Motion Pictures Two Lane Blacktop Revisited

Can YOU imagine what a '55 like that would cost to build in the UK ,?? where the avearage guys taxes are many ,many times more than ours ,,and shipping costs involved for U S hot rod parts ,,not to mention import duty's ?? ,,Man ! talk about deducation to our sport ,,

 

Car looked so much better in American Graffiti. The only thing worse then the acting in Two Lane Blacktop is the scoop on that poor '55. heh, I own it (the movie) I've watched it a few times and it's never gotten any better. It's like Vanishing point, so many of those movies from that era were just terrible artistic experiments...but still fun to watch at least once nonetheless.

 

More trivia.., when we found our '56 and got it back home, I called Richard Ruth to talk to him about the work he had done on it back in the day. As we talked he said that his original idea for the movie cars were to '56's because he liked our car, and Dick Jones had a "street" version with a 425HP 427 that was the same color as the race car and ran low 12's. Richard had the "movie people" go for a ride in the street car and he says they pretty much peed their pants. How ever they liked the look of a '55 he had in his shop at the time w/radiused wheel wells so the '55's got the nod. The first TLB car was also painted baby blue with a white top and the movie exec's said it was too clean, that street/drag racers were grubby and so were there car's (which he did dispute,but since they were paying the bills he sprayed PRIMER! over the new paint as they asked. Then they said it was still too nice, and asked him to pore laquer thinner over which he refused to do, so one of the movie guys did it. While were talking he asks if I've heard the "Road Runner" story? (yes I had) Dick Jones didn't like Road Runners because a 383 4bbl 4speed model was cheap in '68 and there was a bunch around and every guy who had one claimed it as "the fastest car around"! Well, Jones loved punishing them with his "street" '56 and even had "Beep Beep Your Ass" stickers (The coyote has the road runner in a head lock punching him in the eye) on each wing window. Thursday nights at the Toluca Lake Bobs (still in business with friday cruise nights) was Mopar's night. Soooo one thursday night Jones, my dad, and a couple others cruise the '56 over to Bobs and back it in (park it) the middle of all the Mopars. It doesn't take them long to notice the offending stickers and they ask if they want to race. Jones tells them don't waste my time with 383 "Donkeys", bring something with a Hemi. Well they have a Hemi Road Runner with them so the race is planned and executed on portion of freeway being built near by. The '56 is on cheater slicks and the Hemi is on hard L60's so the '56 bests the Hemi 3 out of 3, mainly because it hooks and the Hemi can't. Now this is the story I've heard. Ruth says, "oh, you haven't heard the rest". A little later the Mopar group comes up with a real Hurst built Hemi Dart and is able to put several "lengths" on the '56 much to the shagrin of Jones. When they get the first TLB car done, they take it to the track with Jones driving and it goes 10.70's @ 127ish. Then they go Hemi hunting, set up a race with the Dart and Blow its doors off with movie car! Ruth said that the one "canadian camera car" was detuned with an LS-5, single 4 barrel and A/C because "the singer" kept fouling plugs and smoking the clutch out of it. Maybe thats why the "wrench" suggests "checking the plugs" every other sentence thru the whole movie.

 

Great Story Man,,,and to think ,,there are guys on here that didn't believe the TLB No 1 '55 ran in da TENS ,,ah ,,you just qualified it ,,thanks ,,
OH ,,and when the No 1 '55 ran the Bardahl 'Vette in the film ,it ran a 10;50 sumthin' ,,that old Bardahl 'Vette was a class record holder runnin' in the hi Tens ,,Bardahl scrapped the 'Vette for a fleet of Camaros after that ,,
a few years ago ,i called Bardahl ,wanting a Die Cast Model of that 'Vette ,,they said there were very few made ,,and only givin' to their top sales guys that year ,,they only have ONE themselves ,,on display in their main office ,,none were put up fer sale ,,,only the Camaros ,,

 

In the last scene ,,where the '55 is gonna race "Spoolie" in his '70 BB eL Camino ( His REAL name and his REAL eL Camino,),in the background is a blue/green '56 Gasser ,,isn't that Richartd Ruths daily driver ??

 

LoWKaT; thanks for the pic ,,,i never have fingered out how to copy a pic from the movie ,,great shot man ,,

 

Spoolie is still alive and well ,,living in Tennesee ,and Still has that eL Camino ,

 

Ya well ,,if you didn't like the scoop ,,you have No Ragards for "Grumpy Jenkins" ,,'cause HE designed it ,,back then it was called "Da Grump Lump",,as far as the '55 in Grafitti ,,well too each his own ,,a Comedy Movie vs a Serious Gear Heads Thinking Movie ,,if you didn't get TLB ,,then ,,you just don't get it ,,,

 

Yeah OK there slick........cause that Harrison Ford and the bimbos did such a great job of acting............

