Are you getting as excited as I am about Barrett Jackson New Orleans 2023? This will be the first ever Barrett Jackson in New Orleans. The show starts next week on Thursday the 28th and runs through Saturday 30th. As always they'll have a live stream running of all the hot bidding action. If you happen to miss the show, don't worry it will be up on YouTube later in the coming weeks. I just finished going through the docket and we are in for a treat folks. Below are our movie and tv car related picks from the upcoming show.
Our first pick is a very nice example of a 1980 SE Trans Am. Very much like the one Burt Reynolds drove in Smokey and the Bandit Part II. Complete with a 301 turbocharged V8 under the hood. According to the listing, this car has under went a complete comprehensive restoration. The real question is does it come with a Frog? *wink*
Our next pick is a 1967 Shelby GT500 Eleanor Tribute car. Note this car is not an original screen used car. However it is a licensed replica. It features panels built by Cinema Movie Services. If you recall they're the original builders of the screen used cars. Under the hood a beafy Ford FE 429 V8 backed up by a 4-speed toploader transmission. With a 9 inch Ford rear-end sending all that power to the ground. There are several other Eleanor tributes or replicas going on the block this show. This one is our favorite.
Last but certainly not least is a 1967 Cobra Re-Creation. I'm curious to see how this one goes. Factory built Shelby's bring a ton of money. This is a recreation, but built with Shelby parts. It should do well. A lovely looking build. You may remember our article from years ago about the Shelby Cobra body and frame that came up for sale on the Sharks and Cobras episode of Pawn Stars.
'Taxi' may not be the most rememberable film. Sure it had it's share of laughs. But when was the last time someone said "Hey, um let's watch Taxi." For those who have not seen the movie. Here's a short rundown. A police officer (Jimmy Fallon) loses his drivers license and is forced to rely on public transportation. A crime occurs and he happens to hail the fastest cab in the city. The cab is driven by a wantable race car driver (Queen Latifah). Hilarious antics happen and that's the movie. Short and simple right? Well, I'll be honest. When the film came out, I enjoyed it. The thing I remember most from the movie though was the car Queen Latifah drove.
The car is standard looking Ford Crown Vic taxi cab at first glance. But with a press of a button it became a full on race car. Kinda neat huh? Well yea. What makes this car special is the creator. The late great Eddie Paul, the man responsible for numerous Hollywood automobile creations. xXx, Grease, Cobra, Fast & Furious to name a few of the productions Eddie was commissioned on. The base car is a P71 Ford Crown Victoria. P71 is a special order trim package created by Ford just for police use. They're pretty easy to spot. Most have the "Police Interceptor" badging on the back. Lot's of extra goodies in the package. As Elwood (Blues Brothers) would say would say "It's got cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks..." Eddie made some major modifications to this car. Custom body kit, 20 inch wheels and hood scoop are most notable. But something that always threw me off was the shifter. There's a standard shifter on the column and then this other shifter in a custom console. I'm not sure which one you actually use. These features are likely all just for looks. This car did have the air bag removed and custom steering wheel replaces the factory wheel. There was a large bit of CGI used in the film to augment its appearance.
So why are we talking about this again? Well, one of the cars used in the film is for sale on eBay. At just $39,999 dollars, you too could own a movie car. Sounds steep. Keep in mind, you can actually drive this one. It's street legal. Not many movie cars you can do that with. Not sure if you would call this the hero car. But it was used in many of a chase scenes. Including the scene where the car hits a fire hydrant. Believe it or not, Eddie signed the dash on this one. Rest in peace our friend. Till next time, be safe and take the bus. See ya!
It's been a while since we've posted a music video. I thought I would share one of my favorite country videos of all time. Drive by Alan Jackson talks about sharing memories of growing up. I believe Alan wrote this song in dedication for this father Gene who passed way in 2000 and his three daughters. But why are we talking about this on On Screen Cars? Well there are some on screen cars of course! Mid-way through the video you'll see Alan talk about driving his dad's 1964 Ford F-100.
In the song Alan describes the pickup as being a handy-down from his uncle. As the story goes. Alan's uncle bought it new in 1964. It's unclear when his dad acquired the truck. But never the less it needed some work (burnt valves, dent in the door). Just as in the song the video shows a young boy and his dad driving down a dirt road called Thigpen Rd(Google Maps). The song talks about it being a three-speed on a column model. Which wasn't uncommon for the time. From my research I would say the truck had a straight six engine (223 or 262). The 292 V8 was avaliable for 64' but I couldn't imagine the 3-speed being super popular with a V8.
"Just an old half ton short bed ford
My Uncle bought new in 64
Daddy got it right cause the engine was smoking
A couple of burnt valves and he had it going
He'd let me drive her when we haul off a load
Down a dirt strip where we'd dump trash off of Thigpen Road
I'd sit up in the seat and stretch my feet out to the pedels
Smiling like a hero who just received his medal.."
