General Lee Trivia Question

HKCharger · July 08, 2008, 08:15:45 PM

one of my managers asked me today, what was the difference between the GL in the original pilot show vs. the general lee in the rest of the tv shows? Anyone know?

WingCharger · July 08, 2008, 08:20:08 PM

Most Generals had different interiors, and they used 68s, 69, and 70s. So, chances are, there was a different General in every episode!

The close up car had a saddle interior, and field cars used for jumping had all different interiors.

The close up car had a 318, most field cars had 383s. Some jump cars had 440s.

69charger2002 · July 08, 2008, 08:22:01 PM

they didn't use any 70's in the tv show.. 68's and 69's

aussiemuscle · July 08, 2008, 08:24:41 PM

Look on the web for the history of LEE1. basically it had more detail than later versions. most notable is the chrome strips on pillar and sill.

THE COLONEL · July 08, 2008, 08:36:38 PM

Quote from: 69charger2002 on July 08, 2008, 08:22:01 PM
they didn't use any 70's in the tv show.. 68's and 69's

well, you beat me to it. Yep, they didn't use 70's beacause too much would have had to be changed with the fromt clip. Too much time to do, when they turned them around in a matter of hours.

THE COLONEL · July 08, 2008, 08:41:27 PM

They also varied alot during the years. There were so many small changes with marker lights, paint....etc. There really is no way to have a correct replica because of this. That Lee in the pilot was the only one to show the rocker panels too. There was another (maybe more) that I have seen on the show, that had the rocker panels painted over. The decals were different too as, they were more fat then the later series cars. smaller push bar is another one, along with the antenna. The early episodes used the teardrop antenna, and later in teh show, it becamse an Avanti. Just a few things, but I'm sure there is more that I don't even know about.

HKCharger · July 08, 2008, 08:49:54 PM

something about a decal or something he said, flag or something somewhere. any pics?

moparjohn · July 08, 2008, 08:57:53 PM

The trunk filler panel has 2 crossed flags, 1 checkerd and 1 confed.

THE COLONEL · July 08, 2008, 09:17:51 PM

Quote from: moparjohn on July 08, 2008, 08:57:53 PM
The trunk filler panel has 2 crossed flags, 1 checkerd and 1 confed.

yep...that too.

BlueSS454 · July 08, 2008, 09:42:09 PM

If you look at some of the General Lee cars later in the series, the rocker molding was there, just painted over.

jaak · July 08, 2008, 10:15:16 PM

Quote from: BlueSS454 on July 08, 2008, 09:42:09 PM
If you look at some of the General Lee cars later in the series, the rocker molding was there, just painted over.

Jason

nakita7 · July 08, 2008, 10:22:23 PM

Quote from: moparjohn on July 08, 2008, 08:57:53 PM
The trunk filler panel has 2 crossed flags, 1 checkerd and 1 confed.

That's the answer, you beat me to it.

Most every interior shot from Season 3 was a 68 through to the end. We own all 7 seasons, there were actually very few 69's used in the shots. Not sure about the jump cars, probably a bit of everything.

Mike DC · July 09, 2008, 02:30:28 AM

The Georgia GLs, the earlier Cali GLs (GA-style small pushbars), and the later Cali GLs (wide pushbars).
Three different sets of people building the cars.

The little crossed flags were on all the GA cars, although there weren't very many chances to see them after the first episode.

All the '68 cars got the '69 grille dividers & taillights swapped in at the time the orange paint first went on. After that, there was absolutely no preferential treatment for one year or the other. Both years were shown for closeup shots, both years were jumped & killed, and both years were used for spare parts swapping.

Later in the series, the '69 cars even got their rear valance backup lights erased in order to match the 68s (which never had them). The TV crew truly did not care what was correct, they just wanted 100% matching cars.

bull · July 09, 2008, 05:03:42 AM

I wouldn't think it would be much more time-consuming to swap out a front clip as it would to swap out a tail panel. But then I imagine they weren't being real careful with their work.

BrianShaughnessy · July 09, 2008, 09:05:26 AM

Local guy I know's GL clone. Nice guy. '68 but he swapped in the 69 tail panel. It's not mine

The car looks decent. He's still working on it. He's getting around to all the local car shows this year.

Personally I'd have smoothed over the side markers like they did with all the cars on the TV show after awhile. Then put in a section of 69 grill just like they did on the TV show to make a proper 68 jump car stand in so they didn't hurt anymore 69's

Mike DC · July 09, 2008, 07:04:00 PM

QuoteI wouldn't think it would be much more time-consuming to swap out a front clip as it would to swap out a tail panel. But then I imagine they weren't being real careful with their work.

