Your email address will not be published. Arguably the most iconic Pontiac Firebird in history. The cars were originally ordered by a car rental agency in Phoenix, who refused to accept the . A CC for a 1973 Grand Ville convertible can be found here. Always a favorite. Mr. Reynolds elevated the dreck that he appeared in to a higher level, that is, enjoyable. Soon as I get home, first thing Im gonna do is punch yo mamma in da mouth!. I ended up buying a 1969 Cadillac ambulance a year later! Just like the exaggeration sales went up 700%. I remember that it had a bunch of trim badges on the center of the dashboard. Hes fodder enough for his own article at some point. He's a proud member of the TopSpeed team since early 2014. It is now sold in all states as Coors ships it in refrigerated train cars and bottled locally and sold in different parts of the country including the eastern US states. 14 Little-Known Facts About The Smokey And The Bandit Trans-Am - HotCars [24] With an original budget of $5.3 million (cut to $4.3 million two days before initial production),[4] the film eventually grossed $126,737,428 in North America,[25] making it the second-highest-grossing movie of 1977 (only Star Wars earned more, with $221.3 million). Ive always wanted some sort of de-commission/ex unmarked cop car, something from the 70s preferably. Behind Sheriff Justices Pontiac, there is a nice looking 1965 or 1966 Ford Mustang fastback and a Toyota pickup. 13 Fast Facts About Smokey and the Bandit - Mental Floss The scene featuring the racetrack was filmed at Lakewood Speedway at the old Lakewood Fairgrounds on Atlanta's south side. The scene where Sheriff Justice's car has the door knocked off by a passing . I started cruising through EBay and the next thing I knew I won the auction for a clean 400/4 speed/T-Top 78 Trans Am. It follows the adventures of a couple of truck drivers bootlegging Coors, which couldnt legally be sold East of the Mississippi River at the time. With that in mind, Ill go with what Ive heard from my Georgia friends, to wit Sheriff Justices diablo sandwich is the Macon version, which is made with fried eggs and red hots. Bandit attracts more police attention across Dixie as Snowman barrels on toward Atlanta with the contraband beer, but they are helped en route by many colorful characters via CB radio. Reynolds is referenced by name in several early episodes of the series. These Furys, as well as some of the LeMans units, have hood scoops. The 1977 Firebird Trans Am once owned by Burt Reynolds was sold at auction Saturday for $495,000 at a sale held by Barrett-Jackson. Many people believed beforehand that the film was not right for . But that doesnt make for an interesting movie premise. Its lack of additives and preservatives meant that Coors could spoil in one week without refrigeration, explaining the film's 28-hour deadline. [5] Reynolds revealed in his autobiography that Needham had written the first draft script on legal pads. As a former Club Wagon pilot, I happen to like his Econoline. In 1978, Pontiac delivered 93,351 Trans Ams and 93,944 regular Firebirds for a grand total of 187,295 cars. I have at least 4 really good car buddies that will from time to time love popping this movie in to watch. And theres this nugget from the director of the coming new Shazam movie; I first watched Smokey on quiet swing shifts from the drivers seat of a 1977 Pontiac Le Mans patrol car, parked by thr back fence of the drive-in theater at the far end of town. The films are indeed classic and very funny to this day. Im probably in the minority as usual, but I prefer the Black and Gold 50th Anne. Anyway, on the trip east, we stopped at a grocery in Topeka, Kansas and bought 16-18 cases of Coors, all that we had room for in the car. Well, at least that's what you saw in the movie. Probably the most famous TV edit of all time is I have had it with these monkey-fightin snakes on this Monday-to-Friday plane!. Tragically, every Trans Am used in filming was destroyed. And he succeeded as far as the Pontiac Trans Am is concerned. (Still). Also up for auction was a go-kart replica of the car, which sold for nearly $14,000. I beg to differ Mr -Nate. I think more of Smokey and the Bandit II and the awful part 3 were filmed largely in Florida, I dont know if I-75 construction was started by 1976-77, at least the section down to Miami part, when they filmed. The paint code for each truck was coffee brown with gold trims and the 48-foot (15m) mural trailer used was manufactured by Hobbs Trailers in Texas with a non-operational Thermo King Refrigeration unit. The most noted change made for network broadcast was the replacing of Buford's often-spoken phrase "sumbitch" (a contraction of "son of a bitch"; usually in reference to the Bandit) with the phrase "scum bum". It made no sense to me as it was fifty miles north and fifty miles south. "Smokey and the Bandit" stars Burt Reynolds, Sally . . But the true standout of Smokey and the Bandit is the car driven by The Bandit, the iconic black and gold 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. That girl from the McCoys video probably looks like Paula Deen now. 