Pretty much every college student has taken a road trip some where. I was guilty of taking a few myself. But I can't say I jumped a car over a bridge like the guys in the movie Road Trip. A movie about four guys on a quest to drive half away across the country to prevent one of their girlfriends from seeing a explicit video tape. Along the way they're dealt a series of wild challenges and obstacles. The crew talk one of their nerdy friends, Kyle Edwards into borrowing their car (a 1991 Ford Taurus) for the 1800 mile trip from Ithaca, New York to Austin, Texas.
Things go wrong fairly early in the journey. They start off taking shortcuts that lead them to a bridge that's out of commission. Faced with the choice of either turning back and losing valuable time or going Dukes of Hazard style over the short gap in the bridge. As you can imagine the group chooses the later. Working out the physics of the car jump they predict they can clear the gap by approaching the bridge at 60 miles an hour. Nervous car owner Kyle reluctantly gets climbs into the backseat and puts on a crash helmet.
They back the car up and take off down the dirt road leading up to the bridge. They all brace for impact and the car hits the bridge. Like pure movie magic they clear the bridge and come to a hard landing. The grill and front bumper shatters on contact. They're all celebrating until all four wheels fall off and the air bag deploys. Thinking they've met the worst of the incident the car bursts into flame destroying the car and their stuff. Awesome!
Of course now they've gotta figure out what to do next. But we'll let that be for now. Don't wanta ruin the story for ya. But what about some of serious goofs we're seeing here? Could a 1991 Ford Taurus really jump a bridge? I'm sure the SHO package would help drastically! Well I guess you can jump anything that far with the right kinda power and if you hit it right. I did a little bit of research and I found a interesting article where someone talks about the physics behind the jump. Pretty interesting stuff. But the goof that stuck out the most to me was the misrepresentation of the actual weight of the car.
A 1991 Ford Taurus curb weight is roughly 3100 pounds. Sorry guys 1500 pounds is more like a sport car. Another site notes that the front wheels lift up unnaturally during the jump. I haven't been able to find any technical information about the jump yet. But I'm fairly sure this feat was pure movie magic. But none the less if it wasn't, I wouldn't be surprised if the car didn't end up like the one in the movie. But I felt this jump is worth mention. Road Trip is and always will be one of my favorite college movies. Till next time, don't go sending out video tapes that you wouldn't want anyone else seeing!
In the world of pawn, everything has it's price. Especially items of extremely rare proportions. During one episode of History Channel's Pawn Stars, owner Rick Harrison got a rare opportunity to buy one of the baddest collector sports cars ever built. The rare Shelby Cobra. Only problem is it wasn't complete. But does that mean it's still not worth something? Hardly. In Rick's case he was presented with an aluminum body shell. Even in rough shape an original aluminum body shell can bring a pretty penny. The owner obtained the body and frame while clearing some items out of storage rental on a contract. In other words, he was paid to haul it off. Not a bad gig if you ask me. But is it real?
That's a question left to experts. There are a lot of known continuation and replica cars out there. The show had an expert come on and explain how to tell. One way to tell is of course the serial number. All real Shelby Cobra's left the product plant with a serial number starting with "CSX". The expert on the show found the CSX serial number on the frame. Shelby serials are stored in a master database/registry that contains known details about each authenticated car. Once the car on the show was authenticated as being real a deal was made. After a few offers a price of $30,000 was agreed on. Quite a steal for the pawn shop. The expert felt the retail condition of the body/frame was at least $60,000. But if you've seen the show, you understand that a pawn shop must be able to turn a profit. Just because something is worth something doesn't mean it will be bought for the price it's worth. It's just business. But hey, what's the tow truck driver out? Notta!
The car was left with a team to be restored. Over the course of a few weeks (with the magic of hollywood) the car was built from the ground up. Looking to maintain maximum profit margins, the restoration crew cut a few corners. For starters they used "simulated leather" in place of real leather sets. Personally I wouldn't have made this move. Nothing like the real thing. Next they used a carburetor induction system instead of fuel injected. No harm here. A lot of the original cars used carbs. After restoration was complete. The Pawn Stars crew met at a local track to test it out. The old man made a lap at a extremely slow pace. Next was the son's turn. The credits roll.
I have a few concerns about the final product. It just doesn't seem like the body/frame that was bought in the beginning of the show. Some folks point out that if you look closely the finished car looks like a fiberglass kit car. Could this be a different car? Possibility. Thousands of these kit cars have been built. Another interesting fact. If you look closely near the end of the episode you can catch Carrol Shelby's signature on the dash. Did they have time to have 'da man' himself sign it? Why not mention this fact? It only makes the car worth a little more. But none the less it's still a very cool car. I would love to own even just a replica car. It would be too much fun to own. I remember as a kid owning a 1/18 die-cast replica below. Some where I'm sure I still have it. If ya haven't watched Pawn Stars yet, see our Amazon Ad to the left. Totally worth it! See ya next time.
