Actual Bullitt Movie Charger Apparently Found - Pics

[JMF]

http://www.ponysite.de/charger_welch.htm

[moparstuart]

very cool if it is the car  ?
  That movie is the single reason i love chargers and must have a 68 one day .

[mikesbbody]

Very interesting...

[69bronzeT5]

Thats REALLY interesting. Based on the facts, I'm thinking it could possibly be the car.

[Ghoste]

Wow, that's a car I guarantee all the auction houses would want to get their hands on for the season opener in January.  Talk about trying to jump start a slow collector car market.

[tan top]

intresting Find JMF     ..thanks for posting the link  

i wonder   ..........

[BigBlockSam]

 

[PocketThunder]

Innocent until proven guilty right?

[Ghoste]

He needs evidence thats a little more substantial.  That's without question, but the circumstantial evidence?  Yes, innocent until proven guilty.

[BB1]

  I'm happy with it, it's FOUND!!

[1969chargerrtse]

   Interesting.  Was done black at one time, could be, more clues needed though.

[Mike DC]

I agree with the tone displayed so far.

It doesn't seem like enough to declare it by any stretch.  But it's the first decent contender we've ever seen, and there's nothing that violates the possibility in its current state or history.





Imagine if this bears out. 

Imagine if someday we could get the original surviving Mustang and the original surviving Charger together, all put back together and looking like they did in '68, tearing through the SanFran streets one more time for an anniversary celebration or something . . . what a rush.  I wouldn't miss it.

[Hemidog]

wow, definitely interesting if one of the cars actually survived this long!

[ChargersETC..ETC..]

Can they zoom in on old 1968 Bullit photos or film to check the cars vin#?

[ac_knight]

I have to agree so far it is nowhere enough to solidify the car as the Bullit car.  I mean we all have had some kind of discovery type with our cars as we restore them.  Hell mine, I bought it as a sublime green 1969 dodge charger with a black vinyl top, vin# only, no fender tag, no build sheet.  After body work started, come to find out it had several layers of paint on it.  It began life as a metallic OD green looking color with at one time a white vinyl top on it.  Was painted blue and orange some time in its past, and under the current vinyl top was a confederate flag and the words "General Lee" on it.  Did I get a famous WB TV car, no probably not.  But there is some evidence that it was a "General Lee" at one time, wether it be a clone or a real TV car.  So with out verification there is no telling, (which by the way I totally hope me car wasnt a TV car because it so aint going back if it was).  It would be great for this to be the Bullit car, but I need alot more convincing then just some holes drilled into a fender, and some old paint. 

[Drache]

Well they know where the mustang is that had the camera mounted to it (the one seen racing through the streets was destroyed and then crushed) but sadly the guy will never sell it nor take it out of his barn nor let anyone into the barn.

Personally I don't think though there is any way to prove that this car is the real deal or not. Like WB told him, the records were lost so no way to match up the VIN's. Unless somewhere there is paperwork that the stuntman himself had filled out or that the dealership has kicking around, I don't think it will ever be proven. If that happens there will be allot of controversy over this car because he will show it off as one of the Bullitt Chargers where as half the people will believe him and the other half won't.

[C500]

It sounds like it's the real deal to me. If I was in a position to buy it, I would want some more concrete evidence that this is the Bullitt car.

[Finn]

Cool story, I didnt even know that the stang was MIA. You'd think that someone from the movie (stuntman, cameraman, etc) that's still alive would be able answer questions about the car...

[Drache]

Cool story, I didnt even know that the stang was MIA. You'd think that someone from the movie (stuntman, cameraman, etc) that's still alive would be able answer questions about the car...

The camera Mustang was found awhile ago but the current owner won't let anyone see the car anymore and he won't sell it. The Mustang that was seen during the chase scene was so wrecked up that it was supposedly crushed along with the Chargers.

[Finn]

ahhh I see 

[Ghoste]

He did allow Mustang Monthly to do a feature on the car not all that long ago though. 

[Drache]

He did allow Mustang Monthly to do a feature on the car not all that long ago though. 

That's good at least! A car like that should not be hidden from the world.

[Mike DC]

I think some more digging on this issue might uncover better info. 


Filming a movie and a chase like Bullitt is a HUGE undertaking even in those days.  There are potentially a lot more people who could have pics or recollections about this thing than just McQueen, Balchowski, and Hickman.   

[Silver R/T]

interesting find

[1FastCharger]

    This is just like the Dick Landy Charger thread......

[SFRT]

might be wishfull thinking...but....

the mounting holes inside the car...what other purpose, reason would they be there?......it would boil down to what other Charger of this make and vintage was used as a camera /equipment mule...right? probably not very many....

and..if he was going to out and out fake it...seems like he would fake 'way more solid evidence'...so the very wierdness of it might actually make it true.

