for the crash.

They had about 4 of these Chargers to film the F&F movie. 
They didn't really have a designated "hero" car, just a couple of decent ones.

Universal also seems to have built at least one more F&F Charger for display at the theme parks. 
(It's a more recent clone. Wasn't actually in the movie.)

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The totalled one for sale is the 2nd-unit "driver" stunt car that they actually pipe-rolled at the end.  It got a lot of high-speed screen-time, it's the only one they rolled over.  Vinnie was shown climbing out of this particular smoking wreck.  It's also the only F&F screen-used black Charger that's escaped from the studios into private hands so far.

 

[aussiemuscle]

Also in the movie, "Herbie Fully Loaded"

                "Wow, a stock car!"

[Brock Samson]

that is the reason why i bought a charger. before i saw the movie i was just gonna get a 72 nova, then after i seen the last scene of the movie i said to myself "that thing has to be mine" so thus i went into the darkside of the mopar life style

   Well, there ya go...

I wonder how many kids saw the DOH Movie and are thinkin' the same thing..

[billfury]

Don,t you think they should leave the body as is and just fix the mechanical stuff to drive it as is? that's what they did for the original gone in 60 sec car.
Billfury

[Arthu®]

I don't think it's drive as is or that it is truely repairable without doing a rebody. The car is badly twisted (did you see how it landed)... I say leave as is.

Arthur

[Mike DC]

 
We've had the same kinds of debates about wrecked-but-historic General Lees over at the DOH boards.


The general consensus is that the cars should not be cosmetically restored.  Leave them bent.

Most people like myself don't find it too objectionable to get the cars mechanically running, though.  Like putting around at 20 mph.  Leave the body/frame bent & buckled, but fire up the motor, swap in a set of front suspension arms that aren't ripped off the ball joints from the impact, etc.  It's not gonna make the car back into a legal street cruiser or anything, but we're just talking about having it moving by itself again. 

It makes the hulk MUCH easier & more enjoyable to live with.  (And that issue needs to be addressed to some extent, or else the car is just gonna keep changing hands every couple years until someone does a total resto on it to make a big profit.)  A hulk that rolls/steers/stops under its own power can be taken on & off the trailer more easily at shows, which makes it get out more often.  It's usually a more rewarding compromise for both the owner and the fans.

 

[69charger2002]

i couldn't agree more. with the movie general lee i had it was SO bad that the torsion bars and knuckles were broken, which pushed the wheel/tire up into the fender well and it didn't want to roll. i drug it up onto a trailer once and it was hard even with a winch. that moment i decided there was no way i would drag and undrag that thing on and off a trailer over and over just to take it to car shows and let it be seen. that's not my gig. i like driving my cars more than babysitting them. so i took the money and ran. for those that don't remember... here's a couple pics of it(not to hijack the thread)
trav



http://charger01foster.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/.pond/mygeneralandme13005.jpg

[Blakcharger440]

The F&F Charger should be restored and that means fixing the frame,body, and everything as it was before the jump.  The Lee #1 which is the DOH opening scene jump car was restored and it was just a big an ole mess. In Mopars Collectors Guide it states even the co-presidents of the DOH club wanted it back to the condition before it was jumped.
Whoever buys the F&F car should really do a thorough restoration of the car in order to do it justice.

It would be AWESOME to see that car back on the streets again......with a REAL supercharger this time! ....and make it run 9.90's!

[Drache]

I think it should be restored. Its not like the DOH cars, there is only one F&F car released to the public.

[Mike DC]

"Restore it to its rightful beauty!" --  This is usually the cry from the fans whenever a rare prop first gets out of the studio.  (Star Wars stuff, movie cars, rare character costumes, etc.)

But then after several years, the opinion tends to change.  By then, there are numerous fan-built replicas that are accurate & beautiful to an extreme degree.  (The fans will usually know more about the item than the studio itself does by this point.)  And eventually a few more of the real ones often escape the studio, including a few more intact examples.  Now the fans can easily see flawless copies of the thing, but seeing the original flawed & smashed one has become a lot more interesting after walking past a dozen perfect replicas. 

We have to make these decisions based on the assumption that we don't need to restore the actual real prop just to see a copy of the item in nice condition. 

 

[Blakcharger440]

Domenic would have wanted it restored. Because for those ten seconds or less he was free!


The F&F Charger mystique is different than the Dukes mobiles in that it has a different fan base and is known for just being a bad azz street ride........Therefore back to the streets it must go!

Just like DOH chargers you will either like em or hate em if people start cloning them. Either way its a good thing because more chargers get restored in the process and the aftermarket parts biz will continue to expand and grow. And if kids go nuts about the F&F car and want to build one then I say things are going as planned in keeping the musclecar hobby alive.

[Chris G.]

I don't think it's drive as is or that it is truely repairable without doing a rebody.

