General Lee question

[500hp_440]

If I recall correctly the GL was originally a bank robbers car that failed to jump the gorge, so the Dukes who had just bought a used Hemi, pulled the car out and restored it completely, which the car had a 440 originally, so techniaclly if I pull my 440 and throw in a Hemi I will have a closer to real GL then most people?
Or is my story wrong?

[teamroth]

  well you didn't pull your car out of a waterfilled gorge did you?

[chargerkid01]

Your wrong watch the original series not the dukes of hazzard begining!!!! yes it was a black charger that was in a heist of diamonds, they were caught then the charger wastowed to a junk yard/used wreck cars lot. Where Bo & Luke found it while looking for a race car to put the engine they built in!! Maybe some one else remembers the epsode name I think it was called happy birthday general lee!!!!

[Lizey]

your combining the story from both movies and the show...

the "REAL" story according to the show is that the bankrobbers crashed the car, stored gold dust under the dash, and then the dukes bought it from the junkyard and put their homebuild racing engine in it and etc. etc. (its in the episode "Happy Birthday General Lee")

the "official" engine of the general lee is the 440 i read somewhere

[chargerkid01]

I couldn't remember if it was diamonds or gold, but I don't like the new dukes movies, I have all season's on dvd. I don't watch them that much so I couldnt remember all the details!!

[69bronzeT5]

Your wrong watch the original series not the dukes of hazzard begining!!!! yes it was a black charger that was in a heist of diamonds, they were caught then the charger was towed to a junk yard/used wreck cars lot. Where Bo & Luke found it while looking for a race car to put the engine they built in!! Maybe some one else remembers the episode name I think it was called happy birthday general lee!!!!

It was called Happy Birthday General Lee. Most of the Chargers used on the episodes had 318s or 383s.

[skip68]

I couldn't remember if it was diamonds or gold, but I don't like the new dukes movies, I have all season's on dvd. I don't watch them that much so I couldnt remember all the details!!

Chuck could probably tell you all the details to any episode, he has to have the t.v. on when he sleeps at night,............................................wonder what's in the dvd player,  ....................you got it, D.O.H.!!!  It's kinda weird and sad at the same time! 

Mrs.Skip68

[MoparManJim]

In "Happy Birthday General Lee" the charger was stolen by two people. It was black at the time of the bank robbery. After they stole the charger they pull'd off on some back road and stash the goldust they had stolen behind the insterment panel. While they was doing that back the Dukes boys and Uncle Jesse was talking about finding a race to put there homebuilt motor into a car for the big race (The motor was really frozen up that was scene on the screen). Now back to the charger, after the two got done hidding the goldust behind the insterment panel they took off. Now as they are driving the back dirt road they pass a cop car and he begins chase after them. He rams them in the driver side door and knocks the charger off the road and down in the trach where he catchs the two baddys. The car is towed to the junkyard while the baddys go to jail. Bo and Luke out looking for a race car comes across the junkyard and buys the warck charger (now has a good driver door on and smash up front end  ). They take the car back to Cooters as the two bank robbers brakes out of jail and comes looking for the car and the guy at the junkyard tells them about two couins in Hazzard buying the wrack car. They go to Hazzard looking for the Duke boys. Later on after they (the Duke boys) put the engine in the car, they paint it into the General Lee and the next day they take it out for a spin and while Unless and Daisy and Cooter are going to meet them at the starting line of the big race. The Boys runs into the two robbers and a chase is on. The boys has to out run them so they take a dirt road that has a bridge wash out and there is where the General (posely) makes his first jump. 

I can go on. 

But the funny thing is I haven't watch the peisode in like 6 months now.   

[Mike DC]

   
The studio's attitude towards the GL's mechanical specifics was basically "reveal nothing, lest it diminish the magic aura of the character."



They once called the GL a 440/automatic car in a short list of stats published in 1981, but that's about it. 

The black (pre-GL) Charger in the 1984 episode had an unspecified drivetrain.  The shots of the GL's motor throughout the series were usually big block wedge motors, mostly 383s. 

     

[tan top]

In "Happy Birthday General Lee" the charger was stolen by two people. It was black at the time of the bank robbery. After they stole the charger they pull'd off on some back road and stash the goldust they had stolen behind the insterment panel. While they was doing that back the Dukes boys and Uncle Jesse was talking about finding a race to put there homebuilt motor into a car for the big race (The motor was really frozen up that was scene on the screen). Now back to the charger, after the two got done hidding the goldust behind the insterment panel they took off. Now as they are driving the back dirt road they pass a cop car and he begins chase after them. He rams them in the driver side door and knocks the charger off the road and down in the trach where he catchs the two baddys. The car is towed to the junkyard while the baddys go to jail. Bo and Luke out looking for a race car comes across the junkyard and buys the warck charger (now has a good driver door on and smash up front end  ). They take the car back to Cooters as the two bank robbers brakes out of jail and comes looking for the car and the guy at the junkyard tells them about two couins in Hazzard buying the wrack car. They go to Hazzard looking for the Duke boys. Later on after they (the Duke boys) put the engine in the car, they paint it into the General Lee and the next day they take it out for a spin and while Unless and Daisy and Cooter are going to meet them at the starting line of the big race. The Boys runs into the two robbers and a chase is on. The boys has to out run them so they take a dirt road that has a bridge wash out and there is where the General (posely) makes his first jump. 

I can go on. 

But the funny thing is I haven't watch the peisode in like 6 months now.   

yeah i remember all that stuff , not see that one since  83 / 84 when it was shown on tv 

[Back N Black]

I got the original black General Lee, the one in my Avatar.

[500hp_440]

So noone knows what the drivetrain was supposed to be?
Which has the most power though Hemi or 440?
Thanks for the info!