I really hope it pans out cause im so totally sick of the mustang and the psuedo beatnik cop getting all the attention. the bad guys where way cooler....PUMP SHOTGUN plus Charger=AWESOME.

[hemi-hampton]

Well, A roll bar could always account for some holes but probably not the ones near Passenger seat

[SFRT]

yeah I cant imagine a rollcage that would  mount at those points?

[Mike DC]

   
There were no rollbars/cages in any of the "Bullitt" cars as far as I know.

Uncaged stunt cars were still pretty common for the time.  1960/70s Hollywood still didn't always even cage their intentional rollover shots, nevermind the cars they planned to keep on all fours.

[1BAD68]

The article mentions that the car they blew up had roughly 600 miles on it when destroyed, so I would assume that the cars used were bought new by Warner Bros?
If he could find the dealership that sold the cars maybe they would have some records of vin#'s, if his car matched that would be solid.
But at this point I think its most likely the real deal so far.

[Mike DC]

Yeah, that was indeed the case.  The stunt guys have said they snatched two R/Ts right off a local SanFran dealership lot. 

The movie was actually sponsored by Ford, but Balchowski declared the midsize Fairlanes unfit for combat.

[hemi-hampton]

Mike, I meant a non bullitt car with roll bar. Not bullitt car with roll bar. Just saying thats how you can sometimes explain holes in floor on some cars. LEON.

[Mike DC]

Aaahhhh . . .  now I gotcha. 

[65post]

MCG has an article on this car in it this month.Has it been confirmed as the real deal?

[Ghoste]

Nope, it's still just circumstantial evidence.

[bull]

Here's some pics of the one they "blew up" as it went past the gas station. It looks pretty beat and if they crushed one this was probably the one.

http://www.ponysite.de/index2.htm

There is one thing I find interesting about the article where current owner is interviewed. At the bottom of that page they interviewed another guy named Anthony Bologna (nice last name) and he says he remembers that the engine bay was painted black. If the car was originally yellow and was painted black by WB for filming, why would they bother painting the engine bay just for the movie? Film crews are not generally known for doing more work than they have to due to time constraints, and I don't remember there being any under hood shots of the Charger...?

[ChargerSG]

About the ad, the guy just trying to make more money.
About the actual Charger, when seeing that movie in the seventies i to wanted a Black 68 Charger Then when father came home later that year with a 69 SE 4speed it was a 69 RT/SE 4speed Trippel Black as number one and still is
My RT/SE allso had a unionflag on the roof, former owner clamied it to be a real DOH car, after checking it seriosly  it was like i knew no real GL. There are to many urban legends, and someones lie long ago becomes the truth...

[69*F5*SE]

 Like 65post stated, the February issue of Mopar Collector's Guide shows all of the same pictures with this story. What a great find if it's true.  I'm a believer     I think.   

[Mike DC]

Nothing has changed.  The car still smells legit, but there's still not nearly enough evidence to make a firm decision either.

 

[Ghoste]

About the ad, the guy just trying to make more money.

As a point of interest, there isn't an ad for the car and as far as I know he is claiming that the car is not for sale.

[Blakcharger440]

There is not enough documentation or even coming close to proving one way or another other that it is the real bullet car.....so for that matter someone else even on this board may own it and not even know it. That would just be as probable as his claim.

[Finn]

You're right...In fact Im nearly positive my charger is the Bullitt car.
My reasons being:
its a 68
its black
and the deal-sealer, it was also missing hubcaps.
If thats not proof I dont know what is.

Actually the only thing my charger has in vague similarity is that it was at one time at a dealer in Sunnyvale...so maybe it was considered for the part.  :shruggy:lol
Back to the charger in question; my bet is that it is the actual car...fun to believe so in any case.

[Mike DC]

I agree that it seems quite likely. 

The guy has not gone about this "revealing" process in a way that smells very fishy.  If he was gonna fake it, then I would expect forged paperwork and a more specific trail back to the movie itself.    The reasoning to link this car to "Bullitt" is certainly not very iron-clad justifiable if he tries to sell it for huge money later on.

[Ghoste]

He claims he has no intent to sell just to show but we know how that goes.  I'm sure he will show it as being the car so that and a magazine article to bolster the claim and a few years from now that would be all the proof needed to fish in some fool at B-J.

[Blakcharger440]

He claims he has no intent to sell just to show but we know how that goes.  I'm sure he will show it as being the car so that and a magazine article to bolster the claim and a few years from now that would be all the proof needed to fish in some fool at B-J.

Exactly. Its a cool car just being what it is without the alleged claim to fame. There is no solid proof that the car is legit so it is just specualation. The truth always comes out though....just like 1970 Daytonas.

[BB1]

It is, get over it.

[PocketThunder]

It is, get over it.

Hey thanks for clearing that up...