It happened in 1968...

[Grand Torino]

In Oct 68 one of the movie iconic movies ever was released. Bullitt staring Steve McQueen and a 68 Mustang and 68 Charger took to the streets of San Francisco.

Some facts...

McQueen based his character on San Francisco Homicide Inspector Dave Toschi, made famous for his work on the Zodiac killings. McQueen had a copy made of Toschi's custom fast-draw shoulder holster. 

Bill Hickman seen as the baddie "Phil" who drives the Dodge Charger, actually did drive the Charger in the movie. The driving scenes netted him additional stunt work which included yet another classic car chase for The French Connection.The French Connection 

Director Peter Yates hired a local trucking company for some background shots (most notably the scene where the Dodge Charger crashes into the gas station), but sent back the initial truck because it was red. He didn't want any red vehicles in the movie because it would detract from the blood. A blue truck was dispatched in its place. 

Bullitt's reverse burnout during the chase scene actually wasn't in the script - McQueen had mistakenly missed the turn. The footage was still kept, though. 

 

Edited November 18, 2018 by Grand Torino

[Quavodus]

Pretty good movie. I got a collectors dvd copy. I read somewhere the Mustang was a little slower coming out of the hole than the 440 V8 Charger and they modified the Mustang some to nake them a little more even.

[DaveTN]

21 minutes ago, Quavodus said:

Pretty good movie. I got a collectors dvd copy. I read somewhere the Mustang was a little slower coming out of the hole than the 440 V8 Charger and they modified the Mustang some to nake them a little more even.

The history and the claims of those who claim to have the originals today, is interesting reading for both cars.

One of the original Mustangs is supposed to be in Hendersonville, TN.

 

Quote

 

The Infamous 1968 Dodge Charger

Usually, the standout car from a film is driven by the star of the movie. In Bullitt, this wasn’t the case.

The Dodge Charger was the most talked about car from the film, and it happened to be driven by the bad guy—a hitman played by Hollywood stuntman Bill Hickman.

The car chase scene showed the Mustang easily tailing the Charger. In reality, Hickman had to slow himself down so that he wouldn’t pull away from the Mustang.

“We had three identical green 1968 Ford Mustang fastbacks and three black Dodge Chargers in the movie,” said Hickman when interviewed. “Many writers have said two, but there were three of each. We needed the extra cars in case one was damaged. The movie’s shooting schedule can’t be slowed for dents and things like that. Fortunately we only had to use a second Mustang once when the first Mustang had to go in to be fixed up.”

This proves how much power the Dodge Charger was packing.

It had a much larger engine and greater horsepower. The Charger had a big-block 440 cu. in while the Mustang had a medium-block 390 cu. in. The Charger’s horsepower? 375 against the Mustang’s 325.

https://www.bryantmotors.com/blog/classic-autos/bullitt-1968-dodge-charger.html

 

 

https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/detroit-auto-show/2018/01/15/bullitt-owner-wont-sell-even-if-its-worth-4-million/1033958001/

 

 

[bersaguy]

I love the old car chase movies. Bullet was good, Dirty Harry Crazy Mary was a great movie, Vanishing Point was another good one, and then can't forget the Blues Brothers even though it was funny, it had some great car chases.

Some of the newer movies with Vin Diesel and that Black Charger were good also. Love that wheel stand he did in one of them. Dodge Chargers have been used in quit a few old Hollywood car chase movies.

And then there was the the miracle Charger in Dukes of Hazard. I read that they had to have 5 old Chargers and hundreds of spare parts for them to keep making the program. At one point they were advertising for any old junk Dodge chargers people wanted to sell they would buy them. They said they had 1 good one for the car chases on the roads and rebuilds that they had repaired after they made those jumps because in most cases the entire front suspension had to be rebuilt and fenders and hoods straightened so they could use them again.

[No_0ne]

You can own the 2019 version:

Starting at $46,595 ...

[luvmyberetta]

4 hours ago, bersaguy said:

I love the old car chase movies. Bullet was good, Dirty Harry Crazy Mary was a great movie, Vanishing Point was another good one, and then can't forget the Blues Brothers even though it was funny, it had some great car chases.

Some of the newer movies with Vin Diesel and that Black Charger were good also. Love that wheel stand he did in one of them. Dodge Chargers have been used in quit a few old Hollywood car chase movies.

And then there was the the miracle Charger in Dukes of Hazard. I read that they had to have 5 old Chargers and hundreds of spare parts for them to keep making the program. At one point they were advertising for any old junk Dodge chargers people wanted to sell they would buy them. They said they had 1 good one for the car chases on the roads and rebuilds that they had repaired after they made those jumps because in most cases the entire front suspension had to be rebuilt and fenders and hoods straightened so they could use them again.

During the filming of Dukes of Hazard they went through a couple hundred cars between destroying them in stunts and keeping spares. A guy where I live owns one of the original screen used General Lee "hero cars".  (One of the versions kept in prestine condition) The paint is pretty oxidized, but the body's perfect and it runs. I'd probably give my right arm to have it.

Edited November 18, 2018 by luvmyberetta

[bersaguy]

4 hours ago, luvmyberetta said:

During the filming of Dukes of Hazard they went through a couple hundred cars between destroying them in stunts and keeping spares. A guy where I live owns one of the original screen used General Lee "hero cars".  (One of the versions kept in prestine condition) The paint is pretty oxidized, but the body's perfect and it runs. I'd probably give my right arm to have it.

I use to have a guy that lived down the road  from me that had five of the old chargers in a field behind his house and when they were looking for more parts cars they paid him some big bucks for the five he had and sent a crew out to pick them up.