Not always, but usually where there is a car chase, there is a car jump. The Gone in Sixty Seconds bridge jump is no exception. The film comes to a climax as Memphis Rains nears his delivery deadline. After being chased through town by Castlebeck and the LAPD, Memphis is confronted with what looks like a dead end. A car crash on the Vincent Thomas Bridge.
Memphis stops for a second to look for a way out. Memphis will do anything to save his baby brother. Ahead he spots a roll-back tow vehicle with the bed down. Perfect! A jump ramp. He jumps back into Eleanor to back up and prepare for jump. Castle Beck pulls up from behind thinking he's got his mouse. Memphis floors the GT 500 and bangs through the gears. The camera shows several angles, including a speedo shot approaching 100 mph. Memphis flys through the air and clears the crash scene while scraping the top of an ambulance. Memphis lands with a swerve or two. But he quickly gains control. How did they do it?
The Magic
If I were Castlebeck, I would have given up at this point. Memphis seems to be nearly unstoppable. The jump is amazing. Granted there's a quite bit of movie magic going on. The whole jump staged in three pieces. But it's still some what believable (at heart). At least three Eleanors were used for this jump alone. Not to mention a Computer Generated Graphics (CGI) version as well. Two cars were completely destroyed. One was loss in the initial part of the jump on the ramp. The second was lost on a long jump during the landing. A third car was suspended by wires for the in-flight shots. The CGI car filled in the gaps. All of the stunts performed in the film were coordinated by Johnny Martin . Johnny also did stunt work in films Live Free Die Hard, The Italian Job, and The Matrix Reloaded.
Vincent Thomas Bridge - Scene Site
Final Thoughts
Even though the jump is some what fake. I totally enjoyed it. I think it deserves mention in our Famous Jumps section. It will live on in the hearts of movie car fans every where. Even if it's cheesy. I did find a great remake someone did in Grand Theif Auto IV on YouTube. Take a look at the clip below. Muztang2 did a great job of putting this together. By the way. A piece of trivia for ya. The Vincent Thomas Bridge was also used in the filming of the original Gone in Sixty Seconds. Your job is to find where and when in the film. Comment to us your best answer. Till next time. Keep your Mustangs on the ground! See ya next time at OnScreenCars.com
Ahh the Mirth Mobile! The sky-blue 1976 AMC Pacer that belonged to Wayne and Garth in the movie Wayne's World. The movie that gave us hours of pop cultural phrases and references that would last through most of the late '80s and early '90s. Not! (just kid'n). The movie that taught us that being weird isn't a bad thing and that it doesn't matter what kinda car you drive. It just matters that you live to party! So party on guys, as we talk about the Mirth Mobile.
All About the Pacers
What was special about the Pacer? The Pacer is a Point A to Point B, basic transportation type car. AMC produced Pacers between 1975 and 1980. The no thrills base model only had about 90 horsepower. There was a V8 option for the Pacer, however due to the fuel crisis they were not in much demand. Let's face it the Pacer was built for fuel economy. Obviously the Pacer didn't make it long, due to its styling (bubble like), lack of power and low room for cargo or passengers.
Wayne's World AMC Pacer
What's special about Wayne and Garth's AMC Pacer? Well how many Pacers have you seen with a red licorice dispenser? In the first movie it shows Garth pulling a piece of string red licorice from a dispenser mounted on the head liner. Need a drink? No problem! Their Pacer had a full bar tap installed on the dash above the glove box. Need to jam down? At first the guys just had a in dash AM/FM Cassette Deck. But later in the movie they got their big break and Wayne splurged for a portable CD player with a cassette adapter. On the outside their Pacer wasn't just a regular run of the mill pacer either. It had mis-match wheels and tires. Not to mention a sweet little flame decal! Party On!
Final Thoughts
Next to Daisy Duke's 1980 AMC Golden Eagle Jeep CJ-7, the Mirth Mobile may be the most famous AMC featured in film or tv. If nothing else it wins the award for most famous AMC Pacer ever in film or tv! Being a child of the '80s and '90s, I don't know how many times I've watched Wayne's World. Not to mention how many times I sang the Wayne's World theme song. But I can tell ya that the Mirth Mobile wasn't high on my list of vehicles to own. Till next time, keep fighting for the right to party!
The first five episodes of the Dukes of Hazzard TV show were shot in Georgia during November 1978. A total of six Dodge Chargers were used for filming. These first General Lees were built by Warner Brothers and are identified by extra markings on their VIN tag (LEE1, LEE2 and LEE3). Above is a video of the first jump performed using the famous General Lee, labeled "LEE1". Here's your First Look at The General Lee!
LEE1 Before Dukes of Hazzard
As with most of the 321 General Lees used, LEE1 had a semi-short life on the show. Before Dukes of Hazzard, LEE1 was a Light Bronze Metallic (Mopar Paint Code T3) 1969 Dodge Charger with a black vinyl top. Under the hood packed 383 V8 backed up by a TorqueFlite automatic. LEE1 was equipped with air conditioning (A/C) and drum brakes on all corners. Experts say that LEE1 may have belonged to a college student somewhere in California, as there was a student parking decal found on the windshield.
Becoming a General Lee
Warner Brothers production crew made a lot of modifications to turn the Copper Charger into a General Lee. Most noticeable of course is the Hemi Orange paint job with the Confederate Flag on the top. Gone is the black vinyl top. Other details include the 01 number on the driver and passenger doors. A Radio Shack CB antenna and under the CB dash unit, kept the boys in constant contact with Uncle Jessie and the gang. The wheels are American Racing Vectors, 10 spoke. Can't forget about the black push bar on the front and the full roll cage in the cabin. Several pounds of concrete were added to the trunk to help keep the nose level on landing during jumps. Chrome strip on the rocker panels? Yep, chrome strips were only featured on the LEE1. They're very noticeable in the clip above.
After General Lee
LEE1 was reused later in the show in episode 4, "Repo Men". It was painted a dark blue/green color with a big "71" on the top and had Nascar sponsor decals on the side. The American Racing Vectors were replaced with gold painted steel rims. The sides of the car were banged in further to give the appearance of a battered race car. The car was portrayed as Richard Petty's "Tire Test Car." Then it was retired to a Georgia junkyard, where it would remain for over two decades before it would be resurrected. If it hadn't been for Dukes of Hazzard fans Travis Bell and Gary Schneider, it may still be there.
Back from the Dead
The two found the LEE1 in July of 2000. The car was a wreck, of course. But after it changed hands a few times, the car was completely restored. Precise measurements were made of all the artwork on the flag and side 01 logos. Then the car was media blasted and repainted it's original color Light Bronze Metallic and sprayed over with a cheap orange paint. All the artwork was redone by hand, every star pointing in the right direction. These guys wanted to stay true to the car's state before the first jump.
Final Thoughts
There are many General Lees, however there is only one LEE1. It's pretty interesting how people can come together and pool their resources to bring back a part of history. Some people would say it's just a another hunk of metal. But to the fans it's much more. Thanks for joining us for this First Look at the General Lee. Stay tuned for the next On Screen Cars!
January 2021 Update:
Travis Bell (the rebuilder of LEE1) appeared on VIN Wiki: Car Stories a while back with the complete story. Embed below.
Vincent Thomas Bridge - Scene Site
