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another american grafitti question.

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by edweird, Sep 30, 2012.

  1. edweird
    Joined: Jan 4, 2009
    Posts: 3,186

    edweird
    Member

    ok i watched it again last night. at the end when falfa and milner was racing, in that scene, were the 2 cars actually racing? I know in the movie the 55 lost control and flipped, but when they took off and milner got the holeshot, it looked like it was a real race[i guess with stunt men driving]. i guess what i'm asking is, which car was actually the fastest? seriously.... thanks
     
    Last edited: Sep 30, 2012
  2. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 55,931

    squirrel
    Member

    JOHN
    He had me, man. He was pullin' away
    from me just before he crashed.
     
  3. Tony
    Joined: Dec 3, 2002
    Posts: 7,350

    Tony
    Member

    Yep, that about says it :D

    As much as i liked the 32, that 55 was ALL business and hauled A$$ in "real life"..not just a visual.
     
  4. edweird
    Joined: Jan 4, 2009
    Posts: 3,186

    edweird
    Member

    yep, my dad always said there was one in every bunch!
     

  5. henryj1951
    Joined: Sep 23, 2012
    Posts: 2,306

    henryj1951
    Member
    from USA

    yep the 55 was .... WAS
     
  6. Oh brother !

    Who's stronger Spock or kirk ?
    Darth mall or Darth Vader?
    The judge or the '55 ?( gotta change the jets)
    Edwierd or Jacob?
     
  7. 54MEB
    Joined: Nov 21, 2007
    Posts: 107

    54MEB
    Member

    The Bob Falfa 55 is the same car James Taylor drove in 2 Lane black top. The car was actually prepped by a fairly famous builder. I would imagine someone on here knows the builder's name. The '55 was as stated above "all business."
     
  8. edweird
    Joined: Jan 4, 2009
    Posts: 3,186

    edweird
    Member

    i watched oh brother right after american grafitti. i guess i asked a dumb question, so let me have it! i can take it!
     
  9. GassersGarage
    Joined: Jul 1, 2007
    Posts: 4,727

    GassersGarage
    Member

    It was built by "Ruth" and ran 10:90's at the track.
     
  10. I was always under the impression that Candy Clark was the fastest.
     
  11. jaxx
    Joined: Mar 22, 2008
    Posts: 402

    jaxx
    Member

    the 55 that they drove in the movie had a 427 big block in it and since that engine wasnt around in 62 - the most common choice at that time would have been the 327 which is the same engine in the 32 - so i would say the 32 would have killed the 55 - horsepower to weight -- jaxx
     
  12. Speed Gems
    Joined: Jul 17, 2012
    Posts: 6,433

    Speed Gems
    Member

    The guys name was Richard Ruth and it was Blairs Speed Shop if i'm not mistaken.
     
  13. DeucePhaeton
    Joined: Sep 10, 2003
    Posts: 1,013

    DeucePhaeton
    Member

    The 55 had a Rat Motor in it and would have dusted the Deuce badly even hauling the extra weight. Since the Big Block was in the 55, they couldn't show the engine during the show because they didn't exist in '62.
     
  14. Gator
    Joined: Dec 29, 2005
    Posts: 4,016

    Gator
    Member

    Ha ha yeah, you can see her nekkid and getting' it on with David Bowie (who plays an alien) in "The man who fell to earth"
     
  15. edweird
    Joined: Jan 4, 2009
    Posts: 3,186

    edweird
    Member

    now i'm getting some good answers instead of the smart ass ones, thanks guys.
     
  16. nwbhotrod
    Joined: Oct 13, 2009
    Posts: 1,243

    nwbhotrod
    Member
    from wash state

    No I said she was Easy
     
  17. jcmarz
    Joined: Jan 10, 2010
    Posts: 4,631

    jcmarz
    Member
    from Chino, Ca

    The die cast model of the AG 55 has a 409. Maybe Alfalfa was well off (at least his parents) and could afford to buy a hot 409. After all, in the movie, the sound of the motor really get's everyone's attention.
     
  18. big vic
    Joined: Jan 3, 2010
    Posts: 400

    big vic
    Member
    from cary il

    yeah but in the movie its a high compression rat motor makin all the noise and not a 409
     
  19. jaxx
    Joined: Mar 22, 2008
    Posts: 402

    jaxx
    Member

    there were accualy 3 - 55 chevy used in the movie - 2 had 454s in them and one of those cars was used to overdub the engine sounds for the movie Smokey and the Bandit - the bandit trans am- the 409 would have been a great choice - jaxx
     
