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.