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MaximRecoil

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Everything posted by MaximRecoil

  1. Not only that, but if it were mine and I had money to burn, I would be faced with a personal dilemma and not necessarily over monetary value either. It would be hard for me to decide which would give me more satisfaction; restore the car perfectly or leave it as it appeared in episode 4 (+ 23 years of exposure to the elements). After all, any 2nd generation Charger can be made into a perfect clone of the original General Lee and the only real difference is in the mind. Of course, the only thing that gives that wrecked Charger any value in the first place; is in the mind as well; it is not as though it is actually good for anything practical, beyond its value as scrap metal. All in all, I would probably end up opting for the best; most accurate restoration possible; not before taking many, many high quality photos of its present condition for posterity. The only problem is; with the extent of restoration that car would require, at what point does it become a different car? I mean, could you just grab the drivetrain, fender tag, build sheet and VIN plate and slap it into any old Charger and still claim that it is the original General Lee? because that is; for all intents and purposes; what the result of a "restoration" on that car would be. You may be able to retain the original subframe/portions of the floorboards and engine bay structure with some serious straightening and fabrication and mostly likely what is left of the drivetrain components (motor, transmission, rearend) could be rebuilt but still... Like I said; a dilemma and I think I have almost talked myself out of the restoration idea, lol.
  2. 18 grand for a 318 Charger? Holy hell. If they are going to charge that much they could have at least made a damn accurate General Lee clone from it. It looks like the only things they got right were the color, the flag, the "01" and the "General Lee" text. No push bumper, rollbar, CB/antenna, wrong interior color (although one or two onscreen Generals from the show may have had a black interior), wrong motor (according to all the engine bay shots from the show; though several 318's were used for stunt cars I gather) and of course wrong wheels (15 fin instead of 10 fin among other differences), wrong wheel size and wrong tire size. The white letters on the tires shouldn't be showing either but that is an easy fix (just remount them, turned around). The car isn't worth 18 grand by itself (being a 318 car and all) and isn't an accurate enough General Lee clone to justify that kind of money either. I've seen nice 2nd generation Charger R/T's selling for that kind of money (440 cars); and sometimes less.
  3. Yes, anything can be restored (assuming it hasn't been to the car crusher yet). They have restored hemi cars in worse shape than that one. I know of one hemi Roadrunner that sat at the bottom of a hill in a field for 20+ years and the roof of it had been used by the local kids for years as a jump ramp when they were sliding down the hill in the winter. They cut the roof off a Satellite and grafted it on there. It was a beautiful restoration, like most any restored hemi car is (anyone with the money to restore a hemi car is bound to do it right). About that Lee#1 car, there is a lot of good information and pictures of it here. The car was in rough shape after that jump but they roughed it up a lot more with cinder blocks when it was to be used for the number 71 car in episode #4. Here is a screenshot of the car from epidode number #4 (Repo Men): You can actually match up most of the scratches and dents if you compare that shot from the show with the way it looks now.
  4. I've heard both ways. He does plan to at least go and see the movie though, according to what he says on his site:
  5. I think that John Schneider should be The Balladeer and sing the theme song. It would be a great way to tie at least one original cast member into the movie and Schneider would be more than up to the task. It isn't like the man can't sing. He had number one U.S. Country chart hits with: "I've Been Around Enough To Know" "Country Girls" "What's A Memory Like You (Doing In A Love Like This)?" "You're The Last Thing I Needed Tonight" Along with several U.S. Country charts top 10 songs.
  6. That's a poor man's "locker". An ordinary differential in a rearend is "open" which means that power only goes to one wheel; and unfortunately, it is the wheel with the least resistance. This is great for going around corners but bad for traction. R/T cars came standard with the Chrysler "Sure-Grip" differentials (Chrysler's name for their clutch-type limited-slip differentials) which accomplish a similar goal as what welding the spider gears does; but it is a lot more "street-friendly". When the wheel getting power starts to slip, the clutches in the limited-slip differential engage and give power to both wheels. Not as reliable and effective as "Lockers" though. "Lockers", like their name implies; are locked all the time. This is as effective as welding the spider gears but is a bit more "street-friendly" because they can ratchet when going around corners to allow for the rotational speed differential of the tires. Welding is permanent and rock solid but is better for "Jitterbugs" (AKA "Woods Trucks", i.e. trucks only used in the woods for hauling logs and the such) than it is for any vehicle that will be used on pavement. When turning a corner, the wheel to the inside turns slower than the wheel on the outside. Open differentials, limited-slip differentials and lockers all allow for this; welding does not and eventually something is gonna give or twist. Now, this doesn't make it easier to spin the tires. Since this is to enhance traction (power split between two tires instead of one), it actually makes the tires harder to spin. When you do spin it looks cooler though, because of the two tire marks it leaves (and twice the smoke) instead of one tire mark like with open differentials.
  7. AHA! That's awesome. So did anyone take me up on that dollar bet (lol)? The funny thing about this is I argued with my friend for like an hour last night about how much effort it takes to paint a car to simulate age like was done on that faded Charger. He's quite a painter/bodyman/mechanic/fabricator and was downplaying the whole thing in terms of the effort required. I have no doubt he could do it but I sure as hell couldn't. What you said here: Is right along the same lines as what my friend was saying about how it would have been done; among other things, like what you said here: Thanks for the inside information BTW.
