I dont know whose idea was to replace the wicked Two Lane Blacktop Chevy sourced engine sound effects with an authentic 200 horsepower muffled smogger 400, but that sumbitch is a scumbum!!! Because sales were so high, Pontiac decided to delay the third-generation model. Cape was far enough north that it was watered down and there was so much cross-pollination with the Illinois side you really didnt discern much difference. It wasnt distributed in Washington in those days either. I am still drawn to the shape of these cars, and others that have that long and low look about them. you can find it on amazon.com . I remember borrowing my brothers red 1976 T/A to take a girl to the theater to see Smokey and the Bandit. how many cars were destroyed in smokey and the bandit 2 how many cars were destroyed in smokey and the bandit 2 (No Ratings Yet) . The $%&#* Germans got nuthin to do with it!, Such a great movie I grew up in the 80s, so it was comforting to watch this, Blues Brothers, or Animal House once a week on TBS/TNT. Depends upon what he converted it from. I had a 78 Trigger lookalike for a while in the mid 90s, until a wrist pin went out, ended up selling it to one of my brothers buddys uncles. And back then what I wanted most of all was a highly customized Vette with exposed headlights. It airs on cable tv all the time. The films are indeed classic and very funny to this day. So these kind of represented a rebellion attitude to the government mandated diesel econo hatches everyone thought we were going to be forced to drive in the 80sinterestingly 1979 was also the best year for the Corvette too. Nice job, I know its cheesy as heck but I love this movie and still tend to watch it when I see its on TV. 1975 PLYMOUTH FURY HIGHWAY PATROL "SMOKEY & THE BANDIT" 1/18 BY . The scoops were added by the department because the engines ran so hot. I know that Trans Am that jumped that bridge broke the axle when it landed. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). I drive a conversion van. Frederick Amon smuggled it from Colorado to North Carolina and sold it for four times the retail price.[19]. I fondly remember lots and lots of terrible B grade movies @ the drive in in the early to mid 1970s all featuring cars racing , smashing and so on . Though no authoritative source identifies the composition of the sandwich, there are several possibilities. Even when the 2nd gen was already coasting on fumes, and defanged, and after the reasonably shitty Smokey and the Bandit sequel, Pontiac managed to pump out 107,000 Trans Ams in 1980 and 70,000 for the 2nd gen Trans Ams swan song in 1981. Future President Gerald Ford, after a trip to Colorado, hid it in his luggage to take it back to Washington, D.C. President Dwight D. Eisenhower had a steady supply airlifted by the Air Force to Washington. Jane Russell hawked bras on television for full-figured gals like her, a line that evoked snickers among my high-school classmates. Luckily, both cars survived, and the Trans Am became famous only five years later. Weve got a long way to go and a short time to get there [28] However, this is inaccurate; within seconds of Bandit picking her up, Frog tells him "there is a wedding in search of a bride" and goes on to explain her ill-advised romance with Junior, as the Bandit holds up the CB mic for the Snowman to hear. However, the scene where they drive through the Shell gas station was filmed in Ojai, California, on the corner of Ojai Avenue and El Paseo Road. The soundtrack album was released in 1977 on vinyl, cassette, and 8-track through MCA Records. They called out equipment like Radial Tuned Suspension, Calibrated Speedometer, and Power Disc Brakes. Maybe even the dual exhausts and the 400-4 merited badges. Both sequels used another Trans Am, not a Cadillac Eldorado, as seen below. Today, Smokey and the Bandit remains one of the most popular car action films ever made, and the 1977 Pontiac Trans Am will forever be wed to the movie. At one point in the movie, the Bandit wrecks a police car. When it is finally torn off along with the car's roof in the impact with the girder, the missing fender still reappears later on in the film. Arguably the most iconic Pontiac Firebird in history. Frog not included. [6] It would become one of Reed's biggest hits and his signature song.[7]. Olds 88. February 27, 2023 . And it was worth it for the brand, as the nameplate sales decided following the redesign. A 1977 special-edition model once owned by the late actor Burt Reynolds recently wound up on the car auction website Bring a Trailer. Needing a fast set of wheels to distract law enforcement, Reynolds character purchases this 1977 Pontiac Trans-Am. They find local legend Bo "Bandit" Darville at a roadeo at Lakewood Fairgrounds and offer him US$80,000 (equivalent to $357,738 in 2021) to haul 400 cases of Coors from Texarkana (the closest place it could be legally sold at that time) to Atlanta in 28 hours. And all of us easterners suddenly discovered it was nothing more than another Budweiser/Miller/etc. Some of the original sound effects (such as Cledus's dog Fred barking) and music (such as the final chase to the Southern Classic) were removed and not replaced. I ended up buying a 1969 Cadillac ambulance a year later!
