restoring original cars from the dukes of hazzard

[itchyballs]

hey. i see the new owner of the first general lee has its restoration under way. what a shame. completley erasing the history of the car and what original could possibly be saved? if you have ever seen the car then you know there won't be hardly anything salvageable!! i just hope the owners of police#1 and #2 don't do the same. especially since thay are the only know georgia cars that were the first five episodes. anybody heard on where tay are at and what the owners are doing with them?

[JimShine]

There is a division here. Yeah, the car was rough, but the rot was progressing. They are indeed restoring the car, not rebodying it. It has been a tough challenge, but it will last longer now that the rot is being eliminated. I was on the side to keep it unmolested, but with the work people are able to pull of these days (at big expense), I see nothing wrong with making it a road worthy car again. If it were mine and I had the resources, I would do the same thing. Keep in mind, when most people have seen it in its as found state, few cared about the history of the car as it no longer looked like a Lee. Most saw it as a junkyard find that happened to have a cool history. Now it will have new life breathed into it.

[itchyballs]

i can see your point too jimshine. i guess unless it was put in a dry climate controlled environment it would keep on rusting. but it is a shame when you can't look at it anymore and see the damage and then see it on an episode. any news on police #1 and #2 being restored? i guess this is really getting interesting to me...

[bull]

Some would say the General Lee treatment erases the original history of the car rather than a stock restoration erasing the DOH history.

[JimShine]

The GL treatment here is not your average scenario. We are looking at the FIRST General lee ever built.

[viper r/t]

 

[Charger_Fan]

We're talking about the car that ended up repainted a dark color & was crashed a lot, right? The one that Bo & Luke were trying to buy for the engine from the used car guy?

[itchyballs]

i would really think that lee#1 and police #1 should be in a museum or something. since they are the first  two cars from the series when it started in georgia.. hope who ever ownes police #1 doesn't decide to do the same thing and erase DUKES history. (just my opinion)..

[70charginglizard]

i would really think that lee#1 and police #1 should be in a museum or something. since they are the first  two cars from the series when it started in georgia.. hope who ever ownes police #1 doesn't decide to do the same thing and erase DUKES history. (just my opinion)..

Sounds kinda like to me that you might be talking about the same people who have the mentality opinion that restorizing a 37 year old "claimed as unrestorable CHARGER" in the name of dukes fest for destructions is acceptable.

[greenpigs]

i can see your point too jimshine. i guess unless it was put in a dry climate controlled environment it would keep on rusting. but it is a shame when you can't look at it anymore and see the damage and then see it on an episode. any news on police #1 and #2 being restored? i guess this is really getting interesting to me...

Police cars being restored? I think you can sleep at night as I doubt that is going to happen.

[73dodge]

Saved in a Museum, saved for posterity? Come on it's a 37 year old hunk of metal from a TV show produced in fantasy land......   It's been beat up and crashed and it's a rotting hulk I say put new metal on it paint it and drive it and show it for what it is, a cool car that some one saved. Document the history and enjoy the ride............

[BrianShaughnessy]

Is there a link or story to the resto of Lee1 somewhere?


I give the guy credit for undertaking that project.     That thing was mostly a hunk of scrap.    For whatever reason that the previous owners just left it as a piece of crap and charged shows to come exhibit it,  well - I'd much rather have seen the a restored car than pay to see that POS on a trailer the way I did.

OK to be fair,  Travis and crew found the car - they did a good job tracking it down and such and got it out of a boneyard but after that they just more or less profited from it...  I guess it's their right to but don't mean I have to agree with it.     Later they sold it for $20K+ so it was all about the benjamins it seems.


I commend the new owner. 

[resq302]

If I remember correctly, there was an article in either Mopar Muscle or Mopar Collectors Guide.  I think it said that the original number 1 Lee was repainted and was reused again in a later episode where Bo and Luke either needed an engine or wanted to buy a car from a used car lot in Hazzard that as the story goes, was an old Richard Petty Nascar race car.  The magazine article showed that they poured concrete into the trunk after they jacked the car up in the center so the car would be level and not do a nose dive for the jump scene.

