Posted on 01/18/2018 8:10:10 AM PST by jaydubya2
Few movie cars are as instantly recognizable as the 1968 Ford Mustang that Steve McQueen drove in "Bullitt." That Highland Green car known now simply as the Bullitt Mustang took on a 1969 Dodge Charger on the streets of San Francisco in one of the greatest car chases captured on film. For decades, the original car was thought to be lost. That wasn't entirely the case. It's simply been kept out of the public's eye. Now it returns to the spotlight, finally taking its rightful place next to its successor, the new 475-horsepower 2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt.
I was just going to post the exact same link :)
The brightwork is pockmarked with rust spots, and the paint is flat and faded, though apparently some of that was intentionally done to give it the same flavor as McQueen's character in the film, Lt. Frank Bullitt.
It wasn't in that condition when the movie was made. They roughened the edges a bit................
It’ll be gone in 60 seconds
For later.
L
They're only original once. There's a certain beauty about survivor cars. The second Bullitt car was restored and was probably too far gone without one.
Actually, it took on a 1968 Charger, not a 1969.
You’re right - in the movie it was a ‘68 Charger.
I read some years back that they ran into a little problem and had to do a little “reengineering” on the Mustang’s power plant as the stock Charger was running circles around the stock Mustang. The only thing they really needed to do to the Charger was to beef up the suspension. I believe there were two Chargers as well. One manual and one automatic.
Yeah, Bullitt's chase was staged, but that poor guy on the motorcycle near the end of the chase was a complete surprise to all. The road was closed for filming, but he came out of the desert between the closures and right into the chase. It looked good, and the guy was unhurt, so they left it in the movie.
Seriously aroused here.....
;^)
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“When he did the chase scene for the French Connection he did it with no staging, no warnings, no safety precautions, etc.
Wow, could have been a real catastrophe.”
My memory is a little foggy. Wasn’t there a scene where he had to slam on the brakes because a lady was crossing the road pushing a baby carriage?
Back when the ‘Bullitt’ movie was playing, I drove a ‘68 Dodge Charger R/T. It had a 440CID V8, a huge 4-bbl carb, was sky blue and could easily reach 140 mph (lots of places in West Texas to prove that). One Saturday evening I had a date to see the movie and enjoyed it. After the show we
went cruising the strip. For the next 3-4 hours just about every Mustang in town pulled up alongside and wanted to get it on. A few had money to put up for a chance at proving their car was superior. I took about 5 of them up on their offer - $50 minimum on the table.
Unfortunately for all the Mustang pilots that actually raced, none seemed to know how quick almost 400 HP in a car just slightly larger than the Mustang could be. Most of the Mustangs were powered by the 289CID V8. They had no chance. It was a very profitable evening.
So while the movie chase was exciting it was also a bit unrealistic to me. In real life on any of the relatively long roads the Charger R/T would have left the Green Pony way behind.
‘Twas fun tho ...
Might I remind you sir, that my woody is in much better condition than that!
The square tubing reinforcements on the floor pan are an interesting touch.
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