Maybe some Duke boys can correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Lee 1 basically a re-body? From what I have seen (and heard), that is a totally different car than that crumpled thing we used to see on the show circuit.

I say keep the F&F car as is and just build a replica to show what it once was.

The F&F car was without a doubt the baddest Charger ever used in TV or Film. The Bullitt car? Nice chase scene, but a boring looking car...nice hubcaps and fake sound effects Stevie McQueen . You die hards give that stunt man way too much credit. He was slamming that thing all over the place, and not on purpose. The Dukes car? Naw, just a car to jump around in. I don't care how old or young you are, the F&F car was the baddest one ever used. I just wish they closed the headlight buckets...what was that deal? 

[Mike DC]

 
This F&F Charger is a lot more repairable than LEE#1 was, that's for sure. 

(Very, very little of LEE#1 is original at this point.  A major percentage of the DOH community didn't want that restoration to happen.  It's not like the DOH fan world is some sort of benevolent democracy where we all get to vote on these decisions or something.  Some dude just bought LEE#1 off Ebay and paid to have it restored.  He plans to auction it in the future.)

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But it's beside the point. 

If you stop picturing this wrecked F&F Charger standing alone, and start picturing it parked next to several more of the "real" F&F Chargers that are still intact, and then there are several more FLAWLESS, GORGEOUS replicas parked right next to that . . . suddenly the idea of restoring this particular wrecked car doesn't seem so great anymore.  The wreck is a lot more historic the way it is right now.

   

[Chris G.]

If you stop picturing this wrecked F&F Charger standing alone, and start picturing it parked next to several more of the "real" F&F Chargers that are still intact, and then there are several more FLAWLESS, GORGEOUS replicas parked right next to that . . . suddenly the idea of restoring this particular wrecked car doesn't seem so great anymore.  The wreck is a lot more historic the way it is right now.

That may be true, but it's much easier to paint a car orange and slap a decal set on and have fun, than it is to paint a car black (and look good), and pay for a blown 440 and actually have fun driving it and not have constant problems. Financially, it would be a bad move for Joe Blue Collar to make a true F&F clone. The Dukes clone is much easier to do. Heck, most Duke clones aren't even clones. They have black interior, wrong year, etc. Unless you have a blower, slicks and a roll bar, you can't do a F&F clone, and that's just the minimal requirements. 

[Ghoste]

Not to mention that a F&F Charger would absolutely have to have the hydraulic wheelie jacks underneath to make the car truly authentic.  That has to cost a little more than a pushbar and cb antenna.

[Chris G.]

Not to mention that a F&F Charger would absolutely have to have the hydraulic wheelie jacks underneath to make the car truly authentic.

Yikes!  That's pushing it a little. That's like having crumpled frame rails on a Dukes car after replicating it. 

[Ghoste]

Yeah but you know everywhere you went people would want to see it do the big wheelie. 

[Chris G.]

Yeah but you know everywhere you went people would want to see it do the big wheelie. 

If it was profitable, someone would do it. 

[Mike DC]

That may be true, but it's much easier to paint a car orange and slap a decal set on and have fun, than it is to paint a car black (and look good), and pay for a blown 440 and actually have fun driving it and not have constant problems. Financially, it would be a bad move for Joe Blue Collar to make a true F&F clone. The Dukes clone is much easier to do. Heck, most Duke clones aren't even clones. They have black interior, wrong year, etc. Unless you have a blower, slicks and a roll bar, you can't do a F&F clone, and that's just the minimal requirements.  Twocents

There are lots of GLs that were built with $25-40K.  LOTS of them in that range.
And the fact that the GL had a crate Hemi in the 2005 movie hasn't stopped people from trying to replicate it (specifically the 2005 movie GLs), either. 


There's nothing about the F&F car that's any more difficult/unlikely to duplicate than any other movie car. 

People already do full-blown fiberglass-shelled Batmobiles, Ecto-1s, BTTF DeLoreans (complete with the neon stuff), there are guys with $20-30K in a decent KITT car replica with all the dashboard electronics functional, there's Mad Max Interceptor clones with & without the functional blowers . . .

[Chris G.]

And the fact that the GL had a crate Hemi in the 2005 movie hasn't stopped people from trying to replicate it (specifically the 2005 movie GLs), either. There's nothing about the F&F car that's any more difficult/unlikely to duplicate than any other movie car. 

Oh what the hey, might as well reply...Mike , I have never seen a replica Duke car with a Hemi. Maybe you have, but I definitely have not. Please don't try and say that it's just as easy to clone a F&F car as it is to do a Dukes car...we both know it's not even close dollar wise.

People already do full-blown fiberglass-shelled Batmobiles, Ecto-1s, BTTF DeLoreans (complete with the neon stuff), there are guys with $20-30K in a decent KITT car replica with all the dashboard electronics functional, there's Mad Max Interceptor clones with & without the functional blowers . . .