  20. Actually, Richard Ruth of Competition Engineering in North Hollywood, CA, built three identical '55s for TLB based on Ruth's own '55 Chevy. There were two main cars; a "camera" car for interior shots and one for "exterior" shots. The third car was used as a "stunt car. The studio received two new 454 crate motors and a new leftover L88 427 from GM. The "camera" car received one of the 454s. I can't recall which cars got the other two motors. All three cars were returned to the studio once TLB was in the can. Short story on the "camera" car is it was bought by a studio employee, as it was the best condition of the three, and his son ended up with it. It then went through a number of owners until bought by its current owner, a MD resident who restored it to its original TLB appearance. The other two cars were painted black for their appearance in AG. The TLB "stunt" car was outfitted to be the AG "camera" car as it had an A/T which made for smoother closeup shots. It was used in the crash scene at the movie's end where it was towed for the rollover. It was returned to the studio for disposal. The studio person in charge of the car lot removed the front sheet metal and drive train, eventually selling the body to a CA stock car racer. The racer stored the body in a friend's junkyard where it was crushed when the junkyard was forced to crush cars by local authorities. The other car, the TLB "exterior" car, was sold by the studio car lot person some time later to someone who owned it when it was featured in the May 76 Street Rodder magazine. He then sold it to a person in KS in the late '70s, who also bought Milner's coupe after More A.G. was made. Both cars appeared in the Oct 83 Car Craft. He later sold the coupe to someone in S.F., CA and sold the '55 to another MD resident who currently owns it. So, the TLB "camera" car and the TLB/AG "exterior" car are the only original cars left and are owned by two different individuals in MD.

    Having difficulty in getting the pix to load, so will try to get them loaded later.
     
    Last edited: Oct 1, 2012
  21. TANNERGANG
    Joined: Jan 18, 2011
    Posts: 1,277

    TANNERGANG
    BANNED
    from alabama

    Wasn't the guys name John Falfa instead of Bob Falfa? (aka Harrison Ford)
     
  22. JAWS
    Joined: Jul 22, 2005
    Posts: 1,846

    JAWS
    Member

    The coupe's double that has been used for years at car shows and promotional events as the actual car and actually wears the "plate" from the movie car, is located here in Maui.
     
  23. Don's Hot Rods
    Joined: Oct 7, 2005
    Posts: 8,319

    Don's Hot Rods
    Member
    from florida

    Yep, the 55 could have been powered by a 348 or 409 and probably with either one would have been able to take the coupe.

    In 62 there was a local guy who was not the best person around, and he owned a 55 that was a lot like Falfas.......but he had a brand new 409/425 in it with the accompanying 4 speed and rear end. He bragged he only had $ 400 in the car because he stole a brand new 63 Impala off of a dealers lot and put the drivetrain in the 55.

    Someone told me about 12 years ago he was found dead in the trunk of his car, so I guess his life caught up with him.;)

    But Falfa would have been the winner either in the real world (with the 427 in the car) or in the movie world (with a 348-409). That 55 is one bad ass car.

    Don
     
  24. Graffiti32
    Joined: Oct 9, 2005
    Posts: 392

    Graffiti32
    Member
    from Illinois

    Carol: Wow he's really fast.
    John: Ya but he's stupid.
     
  25. Chrisbcritter
    Joined: Sep 11, 2011
    Posts: 1,970

    Chrisbcritter
    Member

    So has the Milner coupe ever been run on a quarter-mile strip to see what it would really do?
     
  26. tfeverfred
    Joined: Nov 11, 2006
    Posts: 15,791

    tfeverfred
    Member Emeritus

    I'm thinking no. From what I've read, the owner is just happy to drive it and show it.

    With no real reference to the 55's engine, a real world winner in a fictional race can go either way. But in my mind, the '55 would have been quicker.

    At the risk of putting too much thought into this, the movies under current theme was "out with the old, in with the new". Times were changing, not only for the principle characters, but also the world they lived in. This could be the reason why the 55 would have been big block motivated. Cars were progressing, just like the times. The SBC was still fairly new, but wasn't the era of big blocks beginning to come into the car world around '62?

    And now I've put too much thought into the question.:mad:
     
  27. Graffiti32
    Joined: Oct 9, 2005
    Posts: 392

    Graffiti32
    Member
    from Illinois

    No the Coupe has never been to the track. Who would have won?? Who knows. (trying not to get to deep) But the coupe had and alternator...those didn't come out till 1962. So Milner would have been cutting edge for the time. A coupe that doesn't weigh much a warmed over small block 4 speed and a 411 screw it would have been a quick ride as for the 55 well since the car was not period correct you can speculate till the cows come home. Either way would have been a great race to see. And all the drama about who would have won keeps the American Graffiti dream alive.
    Jeff
     
  28. XERB
    Joined: Aug 8, 2012
    Posts: 126

    XERB
    Member

    Although Milner reckons 'the guy had me, he was pulling away right before he crashed' I think he should' have had more faith in his (and I quote Falfa) 'piss yellow/puke green' deuce coupe cause it is hot stuff! Awesome drag race scene, wouldn't mind a buck for each time I rewound the VHS to watch it again, thanks to the clever folk who built them DVD's cause its so easy to watch it over and over again, life's good!
     
  29. Scumdog
    Joined: Mar 3, 2010
    Posts: 630

    Scumdog
    Member

    So why DID the '55 get out of shape and crash??:confused:
     
  30. kennkat
    Joined: Aug 25, 2011
    Posts: 1,385

    kennkat
    Member

    In the movie the 55 is faster and Milner knows it... In real life the 55 is MUCH faster & Quicker too...
     

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