What Sports Cars Are In Smokey And The Bandit - OsVehicle How Many Police Cars Were Destroyed In Blues Brothers Pontiac should have made a radio that played that song automatically simply by pushing a button, or maybe made it the horn sound. Many people believed beforehand that the film was not right for . Get ready to tear up the highway with the Bandit (Burt Reynolds), a fun-loving, fast-talking trucker who takes on his craziest haul yet - delivering 400 case. And lets not forget the Trans Am rental car Steve McQueen drove in his very last movie, The Hunter from 1980. On the DVD, there is a brief interview with both Burt Reynolds and Hal Needham, who directed this film. The uncut version is the best. In its place was the nonsensical "scum bum." . Did I mention how much I enjoy reading all the back stories and niggly details I can only get here ? Thats all well and good, and it worked smooth as silk for a good while. She is a runaway bride, sitting on the side of the road in her 1973 Chevrolet Impala coupe. That parking lot was full of Trans Ams! This small modification was made to remind viewers of Trans Am models from 1969, which had in excess of 300 horsepower. [37], The first run in 2007 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the movie, The Bandit Run was the brainchild of Dave Hall, owner of Restore A Muscle Car. It cornered amazingly well for such a large car, but the posi rear end emitted ominous sounds so I passed on it (I was in college and didnt have any place to do major repairs). The roller coaster in the movie was the Greyhound. Its lack of additives and preservatives meant that Coors could spoil in one week without refrigeration, explaining the film's 28-hour deadline. As luck and script writing would have it, Frog has left her groom at the altar. Due to his financial difficulties in 2014, Reynolds put his vast collection of artwork and memorabilia up for auction, including the Trans Am. Now, having only three Trans Ams to wreck for a movie is minimalist, to say the least. Duarte or maybe ir was Arcadia , it was white with a red & blue pinstripe , we dropped $400 (an ungodly sum back then) on a re paint and pin striping but could _not_ sell that wretched POC , it took us two years IIRC . In a rare public appearance, Burt Reynolds revealed how many cars they wrecked making Smokey and [34] In 2015 a Florida-based automobile customization company built 77 Trans Ams modeled after the car that Reynolds drove in the film. As I did Steve McQueen and Paul Newman. What were the police cars in Smokey and the Bandit? I dunno about the Foley sounds, I have a T/A with a 400 and an open/no catalytic true dual exhaust, and it sounds really close to how the Bandit car sounds at idle during some scenes from the movie. News . and the Dixie Dance Kings, and Burts car was a 57 [56?] That is why there are not any left. The film was followed by two sequels: Smokey and the Bandit II (1980) and Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983). 12 A Total Of 3 Trans Ams Were Destroyed During Filming. At the time, it was illegal to transport Coors east of the Mississippi River and a series of other truckers had been apprehended for trying to accomplish this feat for the Burdettes. Ask him to choose between a BMW M4 and an Audi RS5, and hell gladly trade both for a beat-up Cuda. Gator , Stroker Ace , lots of them . The remaining Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am is currently owned by Florida car collector John Staluppi. Upon showing it to his friend, Reynolds told Needham that it was the worst script he had ever read, but that he would still make the movie.