[BrianShaughnessy]

If I remember correctly, there was an article in either Mopar Muscle or Mopar Collectors Guide.  I think it said that the original number 1 Lee was repainted and was reused again in a later episode where Bo and Luke either needed an engine or wanted to buy a car from a used car lot in Hazzard that as the story goes, was an old Richard Petty Nascar race car.  The magazine article showed that they poured concrete into the trunk after they jacked the car up in the center so the car would be level and not do a nose dive for the jump scene.

Yes... LEE1 was a faded blue/green color with a 71 on the side with concrete in the trunk when I saw it. 

I'm more interested in any new articles on restoring it rather than pics of the heap it was.   

[JimShine]

There are no pictures or sites about this on the web. Corndog and I posted a response about it on the CFGLFC board. My guess is the car will be kept secret and it will be made a big deal after its completed.

Travis and Gary sold the car because they went seperate ways and it was owned 50/50. They took the money, split it down the middle, Travis got the website, Gary went his own way. There is much "he said she said" in the middle, but that is the cut and dry version.

Here is a link of pics of the history of the car. Up to a couple of years ago.


http://209.43.123.28/71/71.html

[genlee1970]

hey. i see the new owner of the first general lee has its restoration under way. what a shame. completley erasing the history of the car and what original could possibly be saved? if you have ever seen the car then you know there won't be hardly anything salvageable!! i just hope the owners of police#1 and #2 don't do the same. especially since thay are the only know georgia cars that were the first five episodes. anybody heard on where tay are at and what the owners are doing with them?

OK....so, are they restoring it back to stock or back to a General Lee? It's seems to me restoring it back to a General would be the best thing and likely more profitable, if that's an issue. It wasn't an R/T right? It was, however, Lee 1, so  restoring it to General Lee specs, complete with rocker moldings etc., would seem like the way to go, rather than let it rot as a blue green prop that only avid fans would recognize. Think about it, the first General, jumped, repainted blue green, beaten with concrete blocks and left for dead, rides again!!! Cool.    Al

[genlee1970]

i would really think that lee#1 and police #1 should be in a museum or something. since they are the first  two cars from the series when it started in georgia.. hope who ever ownes police #1 doesn't decide to do the same thing and erase DUKES history. (just my opinion)..

Sounds kinda like to me that you might be talking about the same people who have the mentality opinion that restorizing a 37 year old "claimed as unrestorable CHARGER" in the name of dukes fest for destructions is acceptable.

I couldn't agre with you more. I had a blast at Dukes Fest and I am going this year again, but I cringe when I think of them wrecking another Charger,as well as the thought of them making another movie. I got to see the last Dukes Fest General, it was pretty rough but certainly not the worse thing anyones ever restored. Actually looked way better than some of those HLPAG POS'S. 

[Ghoste]

I had posted a story by one of the two on here in a different thread.  I think it was Travis' version of how they obtained the car.  I saved it from wherever I got it so I could post it again but I'm not sure it's really relevant to the thread.
I would also rather see the car restored than to rot further.  I have no desire to dig up Elvis and look at the bones and rotted flesh.

[Mike DC]

I couldn't agre with you more. I had a blast at Dukes Fest and I am going this year again, but I cringe when I think of them wrecking another Charger,as well as the thought of them making another movie.

A lot of us DOH fans agree with you.  But we're not running the show.  (It's actually a corporate-run thing for pofit now by the CMT network).  

You could say "Fine, then boycott the show!"  But realistically, would YOU sit out the stunt show just on principle if YOU were the huge Dukes fans that we are?   Probably not either.

Dukesfest is where we see our distant friends every year.  It's a great time in a lot of other ways.  

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I got to see the last Dukes Fest General, it was pretty rough but certainly not the worse thing anyones ever restored. Actually looked way better than some of those HLPAG POS'S.  

I agree, but this year's car was an anomaly.  It was Ben Jones's car they used at the last minute.  Usually Tom Sarmento & his crew have been supplying the car themselves.  They'll basically take any bare Charger unibody shell with enough frame left to hold up its own weight.

It wasn't a NICE car (the weights broke right through the trunkfloor when the car hit the ramp) and they had already swapped out a bunch of nicer parts (like the grille), but I agree it shouldn't have been wrecked.