 

Ya ,,,it was Harrison Fords very first movie roll too,,,along with several of those "Bimbos" ,Grafitti Acting ??? Heck ,,I did a better job selling TimeShare ,,

 

No it wasnt, look here for a complete list.

 

i stand corrected ,,,,

 

Hey Conn, nice to hear from you again. Haven`t heard from you since the old TLB site, still have my tach. What about Rob Zombie doing a sequel, or at least funding it. He is a director, appears to be a car guy, and wrote a song about the movie...could be interesting. Don`t want it to end up like Fast and Furious. I like the east-west thing before the imports.

 

str8;;; Hey man ,,i'm still kickin' ,,you doin' o k ???,,don't think anyone will put up the $$$$ to do a TLB re make / Sequel these days ,,,just be glad we got what we got ,,good to hear from you ,,,

 

Hey Connman...I too remember you from the TLB site. I never tired of your TLB stories or even the Alaska ones. It had to be a gas to finally have JT reunited with your car. Curious what you guys talked about. What memories he may have had? Maybe you shared these already and I missed? Fill me in? p.s. just took my daughter for a cruise in my 55. (that'll give ya a set of emotions that'll stick with ya!)

 

If you listen very closely to the Drag Strip announcer when the TLB '55 makes it's solo pass on a bye run, he announces very clearly that the "the little '55 ran well into the 12's". A friend had told me about that several years ago and I claimed 'bullshit', cuz I had seen the movie several times by then and NEVER heard that line but when he showed me his copy, there it was. You can also hear it announced on the latest DVD released version. Anyway, those guys were street racers and their income depended strictly on race winnings and hustling people......just like a pool shark. The last thing their gonna do is go out there and run all out, balls-to-the-walls for everyone to see & hear exactly how fast the '55 was. Remember.....never show your hand in Poker and Street Racing! Then again, with the 4.56/4.88 rear screw back there, if it was a 10-second car while still in California, the motor would have been worn out by the time they reached Memphis!

 

In the TLB Paper Back Book ,,AND ,,in the Movie Script ,,it was said in that "well into the 12's" run ,,the driver went from 2nd gear to 4th gear ,,mainly to "BAIT" the Bardahl 'Vette into a race fer MONEY showing how "SLOW" it ran , ,,,BUT ,,when they did that ,,they blew the M-22 4 Speed ,,they had to change the Trans for the next scenes ,,when they raced the Bardahl 'Vette ,,the TLB '55 ran a 10;56,,,
"the saying " Never Show Your Poker Hand" was part of Street / Drag Racing For MONEY Back Then ,,Still Is !!!

 

OH ,,Also ,,If you listen to that "Solo Run" real close ,,you can hear him Launch in 2nd gear ,,NOT 1st " ,,it bogs real bad offa the line ,,then winds up ,,n Bogs again when he shifts to 4th gear , not 3rd ,,and blows the trans ,,coasting across the finish line

 

AND,,It STILL Ran " WELL INTO THE TWELVES" !!!

 

Remember Now,,TLB was Filmed in 1970 ,,Released in 1971 ,,,a LS6 BB '70 Chevelle/Camaro ran in the hi 12's Lo 13's ,,off the showroom ,,that GTO Judge was lucky to run in the Lo 13's ,,the A/Stock Nat'l Record Holder ,,the "Allen" '70 Chevelle Convertable w' a LS6 BB held the record at 12;70 at the Summer nat's at Indy that year ,,( reciently sold on Barrett-Jackson fer $1.2 Million ) ,,,,a street driven 10 second anything back then was ONE FAST HOMBRE !!!,,

 

hey guys,.been following this since the start & thought id post some pics & info on the clone ive got over here in the UK,.Its running a dart headed 461.,M22,,.i chose to run a 2" carb spacer on top of the wieand so i could see the carbs like in the movie when they pull into the first gas station.,& yeh its gotta be filled through the trunk floor,.yeh i know it was a fake in the flick,but what the hell.,i had to have it this way!...

 

Real nice, how much attention do you get with it there in the UK. Welcome to the HAMB by the way. Be sure to post a new to the HAMB And tell em what you got there.

 

bullitrob , man thats a good looking clone like it a bunch, but around these parts(hamb) your supposed to do an intro post before posting in the forums

 

how do i post to the hamb? il be glad to do it if i knew how.,.,thanks.

 

bullittrob.. yes Welcome .. What a outstanding job you did.. the atention to details is stunning.. You even found a old correct green fan Wow! fantastic Job.

 

That is one badass ride Bullittrob. Welcome.

 

i love two lane blacktop, love the '55. this thread is great and a lot of real great info but some of you people cant type for shit

 

WOW! VERY nice TLB 55, one of the best I have seen, i noticed the fan also! lol