[PocketThunder]

So noone knows what the drivetrain was supposed to be?
Which has the most power though Hemi or 440?
Thanks for the info!

define power?

[MoparManJim]

So noone knows what the drivetrain was supposed to be?
Which has the most power though Hemi or 440?
Thanks for the info!

Each week, Cooter was alwaysdoing somthing to the car and the next week he was doing somthing yet again to it. Then the week after that the same thing   

About the motors, from 318's to 440s was used. The 318 was use more though, the 383s and 440s was used for the jump cars because they could get up speed that was needed for the jumps. 

The barn jump was done by mistake though, Jack Gill hit the ramp going to fast and went threw the 2nd story instead of the 1st story that was pre cut for him to go threw. 

[WingCharger]

440 is my bet. The sounds of the car shifting were actually edited in after filming. Most cars were automatics though. I don't think I ever noticed a column shifted auto or 3spd car. There must have at least been a few.

Personally, if I built one, it would be a 440 4spd. Super Track Pak car.

[69charger2002]

So noone knows what the drivetrain was supposed to be?
Which has the most power though Hemi or 440?
Thanks for the info!

Each week, Cooter was alwaysdoing somthing to the car and the next week he was doing somthing yet again to it. Then the week after that the same thing   

About the motors, from 318's to 440s was used. The 318 was use more though, the 383s and 440s was used for the jump cars because they could get up speed that was needed for the jumps. 

The barn jump was done by mistake though, Jack Gill hit the ramp going to fast and went threw the 2nd story instead of the 1st story that was pre cut for him to go threw. 

not to bust your balls, but sometimes your posts are painful to decipher through..
this is friendly help, not being a jerk
1. 318's and 440's WERE used, not WAS
2. somthing is spelled SOMETHING
3. threw is THROUGH

[MoparManJim]

So noone knows what the drivetrain was supposed to be?
Which has the most power though Hemi or 440?
Thanks for the info!

Each week, Cooter was alwaysdoing somthing to the car and the next week he was doing somthing yet again to it. Then the week after that the same thing   

About the motors, from 318's to 440s was used. The 318 was use more though, the 383s and 440s was used for the jump cars because they could get up speed that was needed for the jumps. 

The barn jump was done by mistake though, Jack Gill hit the ramp going to fast and went threw the 2nd story instead of the 1st story that was pre cut for him to go threw. 

not to bust your balls, but sometimes your posts are painful to decipher through..
this is friendly help, not being a jerk
1. 318's and 440's WERE used, not WAS
2. somthing is spelled SOMETHING
3. threw is THROUGH

Thanks for the advice man. 

[MoparManJim]

440 is my bet. The sounds of the car shifting were actually edited in after filming. Most cars were automatics though. I don't think I ever noticed a column shifted auto or 3spd car. There must have at least been a few.

Personally, if I built one, it would be a 440 4spd. Super Track Pak car.

Watch the episode in 2nd season, the one where the Duke boys meet Cale, at the ending where they do a jump over the cars. Just before the jump they cut to an inside shot of a General. The shows Luke flipping the targel switch for the super charger under the hood. In the background you can see a column shifter.

[WingCharger]

440 is my bet. The sounds of the car shifting were actually edited in after filming. Most cars were automatics though. I don't think I ever noticed a column shifted auto or 3spd car. There must have at least been a few.

Personally, if I built one, it would be a 440 4spd. Super Track Pak car.

Watch the episode in 2nd season, the one where the Duke boys meet Cale, at the ending where they do a jump over the cars. Just before the jump they cut to an inside shot of a General. The shows Luke flipping the targel switch for the super charger under the hood. In the background you can see a column shifter.

Thanks!

[kikgas01]

Kraig Kummins had a real general that is a column shift. Tony Gonzales has a column shift real general.

[rav440]

So noone knows what the drivetrain was supposed to be?
Which has the most power though Hemi or 440?
Thanks for the info!

define power?

define noone ? 

[69charger2002]

a "noone" is when you sneak home at lunch time for a little lovin'   
secondary definition is a synonym for baby pacifier... 

[rav440]

a "noone" is when you sneak home at lunch time for a little lovin'   
secondary definition is a synonym for baby pacifier... 

thats a "nooner" . or the old school " term after noon delight " 

[Mike DC]

   
The funny thing about GLs is that a 440 is probably not a great thing to use for a car like that.  Dirt roads, constant turns and bumps, very little time spent on straightaways in total, etc.  That situation doesn't call out for more HP to make the final result faster, it calls out for a better chassis. 

The GL might have been a NASCAR-inspired ride, but it actually lived a lot more like a WRC Rally car than anything else.




Rich Sephton told me that he thought the chassis mods on their hottest couple of GLs were doing them more good than the actual motors.  He said they kept swapping the hot motors from car-to-car as certain cars got totalled, but it was never the same without the frame/suspension work that the best couple of cars had underneath. 



 

[500hp_440]

So noone knows what the drivetrain was supposed to be?
Which has the most power though Hemi or 440?
Thanks for the info!

define power?

hp, torque, top speed, accleration, ect.

[Mike DC]

If your engine budget $30K, and you want a dragstrip terror that won't even idle smoothly but it needs a parachute to stop . . . build a Hemi-based motor.  It'll kick the 440's ass every time. 



But if your engine budget is $10K, and you want a street bruiser that runs on regular gas and the car has a few power/comfort options . . . Trust me, you want to build a 440-based motor.  A $10K 440 will completely smoke a $10K Hemi in this scenario.
 

[Troy]

Stock, the Hemi had more power. With unlimited funds, the Hemi will have more power (you don't see many Top Fuel teams running 440s). The Hemi was designed for NASCAR, so again, more power. The drawbacks are price (always), maintainability (usually), and reliability (some times).

Troy