The '68 tail panels didn't actually get swapped out after the first Georgia shows. They just re-cut the holes in the '68 panels to fit the wider '69 lights. They patched the remaining gap at the top corner of the holes (from the original '68 lights) with sheetmetal & pop rivets.

The '69 rear valance light holes were just bondo'd.

It wasn't so much an unwillingness to swap front ends that kept the crew from buying '70 Chargers, it was the lack of parts they would provide. They needed all '68/69 front clip parts that they could get. Those parts were some of the most commonly crunched pieces.

The wider/heavier pushbar switch in mid-series was done partly just to save the '69 grille centers. The original smaller pushbar was only fastened to the car at the factory chrome bumper, and it kept pivoting backward & smashing out the plastic '69 grille divider whenever the front of the car bumped into something.

Mike DC · July 09, 2008, 07:30:09 PM

Here's late-series '68 grille "conversion." It's a medium-condition driving/stunt car.

sick dawg · July 09, 2008, 07:54:09 PM

I'll sell you a real nice one! Make you a real deal if interested.

General_01 · July 09, 2008, 09:11:07 PM

I think the biggest difference to the naked eye is the chrome rocker moulding. It may be on others and painted over, but the first one is the only one I know of that left them chrome. It is the car that makes the jump over Rosco's police car at the end of the opening credits to every Dukes episode.

pettyfan43 · July 09, 2008, 09:43:10 PM

Also those crossed flags DID NOT just show up on Lee 1, but on all the cars used in the Georgia episodes. You can clearly see them in one shot in "high Octane" which was the last episode aired, PLUS a few of the EARLY cars in Georgia lost their fuel cap trim rings.

JimShine · July 10, 2008, 03:05:00 PM

The reason some lost the trim rings. They were removed to mimick Lee1, which lost its ring before being a General Lee. The car was hit hard on the driver side rear quarter and had a NOS quarter panel and trunk lid installed and painted gold to match. The broke dude that did it did not replace the gas cap ring or the wheel well trim that was damaged. To make the car look okay, he removed all the wheel trim. This work is also why the vinyl top trim was retained. They replaced the quarter (badly) making the seam under the vinyl top trim, not at the factory location. It was too much of a mess to clean up, so they just left the trim in place to hide it.

Mike DC · July 10, 2008, 03:28:19 PM

. . . and unintentionally made the car look better IMHO.

There's a widespread feeling that 2nd-gen Chargers wear vinyl tops better than most cars of that era. I think the visual break provided by that seam (vinyl-to-paint on the quarter panel) is the reason. The GLs having kept that trim accomplishes the same thing with the painted top.

JimShine · July 10, 2008, 03:32:22 PM

I agree 110%

CHARGERMAN2007_69 · July 10, 2008, 04:35:36 PM

actualy i can gaurentee for a fact that they did use 70's in the doh cause theres a big dukes guy down where i am and he bought an 1970 general lee from the show that was setting in a museum

General_01 · July 10, 2008, 04:51:27 PM

Quote from: CHARGERMAN2007_69 on July 10, 2008, 04:35:36 PM
actualy i can gaurentee for a fact that they did use 70's in the doh cause theres a big dukes guy down where i am and he bought an 1970 general lee from the show that was setting in a museum

You can ask a few guys on here that have seen "original series used" GL's in car museums all over. Just cause the museum said it was a real GL don't make it so. From what I have seen and read the stunt team/mechanics from the show have said that no 70's were used because you had to change the whole front clip to make it a GL.

Joshua · July 10, 2008, 04:55:34 PM

What a bunch of geeks......

CHARGERMAN2007_69 · July 10, 2008, 05:15:46 PM

weel theres paper work all over it man

JimShine · July 10, 2008, 05:19:00 PM

Paper work doesn't mean squat.

No 1970 models used on the show. Movie yes, but not the show. Early on 1968-9 cars were not hard to find. When things got dry the car was a star and the show was building them to a "strict appearance". 1970 models were just too hard to convert, so they spread out the search a little farther to get the cars they needed.

CHARGERMAN2007_69 · July 10, 2008, 05:58:20 PM

think what u think i know for a fact end of discussion

pettyfan43 · July 10, 2008, 06:13:57 PM

Quote from: JimShine on July 10, 2008, 03:05:00 PM
The reason some lost the trim rings. They were removed to mimick Lee1, which lost its ring before being a General Lee. The car was hit hard on the driver side rear quarter and had a NOS quarter panel and trunk lid installed and painted gold to match. The broke dude that did it did not replace the gas cap ring or the wheel well trim that was damaged. To make the car look okay, he removed all the wheel trim. This work is also why the vinyl top trim was retained. They replaced the quarter (badly) making the seam under the vinyl top trim, not at the factory location. It was too much of a mess to clean up, so they just left the trim in place to hide it.