.

[genlee1970]

I couldn't agre with you more. I had a blast at Dukes Fest and I am going this year again, but I cringe when I think of them wrecking another Charger,as well as the thought of them making another movie.

A lot of us DOH fans agree with you.  But we're not running the show.  (It's actually a corporate-run thing for pofit now by the CMT network).  

You could say "Fine, then boycott the show!"  But realistically, would YOU sit out the stunt show just on principle if YOU were the huge Dukes fans that we are?   Probably not either.

Dukesfest is where we see our distant friends every year.  It's a great time in a lot of other ways.

   

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I got to see the last Dukes Fest General, it was pretty rough but certainly not the worse thing anyones ever restored. Actually looked way better than some of those HLPAG POS'S.  

I agree, but this year's car was an anomaly.  It was Ben Jones's car they used at the last minute.  Usually Tom Sarmento & his crew have been supplying the car themselves.  They'll basically take any bare Charger unibody shell with enough frame left to hold up its own weight.

It wasn't a NICE car (the weights broke right through the trunkfloor when the car hit the ramp) and they had already swapped out a bunch of nicer parts (like the grille), but I agree it shouldn't have been wrecked.

.

I agree, the show is alot of fun for many other reasons. I think they'd still draw the same size crowd without the stunt show. I'm sure the common (non Charger enthusiasts) Dukes fans would understand the need to preserve Chargers and would settle for say, an exhibition of stunt driving with a General and Hazzard squad car set up for an auto cross type "hot pursuit" show, with 180 bootlegger turns, burn outs and so forth. They could even have them driving through break away prop "obsticles".They'd have cars that they could use every year and save money that way. I don't know, just seems a shame. As for boycotting, we'd have to boycott the whole event; by the time the stunt show rolls around, they've already got your money. Besides with the numbers they pull in, we, as Charger enthusiasts, would hardly make a dent. I think I'll be polishing the bumper on my General when they do the stunt show this year....

[Aussiemadonmopars]

There is a used car dealer here in Perth Australia that is selling a possible General Lee R/T car restored to original factory spec. 

http://allamerican.carpoint.ninemsn.com.au/DesktopDefault.aspx?UsedCarID=1590108&TabID=86326&Alias=allamericanau

[hemihead]

They should restore them all back to orignal Mopar as Chrysler and God intended. 

[Mike DC]

Opinion noted, Hemihead. 



I disagree though.  LEE 1 wasn't exactly a rare car in the first place (383 auto from Cali), but it sure had an interesting life during late 1978. 

It's a cultural icon.  The last Dukes convention drew 40,000 people, which is as much as any of the big Star Trek/Wars & comic book franchises can do.   

[itchyballs]

personally i think the cars should somehow be preserved with the rot and damage. if you restore them they aren't worth*(^(*^....

[RT DAVE]

I think they should recycle it.   

[Bandit72]

i'm not sure i understand....you all want chargers to be saved...and in many cases they are...but if someone saves a charger to make a general lee you just look the other way...would you rather the car rusted out into a pile of rust on someones garage floor, or be saved as a general lee? You shouldn't look at it like another chargers being wasted to support someones fantasy of owning there own car that they grew up loving...you should look at it like another charger is being saved...period.

later 

[Ghoste]

I agree.  I'm not a big Dukes fan and I'm kinda tired of GL's but I'd much rather see 1000 GL clones running around than a single Charger so far rotted that it's nothing but shelter for mice in the winter.

[Mike DC]

         
Such is the love/hate relationship between Charger fans and "The Dukes of Hazzard." 

It's caused hundreds of Chargers to be smashed, and hundreds of rotting Chargers to be restored, and hundreds of decent surviving Chargers to be repainted, and gotten hundreds of guys into other Chargers & other Mopars . . . there's never a dull moment one way or the other.


I think the General Lee's total net effect on the Charger hobby has probably been more good than bad, although it's also caused some pretty frustrating things to happen in the process.

   

[TheGhost]

They should restore them all back to orignal Mopar as Chrysler and God intended. 

*snort*

All original is fine, if the car came mostly that way, and is numbers matching.  But to have EVERY car restored the way they came from the factory is just damn boring.