There's one black Trans Am left from 'Smokey and The Bandit.' It's He obtained the attention of studios and aimed the film at a more mainstream release after his friend Reynolds read the script and agreed to portray the Bandit, with Reed now portraying the Bandit's friend the Snowman. The pair arrive in Texarkana one hour early and load up the truck, but just as they head back, Carrie, a runaway bride, intercepts Bandit and jumps in his car, unwittingly making him an indirect target of Sheriff Buford T. Justice, a career Texas lawman whose witless son Junior was to have married Carrie. He has no less than four movies listed as coming out, and they run the gamut from romantic drama to family comedy to horror mystery to action thriller. You might think that seeing their cars routinely destroyed on movie screens across the country would give the manufacturer pause, but that is not the case at all. Hal Needham did pass away as someone earlier said. The differences between the two are major. MN12 Thunderbirds had the same appeal to me, for similar reasons. My favorite would have been an ex-WSP 1970 Plymouth they were all Fury IIIs, white on blue with factory air and 440s under the hood; but none ever turned up when I was buying. Put one on and the lady looks like shes not wearing a bra. Car movies are notorious for being tough on the very vehicles that give them their allure. [17], In 1977, Coors was unavailable for sale east of Oklahoma. And Burt may be from GA originally, but he calls Florida home, which is another reason I heard the movie was filmed here. As such, it took a lot of sweet talking by former stuntman Needham for Pontiac to cough up three Trans Ams and three LeManses. The next movie, Smokey and the Bandit II, featured the same cast and an updated version of the Trans Am.The second version of the Smokey and the Bandit car was a 1980 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am that had a similar paint job, the updated front end, and gold "Turbine" style wheels.The 1980 models featured a turbocharged 4.9L Pontiac V8, but that still wasn't enough power for the stunt personnel. Im pretty sure that the car that barks second when he takes off with Frog had to be a stick. That's because the Trans Am in Smokey and the Bandit didn't sound like a Trans Am. Set with his . Somebody locally is selling a Regis Plymouth Fury ex Florida Police with gasping 318 V8, he will for the right money toss in a 440 with it. There has never been anything quite like late 1970s fashion in clothing. A dastardly scoundrel? The 1978 Trans Am is an exact duplicate of the "Smokey and the Bandit" movie car, finished in black and gold with a screaming chicken on the hood. Anyone who enjoys Colonnade sedans will love Smokey & the Bandit. Other than Jackie Gleason upstaging every other cast member, the perceived star of the show is this 1977 Pontiac Trans Am. Three Kenworth W900A short-frame semi trucks, driven by Reed, were each equipped with 38-inch sleepers. A blackguard? I did help a friend rebuild a late 60s 400 to replace the anemic 301 in his 79, Trans Am.
How "Smokey and the Bandit" was born | Fortune Banzai! (Still). From living there for my first two decades, I noticed the accent didnt get going good until around Sikeston (not Saxton as it would seem) and it progressed as you went deeper into the Bootheel. The directorial debut of stuntman Hal Needham, the film follows Bo "Bandit" Darville (Reynolds) and Cledus "Snowman" Snow (Reed), two bootleggers attempting to illegally transport 400 cases of Coors beer from Texarkana to Atlanta. After passing Buford's badly damaged cruiser on the roadside, Bandit gets on the CB and initially directs him to the Burdettes, but then respectfully gives his real locationright behind Buford, who continues his chase leaving Junior behind, and with more parts falling off his cruiser as he limps off after Bandit. (it did taste a lot better than Bud as I recall). The second film was a modest box office success, earning $66.1 million against a $17 million budget. They quickly escape in one of Big Enos's 13 Cadillacs as police flood the racetrack. They retained the white steering wheels until 72 or so , just the thing to preveny burned fingers in the Desert sun . I thought at the time that it was a newer version of White Lightning (also with Burt Reynolds) and that Smokey would be forgotten just as soon. The redesign was originally planned for 1980, but 1978 and 1979 became record years for GM's division, so the new model was pushed back. Reynolds actively pushed for her casting after Universal initially resisted, claiming Field was not attractive enough. This phrase achieved a level of popularity with children and the 2007 Hot Wheels release of the 1970s Firebird Trans Am has "scum bum" emblazoned on its tail. In the U.K., the heavily dubbed version was shown for several years, particularly by the BBC. Reynolds and Needham owned the Skoal Bandit team at the time, so getting these other drivers to appear probably would not taken much more than a six pack of beer and a hug from co-star Loni Anderson . Some of the more recent DVD releases of it redid all of the engine sounds and it sounds much more mellow than the original(not happy about that). Actually, there were 2 future Dukes stars in the movie: Ben Jones (Cooter) was in an early scene helping Big Enos find Bandit. We just watched this with the kids the other week, along with Cannonball Run. According to Wikipedia, the second movie was able to get away with destroying an INSANE number of brand-new Pontiac LeMans police cars because Pontiac had them sitting around in the southwest region, having been sent to a rental fleet in Phoenix without a/c.