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. [14] The Trans Ams were actually 1976-model cars with 1977 front ends (from 1970 to 1976, both the Firebird/Trans Am and Chevrolet Camaro have two round headlights and in 1977, the Firebird/Trans Am was changed to four rectangular headlights, and the Camaro remained unchanged). The film was followed by two sequels: Smokey and the Bandit II (1980) and Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983). I recall a big smokey burnout right after they left Snowmans house that looked 455-worthy and also after Bandit picked up Fields he left two strips after nailing second (right before the tire thieves crossed the road), which makes me think there was also a 4 speed car used. For a little visual variety of sorts, and possibly an indicator of what car was about to be wrecked, the producers did branch out to use the 1975-era Plymouth Fury as another police car. There definitely was a halo cast around the 2nd gen F-body from its appearance in the movie, which I believe even did extend to the Camaro, which was probably the cheapest way to at least get some of the Bandit vibe, where there other factors too, probably, the 70s, disco, cocaine, mustaches and probably a bunch others.many thought that these car would be the last hurrah for anything performance oriented. Id like to hear from Mr. Needham why so many of those police cars had what look like shaker hood scoops. [40] Major portions of the audio background have been modified with different engine sounds or tire squeals from the original film. I had no idea that it was going to become a 70s classic. It was a powerful car, and I was glad to be issued it as my range car instead of one of the new but already disintegrating 1985 Oldsmobiles supplied by a local dealer that most people had. [4] Reynolds said in 2015 that he most enjoyed this film, and had the most fun making it, of his career.[26]. The roller coaster in the movie was the Greyhound. Hal Needham did pass away as someone earlier said. 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. High estimates for the car were up to $80,000, but the actual sale price was $450,000. The Trans Am was a high-performance package for the Firebird, Pontiac's take on the Chevrolet Camaro. 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. Every idiot with more money than brains wanted a Trans Am. 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. Banzai! The MASSIVE year over year sales gains came from somewhere. The new Hot Pants scene had to quickly be refilmed as a part of a second unit in the San Fernando Valley and was shot at a drive-in restaurant near Hansen Dam named Baby Beef Burgers, which has since been demolished. I just dont like car novices that assume the Pontiac T/A was soley a movie tie in car and the it started in 1977.. 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. The gag with the overpass being blown up was actually a bridge built for the movie on the unfinished highway, and AFAIK, the truck driver who jumps the void ended up breaking his back in the stunt. Sure Smokey helped, but was not the sole reason T/A and F body sales went up. Both sequels used another Trans Am, not a Cadillac Eldorado, as seen below. Two units were 1974 models, as evidenced by standard silver Kenworth emblems on the truck grille, and one unit was a 1973 model, as evidenced by the gold-painted Kenworth emblem on the truck's grille, signifying Kenworth's 50 years in business. Please to note I didnt say _I_ didnt like them as I was in my 20s then (early 1970s) so I hustled my self and my Russian girlfriend right on down to the cinema every time Burt Reynolds had a new flick , I personally loved his movies even the chick flicks like The Man Who Loved Women , I just had to hear earfuls from everyone else about how awful he / those movies were.. We even bought one of those Pontiac Police Specials on auction from. The Bandit's car was a second-generation Trans Am and the prize for completing the run was a new truck rather than $80,000. Sales of the coupe exploded after the film hit the silver screen and set unprecedented records for both Pontiac and the Firebird nameplate. Many of the film's original sounds were replaced. The site's consensus states: "Not much in the head but plenty beneath the hood, Smokey and the Bandit is infectious fun with plenty of car wrecks to keep your eyes glued". 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. A diablo sammich from my understanding is a like a Sloppy Joe but with taco seasoning added in for spice. All pictures from the movie were acquired from www.imcdb.org, Fred Lives!!! Here's everything you should know about one of the most iconic movie cars ever. Everything You Should Know About The The Trans Am From Smokey And The Smokey And The Bandit Tribute Jump Goes About As Well As You'd Expect Gator , Stroker Ace , lots of them . The remaining Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am is currently owned by Florida car collector John Staluppi. Much of the surrounding scene comes from that immediate vicinity. That song often pops into my head at the start of long drives. And it was worth it for the brand, as the nameplate sales decided following the redesign. Here in Canada they didnt censor it, so we always got the sumbitch version. I was in West Plains the other day and there is yet another variation of it there. 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. Some fellow classmates were extras on the film set, and it was a big deal around here at the time. You want to questions bra sales, check out the youtube video of Hang on Sloopy by the Mccoys, the color version.wowza! . J.J. & The Dixie Dance Kings was a milder one that had (I think) a 56 Buick Century . It had amazing throttle response, with a hit that either scared people, or made them giggle. I still couldnt resist lighting up the Pontiacs tires while executing my T-turns. The other range car was a Chevette for people that wanted to learn on a manual transmission. Smokey and the Bandit: Behind-the-Scenes Details With - MotorTrend The Bandit takes the bet on the risky and unprecedented task, and recruits his partner Cledus "Snowman" Snow to drive the truck, while Bandit drives a black Pontiac Trans Am bought in advance from the Burdettes as a "blocker" to divert attention away from the truck and its illegal cargo. 