What can pull people over, drive over a 100 miles per hour and make doughnuts all at the same time? The Monster Garage Cop Car Doughnut Shop. If you were a fan a of Monster Garage as I was, you would remember this car from Season Two - Episode 2. In this episode a group of cops are assembled to design, build and construct a mobile doughnut shop out of a 1998 Ford Crown Vic. As with other projects on Monster Garage, this vehicle must appear some what stock while performing the tasks requested by host Jesse James.
Exterior/Structural Mods
As you can see from these photos, they pulled it off. The body paint scheme is done in the traditional black and white fashion. There is a regular light bar on top. The car retained the spot light on the drivers side seen on most police vehicles. However the badge on the door isn't quite so normal. It's a star badge with a doughnut in the center. Mmm.. Doughnuts. Yes, I'm thinking the doughnut reminds me of the doughnuts Homer Simpson likes. Personally I like the ones with pink icing and sprinkles too. Don't ya think the doughnut badge might be a little ironic for a cop car? Oh well. The car rides on 45/35/20 Toyo tires mounted on 20 inch gold Enzo spinning wire wheels. Between the wheels and doughnut logo one might think this isn't your typical cop car.
Interior Mods
Because it isn't, this cop car has all the workings of a mobile doughnut shop. The passenger and rear seats were removed to make room for the additional gear. Those components include a coffee maker, a fully functional doughnut machine and doughnut display case. The doughnut making mechanisms are all part of a real Belshaw Brothers doughnut machine and robot. The drivers side got a little bit of love as well. The driver seat was replaced with a custom Stitchcraft Interiors race seat. A full control panel overlay was constructed over the console part of the dash. You know for things like radio control toggle, siren/lights control toggle and yeah doughnut toggle.
Final Thoughts
This is one of our favorite projects on Monster Garage. I couldn't imagine someone getting pulled over by this vehicle would last without at least a chuckle. It's funny and humor-full for sure. Don't forget to take the time to thank your local officers for all their hard work. Monster Garage thanked these lucky officers with a boat load of free tools! Oh if you're wondering where this lucky car ended up, it was auctioned off at 2008 Scottsdale Barrett-Jackson auto auction. It has since been on exposition at doughnut conventions! What a life for this cruiser. Catch ya next time here at On Screen Cars. Where you never know what we're coming out with next!
For those who may have missed one of the greatest Ford Mustang commercials of all time. I've embedded a copy from YouTube. I know it might be a few years late. Especially for late Steve McQueen, whom passed a way in 1980. Using similar techniques used the in the movie Forest Gump, McQueen seems very much alive in this clip.
Field of Dreams
The premise of the clip is based on the popular movie Field of Dreams. Just like in Field of Dreams, a guy is over looking a cornfields with the notion "If you build it, they we come." Quickly a path is cut through the fields and a race track is paved. However instead of bringing back famous Baseball legends, McQueen came out to race a new 2005 Mustang GT. Clips from the movie Bullitt were used to recreate McQueens likeness.
Final Thoughts
As Babe Ruth (fictional quote) said in the movie Sandlot "Remember kid, there's heroes and there's legends. Heroes get remembered but legends never die, follow your heart kid, and you'll never go wrong. " Legends never die here at OnScreenCars.com! See ya next time!
This weekend teen action movie Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief debuted. My wife and I, plus some friends went and saw it. It's a must see if you're into Greek Mythology or a fan of the book series. There was a lot of sword battles and action. Not to mention a fair amount of On Screen Cars! Today I wanted to share one of the car findings from the film. Be forewarned! The text below contains some spoilers for those who have not seen the movie! Don't say I didn't warn ya!
Spoiler Alert!
During the movie the main character, Percy Jackson and friends travel across country to collect items to aid them in their quest. The team uses different vehicles along the way. One of them being a red and white, 1966 Ford F100 Pickup Truck. The truck was used at first to help take out Medusa. Whom according to Greek Mythology has the ability to turn people to stone. The team later uses the truck to drive to Nashville, then Las Vegas. I don't want to give away too many details.
Again the truck is a 1966 Ford F100. Ford produced this body style between 1961 and 1966. This era is the 4th Generation of the Ford F-Series Pickup. The front grill designs vary from year to year. The unique 1966 grill makes it really easy to determine the year of the truck. Not to mention the Twin I-Beam emblem logo as well. The Twin I-Beam suspension was only available for this body style between 1965 and 1966. The wheels are after-market. It has the stance of a 4x4 truck. But I don't see any hub locks. The two tone, red and white combination looks great on these trucks.
Final Thoughts
If you follow the story line the truck was driven at least a 1000 miles across the country by non-experienced drivers without any problems. I'm not saying that isn't possible. But with a vehicle that old and a trip that long without a hitch is a merit in itself. When you're using well maintained equipment, I guess anything is possible. Till Next time! Keep on trucking and watch out for Greek Myths! We'll keep bringing more On Screen Cars!
Update: See one of the other cars from Percy Jackson, a Maserati 4200 GT!