Greenpigs, what's wrong with restoring a cop car?

[hemihead]

i'm not sure i understand....you all want chargers to be saved...and in many cases they are...but if someone saves a charger to make a general lee you just look the other way...would you rather the car rusted out into a pile of rust on someones garage floor, or be saved as a general lee? You shouldn't look at it like another chargers being wasted to support someones fantasy of owning there own car that they grew up loving...you should look at it like another charger is being saved...period.

later 

I, in my personal opinion, would rather have the rust.They took a Mopar legend and turned it into a cartoon character.I owned a 70 before the DOH aired.Then that came on T.V. and the Charger became the joke.Glad I own a 3rd Gen now.

[MassCharger73]

I can't speak for Greenpigs, but I think the real value of the first DOH police car is in its TV history. It has much less value as an old restored police car. The first GL as it sat as a POS is probably more valuable restored.

[Mike DC]

         
I don't understand why there's this mentality that the ONLY  way to get one of these cars back is to restore the orignal hulk. 

It's not the 1970s anymore, and a cloned Hemi 'Cuda looks IDENTICAL to the original nowadays.  A 'Cuda clone doesn't have to look like a 318 Gran Coupe with a Maaco paintjob & a 1966 Hemi thrown into it anymore.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You could build nicer-than-original clones of any of these Georgia "Dukes" cars for 1/3rd of the price of restoring them.  Particularly the cop cars.  With one of those things, the price of straightening out the unibody distortion alone could probably buy you another decent "builder." 

I mean, you can repaint & reupholster & rechrome the crunched oringinal metal or another car . . . it's gonna look the same when you're done no matter which car you start with.         

[mikepmcs]

I might know a guy who knows who owns the original police 1 and 2.  I've seen pictures of them that the owner gave to him.  I was in his shop in Tennessee not 2 weeks ago to pick my GL up.
If you want his information, then PM me and give me yours and I'll pass it along to him.  Don't want to breach his privacy until I have his permission.
v/r
Mike

[JimShine]

Police 1 and 2 were on eBay several times before they actually sold. The bidding was really low.

I don't care what people think of the General Lee. I know a local Mopar guy who has maybe 5 or 6 2nd generation Chargers. All are restorable and garaged, but nothing is done to them. He reamed me out on doing a General Lee paint job on my '69. Fact is I took my car from being a project in storage for 13 years to a roadworthy vehicle I drive regularly in 6 months time. Within two years time it was painted, interior done and still on the road. His cars have sat untouched. To some I drive a joke, but my car is on the road where it should be. I told him if he got just one of those on the road I would listen to him, but his word is worthless to me as anyone can buy up and store cars. It takes passion and dedication to put them back on the road.

[General_01]

Police 1 and 2 were on eBay several times before they actually sold. The bidding was really low.

I don't care what people think of the General Lee. I know a local Mopar guy who has maybe 5 or 6 2nd generation Chargers. All are restorable and garaged, but nothing is done to them. He reamed me out on doing a General Lee paint job on my '69. Fact is I took my car from being a project in storage for 13 years to a roadworthy vehicle I drive regularly in 6 months time. Within two years time it was painted, interior done and still on the road. His cars have sat untouched. To some I drive a joke, but my car is on the road where it should be. I told him if he got just one of those on the road I would listen to him, but his word is worthless to me as anyone can buy up and store cars. It takes passion and dedication to put them back on the road.

  Well said JimShine.

[Mike DC]

     

He reamed me out on doing a General Lee paint job on my '69. Fact is I took my car from being a project in storage for 13 years to a roadworthy vehicle I drive regularly in 6 months time. Within two years time it was painted, interior done and still on the road. His cars have sat untouched . . .

. . . To some I drive a joke, but my car is on the road where it should be. I told him if he got just one of those on the road I would listen to him, but his word is worthless to me as anyone can buy up and store cars. It takes passion and dedication to put them back on the road.

So true.

[blackcharger]

     

He reamed me out on doing a General Lee paint job on my '69. Fact is I took my car from being a project in storage for 13 years to a roadworthy vehicle I drive regularly in 6 months time. Within two years time it was painted, interior done and still on the road. His cars have sat untouched . . .