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. http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_301466-Ford-LTD-II-1977.html. Back in 1984, I went to look at a late 1970s Plymouth cop car as well. These two 1967 Ford Galaxies (CC here), soon to be redecorated by a Kenworth road tractor, do not. and the Dixie Dance Kings, and Burts car was a 57 [56?] The tow truck driver was a local garage owner, Berlin Wike. Pontiac should have made a radio that played that song automatically simply by pushing a button, or maybe made it the horn sound. Smokey & The Bandit was the first of three movies in that franchise. The 1977 model wasn't out yet when filming began, so General Motors provided 1976 cars with front clips from the soon-to-be-released 1977 update. I will confess that by the time this movie was out, I was a Mopar guy. Ive also looked at a Fox based LTD cop car and an early 1991 whale Caprice 9C1 detective model, burgundy on burgundy cloth. You will receive a verification email shortly. This movie was filmed in Georgia as well. We stopped in that same Safeway later on the way back home from southern Cal, and they had a huge display of cases of Coors out on the floor near the checkstands. [36] Another proposal, based more closely on images from the film and the shooting location of the scene (at an Old Hickory House restaurant in Georgia), is pulled pork and hot sauce on a hamburger bun. How many cars did they wreck in Smokey and the Bandit? One of our favorite movies. This is obvious, because there is no fuel tank on the underside of the trailer to power the refrigeration unit, and the unit is never heard running. I imagine that they borrowed some of the character from Sheriff JW Pepper from the 1973 and 1974 James Bond movies, Live and Let Die and The Man with the Golden Gun. I always think scumbum because when I watched it as a kid in the early 90s, it was usually on TBS. It outsold its Chevrolet Camaro counterpart for the first time. 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. As Fred Flintstone was modeled off Ralph Kramden, the Jackie Gleason character from the 1950s television showThe Honeymooners, the tone and intonation of the dubbing was highly convincing. I still think its more entertaining than Star Wars. I think you may be confusing the movie Honky-Tonk Freeway with the filming done during I-75 construction near Sarasota. A blackguard? This reminds me of the classic introduction (actually written by Dick Cavett) said by Jack Paar on The Tonight Show: I was 3 years old when the original came out, and do not remember any of these details but, supposedly this was the first movie my parents ever took me to. Smokey & The Bandit Police Cars. I am pretty sure it was filmed in Florida, when I-75 was under construction so they could use the highways while empty. He is hired by Big Enos Burdette and his son Little Enos to transport a truck load of Coors beer from Texarkana, Texas, back to Georgia in 28 hours. Out of four Trans Ams used for the filming of Smokey And The Bandit, three were completely totaled in the process. They destroyed all those cars in the films he said. Watching TV and Movies you would think that sales dropped to nil. It was destroyed in Smokey and the Bandit II and in a flashback scene in Part 3. Filmmakers destroyed 230 cars in the filming of 'Furious 7.' Smokey And The Bandit: A Car-chase Classic. While I have read undocumented accounts of there being more than three Trans Ams, Needham stated three is all that were used. Producer Hal Needham intended Smokey and the Bandit to be one of the best product placement films of all time. This same restaurant was used for a scene in the 1983 Stephen King Movie Christine, which was ultimately cut in the final film (it can be viewed as a deleted scene on the DVD release of the film). While the Snowman drives the truck carrying the beer, the Bandit drives a Pontiac Trans Am to distract law enforcement (called blocking) and keep the attention off the Snowman. I have to admit, thats a pretty fantastic story, and as a major movie star, Im sure Burt Reynolds was able to figure out another way to acquire a means of transportation. Due to his financial difficulties in 2014, Reynolds put his vast collection of artwork and memorabilia up for auction, including the Trans Am. Lets take a look at some more cars found in the movie. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cODPt3T0cHE, We got a cage strong enough to hold you I have always loved this movie, watched it dozens and dozens of times on TV, video, DVD, laserdisc, almost any form of media. As if GM owes them something. The man does get around. Supposedly there was a stick car for the burnouts and an automatic car for other shots. 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. Jackie Gleasons Buford T. Justice character is a supposedly an amalgamation of a few characters, including the real Buford T. Justicethere is obviously the Dodge safety sheriff from the 1970s ads, Burt Reynolds father was chief of police of Jupiter Florida, and a friend of his fathers, a Florida Highway Patrol officer was actually the REAL Buford T. Justice. Im east bound, just watch ol Bandit run.. Of course, we could argue that Needham could have used the engine note of a Pontiac GTO from the golden muscle car, but the 1955 Custom recordings were probably readily available, and he just didn't need the hassle. There has never been anything quite like late 1970s fashion in clothing. I developed a pretty good bootheel accent during my time in New Madrid. The truck at the shell station is actually a 75 or 76 Toyota Hilux. How many smokey and the bandit movies are there? The area around Helen, Georgia, was used for some locations. With Reynolds agreement to do the movie, and his insistence upon casting Gleason as Sheriff Justice, the movie became a larger venture.

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