Gotta love the last line of that verse! Pretty much the way I felt the first time my dad let me drive is 1987 Ford Bronco. Speaking of Broncos. There's also a 1977 Ford Bronco in this video. The song makes reference to him and his daughters riding around in a "Jeep." I believe the term was meant to be used loosely. Jeep of course is a brand name. But like anything else the name gets thrown around for everything with a removeable top and four-wheel drive.
I believe this first-generation Bronco is part of Allen Jackson's personal collection. Which wouldn't surprise me. Allen Jackson was a former mechanic and long-time gearhead. Just another reason to like Allen Jackson! If u notice in the video he's got it decked out pretty good. The top is off, roll bar installed. The doors are off. The windshield folded down. Just all kinds of win! Well that's all for now. Watch the video and let us know what you think in the comments! We'll be back with more On Screen Cars! Sorry for the absence!
Say it with me "ThunderCougarFalconBird." Now say it again 10 times fast. Addicting huh? Well I have to say it's a memorable piece of Futurama fiction. Apparently the future's version of manliness is a mash of classic car names and parts rolled up in a big fancy hover car. Episode S2E10 entitled "Put Your Head On My Shoulder" introduces us to the car. In the beginning of this episode Amy decides she needs to go car shopping. They go to see Malfunctioning Eddie and his Rocket Car Emporium. Where Fry is nearly swayed by the salesperson to buy the car.
Nothing makes you feel more like a man than a Thunder Cougar Falcon Bird
Nice pitch isn't it? The car reminds me much of Simpson's: The Homer in it's terms of oddness. It does pay great tribute to the old big fin cars of the 1950's. You can see the artist had the 50's Ford Thunderbird in mind. The grill is kinda a mix of a Ford Cougar and Ford Falcon. Hints the name ThunderCougarFalconBird. Check out that super-charged V8 poking up from the hood. Rarrr! I like the rest of Fry and Salesperson's conversation.
Fry: "Sorry, I'm not here to buy."
Sales Person: "I understand and it's wonderful that you don't care whether anyone questions your sexual orientation."
Fry: "I care! I care plenty! I just dunno how to make them stop!"
Sales Person: "One word: Thundercougarfalconbird."
I think this car would have an interesting emblem to it as well. Take a 80's Mercury Cougar emblem (I still think it reminds me of a ThunderCats logo). Throw some wings on the cougar, thunderbolts and there ya go an emblem for the ThunderCougarFalconbird! Last but not least check out this Flickr post on a LEGO version of the ThunderCougarFalconBird. Nice job LEGO Ambassador Matt De Lanoy! aka Pepa Quin on Flickr. Well that's all I have for now on the topic of the ThunderCougarFalconBird. Let's hear what you have to say! Post in the comments. See ya next time!
Having trouble finding a movie to watch? How about a classic car movie? How about a classic car movie you can watch for free? Well that's the idea behind OnScreenCars.com's Free Ticket category. A group of posts about legal public domain classic car movies found on the net. Thanks to several online providers we can enjoy many classic car films for free. We're gonna start off this new segment with a classic car film called The Choppers.
"...it's the Choppers alright...they're getting as regular as a tv show..."
The Choppers released in 1961 tells the story of a teenage gang terrorizing a small town with rash car jacking. The crew lead by a guy name Cruiser, whom steals and strips down any car they can get their hands on. A crooked local junkyard owner is always standing by to buy whatever the boys dish up. However local authorities looking out for the gang as they plot to trap them. Watch as it all unfolds in this high action B movie thriller of it's day. The movie is roughly an hour long in black and white and features many cool cars of the day. Not to mention. . .
One car that really stands out is a modified Ford Model T, also commonly known as a "T-Bucket." This T-Bucket is powered by a Buick Nailhead 322 V8 bored to a 402 with long tube headers going to side pipes. The whole unit is topped off an array of 6 Stromberg 97s carburetors. What makes this car even more special is the car in real life it belong to Tommy Ivo aka TV Tommy.
Tommy was a known as an actor and professional NHRA driver in the 50s and 60s. Whom in my opinion was obsessed with Buick Nailhead V8s. He built several dragsters that featured the motor. Some even had multiple motors. His first dual Nailhead dragster broke the 9 second barrier in the late 50s, not to mention setting records in the 170 - 180 mph hour in the quarter mile. No surprise his prized hot rod had a Nailhead huh?
Now on to the show...
Take time to enjoy this movie. It might be a little cheezy, but I think it's worth a watch. My brother and I found this movie a few years ago with a bulk pack of classic car films called Born to be Wild - Four High Octane Movies. I would high recommend this pack of movies even though the movies are public domain. Below is embeded from Youtube. Special thanks to AMPOP Films and Isotope Guerrilla Cult Theatre for posting many public domain films on the net!
. I would high recommend this pack of movies even though the movies are public domain. Below is embeded from Youtube. Special thanks to 