. . . To some I drive a joke, but my car is on the road where it should be. I told him if he got just one of those on the road I would listen to him, but his word is worthless to me as anyone can buy up and store cars. It takes passion and dedication to put them back on the road.

So true.

I know of several very nice mopars around me, that NEVER come out of the garage.Maybe, Maybe, once otr twice in 10 years. It's your car, do what make YOU happy.It's your $$ that has it out on the road.
Dave

[JimShine]

I am talking about cars that need work, but are not getting any attention. The justification is they are now out of the elements and someday will be done. I don't expect to see them all done in my lifetime.

[itchyballs]

i just can't understand why warner bros. would not want  some of the originals maybe to put in a museum or something. as big as the dukes has gotten i think  the show has earned it's part in the history books!

[Mike DC]

That last quote doesn't make a lot of sence. You can retsore a car from end to end and it will still look the  same when done? I beg to differ. When you restore a car, its sweet looking, not beat to crap like a Dukes car that had just been jumped and left for scrap.

I think you misunderstood my point there. 
I was saying that fully restoring a DOH car makes it look exactly the same as fully restoring another car to clone it.  Both come out looking very shiny & nice. 

I was saying why not clone the car instead of destroying the originality (and spending a hell of a lot more money) to achieve the same thing?  Whether it's the original hulk or a differnt one, you end up staring at 18 feet of brand-new DuPont unrethane enamel & Legendary vinyl either way.

------------------------------------------------------------------

I say they should sell the parts that are left over from the past movie and be done, stop making movies and wrecking the damn cars, think about it, we don't many parts left around for ourselfs let alone the guys who do have these cars laying in they're yard that don't wanna sell them, are wanting big bucks cause of that stupid movie now and thinking, hey, lets cash in on the car and make a million off a pile of junk! Also, my dad had a 68' Hemi charger and a 69' R/T 440 car before the Dukes even came about, therefore making me a fan of mopars before they we're really trashed!
Yeah, I'm an anti Duke car fan.....oh well.........
Mark

Can you think of any group of people on earth who suffers more from the the high prices of Charger parts than DOH fans?  Every single damn one of us is trying to build the same '69 Charger before we die.  It's all we can do not to bid against our own buddies on Ebay all the time.

DOH fans weren't responsible for the bad movie that came out.  We can't control whether or not they do sequels (and most of us oppose it).  Even the decision to hold the live "Dukesfest" stunt shows was basically out of our control after the first Covington show in 2003.  These things are all corporate-run deals now.

   

[tan top]

      well said (MikeDC) 

[greenpigs]

I can't speak for Greenpigs, but I think the real value of the first DOH police car is in its TV history. It has much less value as an old restored police car. The first GL as it sat as a POS is probably more valuable restored.

Greenpigs, what's wrong with restoring a cop car?

Mass73 summed it up, to me a 78 cop car is nothing to get excited about or worth the expense to restore.

If they did the 1st general as it appeared in the show..blue..faded paint etc but fixed all the rust it MIGHT be better than restoring it to original. Kinda like the Joe Dirt Daytona, which looks rough in the movie but the car is solid and made to appear like A POS beater.[/b]

[Mike DC]

BTW:

There is already a perfect re-creation of the first General Lee.  It was done by Bubba Williams of Georgia.  Perfect down to the duct tape on the rollbar padding.

[69fourspd]

I just want to add that my Charger restoration is to clone a GL.  I am doing this to preserve the car, while having the one car I grew up to love.  If it wasn't for the GL, I would probably not be into restoring old muscle cars.  I do plan to restore one back to original one day, but in the mean time I will create the one car I really want.  By making a GL I do not plan on destroying it one bit, but keeping all of the cars integrity.  It may be orange and decaled, but remains the same in all other aspects.  I do not see why anyone would have a problem creating a GL - since I am not concerned with having a car I do not enjoy as much to try for a better return on resale.  With any car, It is great to keep the history of the car, but not at the expense of the owner fully enjoying it.  Hats off to everyone who brings these cars back to factory original, but I do not think it is reasonable to criticize anyone enjoying this sport recreationally while creating their vision.