[WilderRods]

Does anyone know who built the Deuce coupe off of the move American graffiti, we are in serarch of some build pics, If anyone knows a site or has pics, please send them. Thanks

[poncho62]

Heres a few pics of the finished car.

http://groups.msn.com/TwoLaneBlackto...2fordpics.msnw

also, look here...

http://kathyschrock.net/graffiti/coupe.htm

[WilderRods]

Do you know who built the car that apeard in the movie??

[willys36@aol.com]

I don't think any of those cars were built by 'name' builders. Likely done by a shop in Modesto - George Lucas was on such a tight budget he used R&R 45s for the sound track because that is all he could afford! It turned into a genius touch but was totally economics driven, not particularly a creative move.

Here is the car's story on the unofficial movie web site.

[poncho62]

I know that Richard Ruth built the 55, he may have done work on the coupe. I understand that the coupe was a pile of junk compared to the Chevy, which by the way was also the 2 Lane Blacktop car.

I have read somewhere on the web, the story of the coupe, but havn't been able to find it again....should have bookmarked it.....

[Max Keith]

Sad to inform you that the 55 was crushed a few years back.
Milners coupe is still running alive and well last I knew.

[poncho62]

Sorry, have to disagee..............

or see here....

http://groups.msn.com/TwoLaneBlacktopHomePage

[Max Keith]

Guess I was misinformed on that. Glad to hear that.

[poncho62]

The guy who runs thst site swears it is original.........there are a number of clones of it and the AG Chevy.

[Max Keith]

I think the 55 used in 2 lane blacktop and in american graffiti was one and the same car.

Guess we were both right. From that article, one of the 55's, the one rolled in american graffiti, was junked.

[redsdad]

I lived in Wichita for a lot of years. Supposedly, the guy who managed to purchase both the 55 and the 32 lived there. (I believe he later sold them) What I had read and heard was that there were three 55's. Two were street cars with big blocks and four speeds. Well built. The third was a stunt car with a full Nascar type cage and steering rear brakes. According to an old HR or PHR article I read many years ago, the two 55 street cars were so trashed after shooting TLB, that they combined parts and made the AG car. The planned crash scene for TLB did not happen, so they used the stunt car in AG as well. I heard the stunt car ended up running dirt track in the NE. Anyway, I suppose the other TLB car could have been resurrected. That would explain why there is a TLB and a AG car running around. I may have to post on this TLB site and ask about the story of the stunt car running circle track. This is almost as intriguing as James Dean's Porsche.

[ChevelleSS_LS6]

they had a car show in downtown GR (grand rapids) a couple of weeks ago and they had the original Coupe there, a real General Lee, and Cooter made an appearance. He's a happy ol' fellow.

it was the thirty-somethingth autorama.

[roddinron]

The 32 wasn't built for the movie. It was bought from an ad from a private seller. It was red when they bought it, but George didn't feel that it showed up well at night, so they did a fast paint job. The interior was I believe red and white, and was died black. The only thing added to the interior was the pocket, needed some place to store all those citations. The frame had crudely welded mounts for camera platforms, and I think I read that they broke the frame and had to weld it. The car sat on the back lot for a few years, no one wanted it, hotrods had sort of fallen out of favor in the 70's, the guy that bought it got it dirt cheap!

[Deuce]

If you look half way close at the 55 that was being turned over in the movie race scene....you can see the automatic transmission

In 1988..........my friends and I put together a large indoor car show in the largest arena available in out state capitol.

We booked Wolfman Jack live.........had clone AG coupe, clone 55 Chevy and a white 57 Thunderbird.

Wolfman was a pretty cool fellow. He was from the outterbanks area of NC .......originally and liked coming back South.

He was in the process of opening a Oldie show theater in Myrtle Beach SC when he died.

He told me.....over a big plate of Bar-B-Que.......at my favorite Bar_B_Que place here in town....that he had a per cent pay deal on AG and it had been worth over 1 million dollars to him....over the years......

He was a NICE guy.......