I have seen 1 batmobile ever, and it cost way more than 25K-30K to build. Back to the Future cars? Do you really see them? As far as a Night Rider clone, unless it speaks to me and calls me Michael, I consider it a junker. 

Keep it real Mike, you could pull into a local cruise with an orange paint job with 01 stickers, and everyone is saying it's a General Lee. Unless you pull in with a fully functional blown '70 Charger painted black, nobody will know what it's supposed to be.

[Hot_Rodder]

A couple of points to mention. One, just how many of these were made? Seems like more than one. In the movie, while the car was in the garage when they first show it, it's got a Hemi, and that blower looked real.... In this Charger's case, it says it's got a 440, with fake blower... So where there two cars? If so, I'll take the one they first showed.

[Drache]

A couple of points to mention. One, just how many of these were made? Seems like more than one. In the movie, while the car was in the garage when they first show it, it's got a Hemi, and that blower looked real.... In this Charger's case, it says it's got a 440, with fake blower... So where there two cars? If so, I'll take the one they first showed.

There were two movie cars I believe, the one with the 440 that was flipped/rolled, and then the real car that was in the garage. Then on top of that there were clones made for the Universal Studios theme parks. The hemi one from what I've gathered is "missing".

[Mike DC]

Oh what the hey, might as well reply...Mike , I have never seen a replica Duke car with a Hemi. Maybe you have, but I definitely have not. Please don't try and say that it's just as easy to clone a F&F car as it is to do a Dukes car...we both know it's not even close dollar wise.

There's a couple of Hemi GL clones out there.  But the point I was making is that just because there was one brief screen-shot of a Hemi in the DOH movie, that doesn't stop people from cloning the car w/o the real crate Hemi, does it?

The F&F cars were prop-cars with fake blowers bolted to the hoods.  The only real blower in the F&F movie got exactly the same amount of screen-time as the only real crate Hemi in the 2005 movie GLs.  I really wouldn't be surprised if the F&F car produces a few fake-blowered replicas.  (Not to mention some actual blowers on 440 wedges too, which are MUCH cheaper to build than a blown Hemi.)

Just look at how many Mad Max clones have been done with fake blowers like the prop cars.  the lack of a real blower didn't "stop them" from building a MM replica, did it?    Some of those replicas are even purposely done with the fake blower because you literally can't put a blower in the correct location like the movie and still belt it up to work functionally.  So, some of those MM fans would rather have a perfect screen-copy in appearance than even have the blower work correctly!  (Just like how a lot of DOH fans would rather have drag-strip-illegal rollbars welded into their Chargers for the sake of looking TV-accurate.)

Keep it real Mike, you could pull into a local cruise with an orange paint job with 01 stickers, and everyone is saying it's a General Lee. Unless you pull in with a fully functional blown '70 Charger painted black, nobody will know what it's supposed to be.

I hear you, but I still think you're seeing this from a longtime Mopar fan's point of view rather than the target audience of F&F kids. 

I'll bet that if I pulled into a modern-car show in a rollcaged black 1970 Charger with ANYTHING mechanical sticking up through the hood (even just a cheap tunnel-ram intake & a similar type of chromed air cleaner to the movie), there would be plenty of recognition about what it was supposed to be.

My point is that movie-car nuts aren't necessarily gonna refrain from copying the F&F car just because they can't afford the real blown Hemi.  Maybe we'll see clones of it and maybe we won't, but give it time.  It also took a long time for the DOH fans to grow up & finally dump $30K into a lot of GL clones, but it definitely did happen eventually.


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There were two movie cars I believe, the one with the 440 that was flipped/rolled, and then the real car that was in the garage. Then on top of that there were clones made for the Universal Studios theme parks. The hemi one from what I've gathered is "missing".

I've read there were four cars in a couple different sources.   I've counted four different rollcages during the movie footage.
I saw a fifth car at Universal Studios last year.  It was close, but it didn't 100% exactly match any of the cars in the film.

[70charger_boy]

It took people a good 20 years to care enough to clone a general lee.  I think if you pull up in a black and blown 70 charger the "kids" will know exactly what car you're cloning

[Mike DC]

 
Naw, not quite 20 years.  The shop that did the first 5 Georgia GLs was commissioned to build a clone within months of the show's beginning in late 1978.  There have been lots of clones ever since. 

The reason we've gotten such a boom lately is because the age group that was most into GLs as grade school kids has been hitting 33 years old and they've finally got the extra money to build them.  Talk to most of these owners, and they'll tell you about wanting to build one for many years beforehand but they didn't have the money yet.

[Hot_Rodder]

I'd like to have the one they showed in the garage, heck, I'll take any of them, but the blower has to be real . On a side note, not rying to get off subject, same thing in 2f&2f, with the Chally, the screen shot of the motor once in the garage, wasn't a Hemi like before. It was a wedge motor, either way, still a very nice car.

