Thursday, February 4, 2016

More Iconic movie and TV cars....

Had some people ask about some other movie and TV cars and how to get them cheaply. These may not be cheap, but they won't cost you fifty or a hundred grand.  # 1. "The Dark Half". George Stark-the fictional killer in the Stephen King thriller drove a jet-black '67 Toronado with a bumper sticker that read "A High Toned Son of a Bitch".  Any Toro from '66-70 would do-and honestly-any Buick Riviera from '66-69 has the same bodystyle and has the advantage of being rear-wheel drive. ( Toros are all front-drive.) A blacked out Riv with a snarling big-block Chevy, and 17" Torq-Thrusts would be a high-toned son of a bitch indeed.  Just Saying. # 2.  "Road House" Patrick Swayze drove two '63-65 Rivieras in this action flick-ironically-because he didn't want his 380SEC Mercedes trashed. It's a running joke through the film-like "I thought you'd be bigger."  These Rivs have kind of a cult following of their own-so you might have to spend 10 grand on up for a decent one-but that's better than 25. # 3. "The Transporter". I know-it's an Import, not a musclecar, but a lot of people asked and I aim to please. The badass BMW that Jason Statham drove in the original ( and best ) "Transporter" was a one-off European-spec 733i that BMW built special for the movie with a manual transmission. So no, you can't buy one at any price. But you can buy a 1995-2000 540i with a V8, a six-speed manual, and sport suspension that looks very close to Statham's ride and has the performance to match-5-second 0-60 times. And I have seen them on used car lots for less than $8,000.    # 4. "Miami Vice". The Ferarri Daytona Spider that Don Johnson drove on "Vice" was actually a kit car built by Tom McBurnie on a '68-82 Corvette chassis. McBurnie and several other companies sold the kits for years until Ferarri filed a lawsuit. You can probably find one either finished or unfinished in Hemmings Motor News, Kit Car magazine or on the internet. The beauty is the Corvette chassis and drivetrain. Replacement parts are readily available at your local Autozone store. I'd put four Webers on a snarling 383 to really have the look....Dynamite if you could find one.  # 5. "Goodfellas". Ray Liotta drove a '68 Gran Prix in this gangster classic. 400 or 428 cubes under that long hood and Cadillac-like luxury-you can't go wrong. # 6. "Hard to Kill". Steven Seagal's 2nd-and I think best action flick. Early on he drove a cool black '63 T-Bird with wire wheels. '61-63 "Bullet Birds" aren't cheap- you'll probably need at least 15K to find a decent one-but that's still less than any decent '60's Mustang will cost. # 7. "American Beauty". Kevin Spacey's classic line in response to Annette Benning sneering-"What is that thing in the driveway?"  "1970 Pontiac Firebird". "The car I always wanted, and now I have it." "I rule!".  Actually any '70-73 model will be the same bodystyle, but the Formula 400 models offer the most "Bang for the buck".  Mastermind    

2 comments:

  1. The American Beauty Firebird is a great pick. That car looks great and it's not super difficult to find an early 70s Firebird, then put on the twin snorkel hood.

    Another one you might consider (I don't think you've mentioned it in your past articles) is the black Nova that Kurt Russel drives in Death Proof. Not only are Novas dirt cheap, but the car in the movie is not a show car, by any means. A shitty Nova with a decent engine and a $50 spray can paint job would work out well. The Nova is basically just a Camaro, so all of the trick suspension parts will all fit out of the box.

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    1. Hey Thanks for commenting! Your right the "Death Proof" Nova would be an easy one to do. Thanks for reading and feel free to chime in anytime!

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