Famous 55 Chevy

[JimKwiatkowski]

The 55 Chevy that was in American Graffiti moive was,the 55 chevy used in the movie Two Lane Blacktop.Both these movies are my favorites car moives and I know bobs409 likes Two Lane Blacktop :D

Here's a link to the history of this famous 55 Chevy



http://kathyschrock.net/graffiti/55.htm

[walkerheaders]

gosh, JIm
i havent read the link yet........but i can tell you....both those 55s are alive and well and living in maryland...i have seen them many times.

[jim_ss409]

At the bottom of the page there's a link to the Two Lane Blacktop homepage. It's a really good site. There are lots of good photos of 60s shoebox gassers on the message board but you have to join up in order to see alot of them. :dunno It's a well run site with a good group of members but it doesn't have alot of the features that we get on this site. In the movie American Grafitti they never say what engine's in Falfa's 55 but I always thought it would have been a 409. We all know the Two Lane/ Grafitti car actually had a 427 but this was suposed to be 62 or 63 so the 427 wasn't out yet.

[walkerheaders]

maybe i'll read all that stuff later. the blue grafitti car has BBC with tunnel ram and flip front end. car has been displayed here in maryland several times. Bo Hopkins and Candy Clark signed the shirt i was wearing that day. had me red 63 parked about 3 cars down from 55 graffiti. in fact, we and my car were on the travel channel. i did a small burnout for the cameras. i'll tell you the whole story at norwalk and i'll post a pic here.
the 2 lane car lives here also...it is the car that the cameras were mounted to, and is the legit documented car. nobody touches it, it is primered and stained just as in the movie. it also has a flip front and BBC with tunnel ram. they are most definately 2 different cars. i imagine the link tells the same story?

[droptop62]

maybe i'll read all that stuff later. the blue grafitti car has BBC with tunnel ram and flip front end. car has been displayed here in maryland several times. Bo Hopkins and Candy Clark signed the shirt i was wearing that day. had me red 63 parked about 3 cars down from 55 graffiti. in fact, we and my car were on the travel channel. i did a small burnout for the cameras. i'll tell you the whole story at norwalk and i'll post a pic here.
the 2 lane car lives here also...it is the car that the cameras were mounted to, and is the legit documented car. nobody touches it, it is primered and stained just as in the movie. it also has a flip front and BBC with tunnel ram. they are most definately 2 different cars. i imagine the link tells the same story?

I had always heard the cars from both movies is the same car.
There were at least 3 cars done for different shots one had camera mounts for interior shots, one had some outside camera mounts, and one was for shooting the outside shots of the car. and then there was also the four door that was used as the wrecked 55 in the race scene of american grafitti. don't hold me to it, but I would still wager that the main car from both movies is the Same exact car. I don't believe there is two cars, unless someone got a hold of one of the camera cars. which would not have the 427 but would have been made to resemble the "star" car in appearance only.
I don't know :dunno

[JimKwiatkowski]

Todd,did you read the link?It says they were

[walkerheaders]

Todd,did you read the link?It says they were

says they were what? i havent read all that stuff. but i have seen the blue graffiti car and the primered and stained 2lane camera car at the same place and the same time. different owners, both reside near me in md.

[walkerheaders]

The camera car has been reported to be in Canada, but details of the car and its condition are unknown.

case closed, have seen the car here many times. i know it's gonna be at the York US30 dragway reunion july 9 2005.

car still has the camera mounts as i said, and still looks exactly like it did in the movie, (filthy). also as i said....nobody touches the car.....the stains run down like from the rain. it has a BBC with tunnel ram and sounds pretty healthy.

www.yorkus30.com

[JimKwiatkowski]

Bob,if you go to the show,Please take photos :D I have always liked these movies and the 55 Chevy,I'm working on getting these 2 moives,to view at the Norwalk Drive-in Theater :D Did you know I got the idea of the flip top front end from Two Lane Blacktop :)

[JimKwiatkowski]

Here's a photo of my flip top front end :)

[walkerheaders]

i like your flip front.......couldnt imagine a 57 without......did it to my 57 also.

PS: dont wast your time hunting those 2 movies......i have them, i'll bring them.

[jim_ss409]

I once took the time to read all of the background on the Two Lane and Grafitti 55's. They've got it all down there on the Two Lane site. If I remember right the same car was used for both movies but there were three Two Lane Blacktop cars and I think they were all quite similar, the biggest difference being the various camera mounting brackets. They may have used one of the "camera cars" for American grafitti, I can't remember and at least one of the "camera cars has been restored back to the way it was during the movie. Minus the racks that held the cameras. I also remember reading that Richard Ruth, the guy that built the cars got that weathered look by splashing thinners over the fresh primer paint. And I believe the car that went to Canada turned up a few years ago and was being brought back to it's original Two Lane look. It's probably done and out there by now. So I think it would be possible to have three legitimate Two Lane/ Grafitti cars in the same place at once.