  8. I guess we'll find out when the movie comes out. I'm betting (no more than a dollar, lol) on an "origins" scene showing that car as the starting point for the General Lee. If they bought it from someone already looking like that I would be surprised. The "01" is professionally applied and people who have the resources and inclination to professionally apply paint or decals like that, at least should know that the numbers are supposed to be blocky, not round. If it was on there with a magic marker or a brush and housepaint, I could see it being the wrong font on a charger that already happened to be orange that the studio picked up on the cheap.
  9. Why use the wrong font for the "01"? If they don't plan to show the side of the car, why put the "01" on at all? If they plan to show the door of the car, they can't pass it off as "the" General Lee with the wrong font. They make up 30 or so identical General Lees all with the standard font like on the original cars from the show and then on just one they decide to mix things up with a random type of font for the "01" as well as make the paint job look old and faded, ding up the body a bit and slap black steelies on it? You don't get the "01" font correct on 30 cars (or however many they made) and wrong on one by chance or by accident. That font isn't just a little off, it is completely different and anyone with half an eye could spot the difference immediately. It doesn't make sense to me unless they did it all specifically for part of the story.
  10. The 426 Hemi was never shown in the General Lee on the show. The 2 close up cars from the '82-'85 seasons (one a '68 and the other a '69) both had 383's so most of the engine bay shots were of 383's. There are a few engine shots from other seasons that may show a different motor such as a 440 but no hemi's, which is the most easily identifiable motor in the world probably, what with its "foot wide" valve colvers with the spark plugs going down through the top and dual 4 bbl carburetors. The motor they had on the engine stand waiting for a car in "Happy Birthday General Lee" was a Chrysler big block (not a hemi); probably a 383 or a 440.
  11. The Dukes of Hazzard used/wrecked about 250-300 Chargers. 183,459 2nd generation Chargers (68-70) were built. The DOH didn't even put a dent in the Charger population. Whatever "dent" they did put in it has been made up for many times over from all the people who have saved and restored derelict Chargers that would probably otherwise be scrap metal simply because they were fans of the show.
  12. "Complaining"? LOL. I am not complaining. I am curious as to how this car will play into the story (if it does at all). I know that the correct General Lee is in the background. I have also seen tons of other pictures of the correct General Lee for the movie. This one is different. How do you even get a paint job like that? If you spray a fresh coat of paint, it doesn't look like it has been sitting in the sun for 20 years. They purposely made that one look old (or they found one that actually did set in the sun for 20 years with an orange paint job) and they purposely put a completely different style "01" on the door: I am looking forward to the movie. I am also looking forward to seeing how this particular oddball Charger will be used; if it is used at all.
  13. You can see some pictures of the miniatures they used here.
  14. Yeah, but that one looks like it was intentionally made to look different. Not only does it not have the full uniform of the General Lee, but the font of the "01" is very different (the "0" is oval and the "1" doesn't have the flat base and a different style serif on top). Then of course the orange color is a much lighter shade and looks to be old and faded with a lot of little dings in the body. My first thought when I saw it was that maybe they were going to do an "origins" type scene for the General Lee and maybe that is what the car was supposed to have already looked like when the Dukes acquired it and they fixed it up, keeping the same general theme and adding a few things in the process. This would fly in the face of what we know from the episode of the original series entitled "Happy Birthday General Lee" of course...
  15. I think that the Starsky and Hutch Ford Torino should be in there, like it was in the first episode of the series (Cooter was driving it I think). Back then I think it was meant as an inside joke or homage to the Starsky and Hutch series. It would still work today what with the recent remake of Starsky and Hutch being fresh in everyone's collective memories (for better or for worse, lol) I would like to see a 1969½ A12 package Plymouth Roadrunner (440 6v) also like this one. That car is completely stock by the way, nothing has been added or removed. It is exactly the way it rolled off the assembly line in 1969 (other than the front hubcaps which I will get to in a moment). It has less than 30,000 miles on it and the original spare tire is still in the trunk, having never touched the ground. All 4 of the tires it is wearing are also the original rubber that came on the car. The special hubcaps on front with the cartoon "Roadrunner" on them were a dealer option (the '69½ A12 package cars came with no hubcaps from the factory, just black stamped steel wheels like you see on the back of that car). They are mounted on a spindle that allows them to remain stationary while the tires are rotating. Makes for quite a sight going down the highway. These cars did mid to high 12's in the quarter mile stock and the one tested by Motor Trend when they came out set a record for them as the fastest new unmodified car they had ever tested. I like the idea that someone else mentioned in this thread of a rice burner getting bumped off the road by the General Lee too. That would be a riot.
  16. I haven't read all through this forum yet so I don't know if this has already been discussed... The pictures are here and here. What do you suppose the story is behind the weird "General Lee" in those pictures? The paint is a lighter orange (looks like it is supposed to be faded?), the wheels are black stamped steel, there is no push bumper, the "01" is in the "wrong" type of font and there doesn't seem to be anything painted on the roof (no flag or "General Lee" text that I can see). From all the other pictures of the General Lee on that site and other sites, we know that the General Lee to be in this new movie is pretty faithful to the car from the original series (other than it having the wrong size wheels and tires and having the damnable white letter side of the tires showing :x) so I wonder how the orange Charger with the "01" on the doors from those two pictures fits into that. Any ideas?
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