[Chris G.]

My point is that movie-car nuts aren't necessarily gonna refrain from copying the F&F car just because they can't afford the real blown Hemi.  Maybe we'll see clones of it and maybe we won't, but give it time.  It also took a long time for the DOH fans to grow up & finally dump $30K into a lot of GL clones, but it definitely did happen eventually.

I just can't see anyone actually driving a car with a plastic blower on the hood. I doubt the F&F car will ever be a big cloned car. The Dukes are in a class of their own. If the F&F car was gonna be a big clone hit, it probably would have happened by now. I haven't seen any by me or at shows throughout the country. Same with the Bullitt car, I have never seen one of those. It's a Dukes world, and I'm just a bystander.

ps- Mike if you have any articles or pics of the F&F car (or cars), please send them to me. I would like to do a page on the car. 

[BrianShaughnessy]

Just look at how many Mad Max clones have been done with fake blowers like the prop cars.  the lack of a real blower didn't "stop them" from building a MM replica, did it?    Some of those replicas are even purposely done with the fake blower because you literally can't put a blower in the correct location like the movie and still belt it up to work functionally.  So, some of those MM fans would rather have a perfect screen-copy in appearance than even have the blower work correctly! 

I know the dude with the only MM car with a functional blower...  I wouldn't call him a buddy but he's local.      The car sounds totally sick when it does run.   Typically it shows up at a show leaking something and then the next time you hear about how it blew a head gasket or something and you don't see it again till the next year.   I haven't seen it out since July.    I give it a 50/50 chance it's up at Lake George this week.

I see lots of cars with big reliability problems.   In my mind, blowers and or turbos just add to problems on street cars.   I'd rather just stick to NA stuff and keep it simple.   To each their own but it's pretty nice getting a car to a point where you can turn the key and go.

In the same vein of fake blowers...  there's a guy with a BBC T-bucket running around my town with a fake plastic Hilborn injection setup over top of a holley carb.  Apparently the dude paid some ridiculous amount of $ for this thing too.   But it fools a lot of people. 

[Mike DC]

I doubt the F&F car will ever be a big cloned car. The Dukes are in a class of their own. If the F&F car was gonna be a big clone hit, it probably would have happened by now.

I agree that it won't be like the GL.  Probably nothing else in the old car-hobby ever will even get close to that.

But I do think we'll see some F&F clones sooner or later.  And I'd be downright surprised if nobody ever builds at least one or two functional blown Hemi replicas.  They may not be in magazines & at the Mopar Nationals, but that doesn't mean they're not out there. 

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In the DOH hobby, there's actually several hundred GL clones out there.  I'd call it 300 at the absolute minimum, probably 400-600 if you count the non-running & unfinished ones.  And yet you'll only see a handful of them at the largest Mopar gatherings.  Even "Dukesfest" can't pull more than about 100 so far, and that's with offering free admission & special treatment for the owners. 

When it comes to GLs or any other classic car, there are so many more out there than just the ones that show up at the big events.

     

[Dodge Don]

Not trying to favour a 70 but at least I would feel okay driving a blown black 70 'cus it's bad as hell.....but I will never be caught dead in a GL clown car....I'd be ashamed quite frankly.

I know that will annoy GL fanatics but it's just my opinion.

[70charger_boy]

I think the kids are saving up for their F&F 70 chargers.  The general lee's are all over the place like cockroaches.  Don't get me wrong, I really like the general lee's, but I'll rather make an F&F car.  I think the 70 charger is the most affordable charger out of the 2nd gens.  Just give it 10 years and they will be all over the place....like cockroaches

[70charger_boy]

The car sold for 25 grand
http://www.kruse.com/results/detail.asp?AUC_CODE=AUBFALL07&CONSIGN=3061&YEAR_BEGIN=1970&YEAR_END=&MAKE=DODGE&MODEL=charger&SEARCH_NAME=DODGE&RESULTS=1&PAGE=1

[Ghoste]

That's at least 20 more than I would have paid.  But then, that just me.

[70charger_boy]

That's at least 20 more than I would have paid.  But then, that just me.

[69charger2002]

that's what my wife's car was based off of. of course it's not going to be to the little detail, but it will have a tunnel ram with the mr gasket polished scoop coming out of the hood. in a few months.. if i ever get the courage to cut the hood. or find another hood, cut it, then paint it black

[greenpigs]

Two Lane Blacktop:  (the same) 55 Chevy vs 1971 GTO

It was a 70 GTO Judge, looks like I am the only closet Poncho person here.

[6670charger]

I think the car is pretty much junk at this point

I agree.  Would cost way more to repair than it would ever be worth...........unless you're a Died Hard FF fan and just have to have that car.