Motion Pictures How can Steve Bolander afford a 1958 Impala custom?

Steve got it from mommy and daddy-oh.
One other point where were all the cars with red primer on them, I remember in the sixties???

 

do you make too much money?

 

His family has coin.

 

Maybe had a family member in the car business? When I was in HS, one of our classmates got a restored '57 T-Bird as his first car. His father owned a body shop and built it for him. This was in '72.

 

This thread has jumped the shark

 

Sold dope. It's always the clean-cut ones that you don't suspect...

 

I saved my pennies and I saved my dimes, before I knew there would be a time, that I would buy a brand new 409.

 

49ratfink said it best.... twice! It's a movie, I was in high school from 62-66 and nobody had cars like those in AG, I mean there may have been a few but if you notice the cars are all top notch stuff, AG is a great movie but the caliber of cars is way off the mark. There should have been more 49-50 and 54 mercs and shoebox fords with shaved hoods and trunks with primer spots. Then I could have related to it a little better. Still one of my favorites though, that and Hollywood Knights.

 

I heard that argument a lot in the 60's 70's and early 80's. In the early 70's it was hard to sell a car with mag wheels off a car lot because prospective buyers thought that it had been "hot rodded".

in 1967 I wanted to buy/trade for a 57 Chevy ragtop that the guy at the Shell station in town was asking 350 for. True it needed some work but it had the original Sierra gold paint with a white top. My step father at the time threw a fit because that car had been "hot rodded all over town". To this day I don't know what he thought I planned to do with it.

Back to the original question. In 1962 a four year old Impala was an "old car" if it was on a used car lot. Worth tons less in most cases if it had been lowered or customized. At least to the used car lot guys it was.
In 1964 When I was working a summer job assembling Honda bikes (305 Super Hawk) I needed a car after I blew the engine up in my 51 Merc and I could have had my choice of 55 Chevs on the Inland Motors used car lot for 350.00

 

After his grandfather died, his grandmother who didn't drive, gave it to him. He was her favourite.

 

theres no point to this thread. Steve Bolander is a fictional person in a fictional movie and unlike real life, any goes in a movie.

 

He didn't build it...and he didn't buy it.
I mean look at the kid for cryin' out loud, Mommy and Daddy bought it for him.

 

Bingo!

 

So who is stronger, Superman or Mighty Mouse?

Superman, of course. Mighty Mouse is a cartoon.

 

Ain't that the sad truth....

 

Hey I was high school class of '60. Kid in my class had a '57 Ford retractable. How? Daddy who raised black angus breeding bulls bought it for him. At the time I was still riding my schwinn bike as my old man said I didn't need a car.

 

But you took the time to point that out to us, didn't you...

 

just helping you all see the light, peace!

 

Truer than the red, white and blue...

 

That's what I payed for a '68 Camaro convertible in '77 at the age of 17...

 

If you've read Pat Ganahl's "Lost Hot Rods" book you'd know that the car wasn't worth crap... I mean, sheesh... a 17 year old high school senior bought the car from the transportation manager, in 1972, for $285... before the movie even came out.



Sam

 

Would he have turned his pride and joy over to "Toad" if he had any of his own blood, sweat, tears and money invested in the Bel Aire? I think not.

 

Money from dead grandma.

It has a souped up engine, custom work, paintjob, tuck and roll and rims. He couldn't afford all that.

It's the car George dreamed of owning in high school. The reality would be a car in primer with blankets on the seats and some loud mufflers.

And I've never heard of anyone letting their buddy drive their car when they are out of town. It would get driven into the ground.

But I want one.

 

...much less some Vespa riding (and he couldn't even handle that) dork like Toad.. btw we never got to see the real damage it suffered when he left it in Reverse and slammed it full throttle into the Plymouth, or if he ever got the ignition keys back after he let it get stolen.. it's a good thing the engine remained running throughout the rest of the movie..

 

He's a Whimp and "Whimps get all the cash " - LOL

Do you know what I would like to give you for that car -
I would like to give you $1000 bucks but I wont give you a whole line . . . . .

 

just like the rest of us, he got his priorities straight, and when you want it bad enought you figure out how to get it, I wiped out my life savings and begged my wife for money when I build the cad. hoping to sell it and make a lil so I could build more, but that didn't work out so well.

 

Bought my 58 Impala in 62 for 800 bucks had a 59 348 with trips and a 3 speed floor shift with a 3:55 rear. The dash and rear inside panels were pin striped.

 

Time to re-Load your Bong-Try not to bend your brain thinking about this-The movie is not intended to be biographical. Steve was actually a ficticious character played by an actor. Great Movie non the less-But ...some artistic liberties were taken by George Lucas in the creation of the story as it was depicted in film.

 

Sam,
This whole question/thread/post is a hypothetical deal. Pat was talking in the "Before all of the 50's Nostalgia" world. Remember that in the early 70's that car was 14 yr old car.

Of course cars had depreciated many dollars by then, A new car in 1972 (perhaps a Chevelle/Malibu w/a manual 3speed and a 4bbl 350 w/o p/s and drum brakes, styled steel 5 spoke wheels on wide ovals) which would equate to what this character drove would be less than $4000.00 financed for 48mos with a 10% down could be bought on a graduates budget who lets say worked at the local Mel's or Carl's Jr.It could be done.

A 14 yr old car with god knows how miles and a tired 348 truck engine, a quickie T&R job, a quickie paint & shave job a set of Chromies and $30.00 a piece bias plies and maybe a $45 set of Gabriel Hi-Jackers advertised in the local Nor Cal paper that went for the $285.00 that Pat speaks of was just what those cars brought in Pre-A.G. California Kid, Etc.

Universal was the real loser in that deal if we are talking what was spent for the purchase of the car by Henry Travers for the Steve Bolander-Terry Fields Character.

I'm sure that they paid more for it than they initially got back for it. Now factor in what that movie has made them in publicity,vhs,dvd sales as well as it's initial release which I saw in 1973 and went out bought a AMT plastic model kit and duped tha very car. That's makes up for whatever they lost in their imediate disposition of the 58.

In 62 that very same car done up that way would have been several hundred dollars more than what it sold for in 72 and would have been in much better shape mechanically. Still a high school graduate in that era making a $1an hr. probably could have swung the deal to own that very same car working at that same "Burger City".

By the way, 1958 was a recession year, Those cars new weren't selling well
anyway . Just as they did before the whole mess that we're in now,they'd finance anybody with a good job.

 

excellent point!