Yeah I know the guy that originally bought car #33 and the vinyl top trim on that car and several others was actually strips of aluminum popriveted to the quarter.

I got to spend a LOT of time in and around that one.

HKCharger · July 10, 2008, 06:20:17 PM

Quote from: sick dawg on July 09, 2008, 07:54:09 PM
I'll sell you a real nice one! Make you a real deal if interested.

yours is like $50,000 isnt it?

mikepmcs · July 10, 2008, 06:20:35 PM

Whatever Jim Shine says on the DOH, you can pretty much take it to the bank, and I need to give some respect to Mike DC, cause he's pretty smart on this as well.

I'm sure it is a very nice car though and would really like to see some pics of it.

v/r
Mike

JimShine · July 10, 2008, 06:24:56 PM

Quote from: CHARGERMAN2007_69 on July 10, 2008, 05:58:20 PM
think what u think i know for a fact end of discussion

Whatever. I don't have to prove anything to you. The facts speak for themselves and the testimony of the builders and the mechanics of the show, the list of VINs kept, these tell us the facts. Not one of many so called "originals" with bogus paperwork.

JT01 · July 10, 2008, 06:29:31 PM

It has been confirmed by Dukes of Hazzard mechanics and stunt men that NO 70 Chargers were ever used on the show. I have heard this several times by them at dukefest and on videos.

CHARGERMAN2007_69 · July 10, 2008, 06:34:33 PM

ok ill try to get some pics i have some on my myspace my myspace is www.myspace.com/1971bee if u wann check it out man this guy down here is a dukes nut oh ya cooter off the show well his brother work for the railroad here in moberly missouri and this guy with the general is prathers he owns a junk yard and he has an original gl a restored gl wil a 5.7 liter hemi wil a 2007 charger suspension hes has a daisy jeep , a daisy roadrunner a jesse fors f150 a boss hogg cadaliac a rosco cop car built by cooter and a cop car that was jumped at dukes fest last year hey did u guys hear about dukes fest this year

HKCharger · July 10, 2008, 06:38:28 PM

Quote from: CHARGERMAN2007_69 on July 10, 2008, 06:34:33 PM
ok ill try to get some pics i have some on my myspace my myspace is www.myspace.com/1971bee if u wann check it out man this guy down here is a dukes nut oh ya cooter off the show well his brother work for the railroad here in moberly missouri and this guy with the general is prathers he owns a junk yard and he has an original gl a restored gl wil a 5.7 liter hemi wil a 2007 charger suspension hes has a daisy jeep , a daisy roadrunner a jesse fors f150 a boss hogg cadaliac a rosco cop car built by cooter and a cop car that was jumped at dukes fest last year hey did u guys hear about dukes fest this year

"grind on me"

tell me you dont play that in the charger.

JimShine · July 10, 2008, 06:40:01 PM

Please tell me this isn't the car you are talking about

mikepmcs · July 10, 2008, 06:41:00 PM

Went to the site Steve. Good pics and nice GL as well as your car!!!. Sorry for your loss!

v/r
Mike

CHARGERMAN2007_69 · July 10, 2008, 06:52:06 PM

thanks man it realy means alot to me ya my charger is a work in progress im doing a super bee hood for it right now does anyone know where i can get a non air pulley set up for a big block

FLG · July 10, 2008, 06:56:38 PM

chargerman,

440source.com should have the pulleys you need. Bought there crank and WP pulleys for my 400 and it worked out great, quality stuff.

CHARGERMAN2007_69 · July 10, 2008, 07:10:02 PM

thanks man thier kinda expensive tho do u know of anyone that has any used pulleys ya i think i have a non air water pump pulley but i have one problem it hits the lower pulley

FLG · July 10, 2008, 07:12:20 PM

The Non air WP pulleys are larger (no need to make things spin faster if theres no AC, less heat). You would probably just need the crank pulley.

Mike DC · July 10, 2008, 07:16:29 PM

1970 Charger GL from the old TV series = phony replica.

I'm sorry if this means someone got ripped off, but the facts are facts. There are dozens of GLs with phony paperwork out there.

Maybe it's all just stupid trivia about an old cheesy TV show, but "stupid trivia" is the difference between people getting ripped off or not when it comes to collectibles. Some people learn about VIN numbers on Hemi cars, other people learn GL info.

CHARGERMAN2007_69 · July 10, 2008, 07:30:07 PM

do u know of anyone who has a lower pulley

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General Lee Trivia Question