Steve McQueen's lost 'Bullitt' car found and restored

[Bonn]

http://www.latimes.com/business/auto...306-story.html



Paramount-based body shop owner Ralph Garcia Jr., who has made a career building replicas of the “Eleanor” Mustang featured in the Nicolas Cage movie “Gone in 60 Seconds,” said he was contacted by an associate in Mexico. He had found a clean ‘68 Mustang fastback that he thought would be a good candidate for “Eleanor”-ization.
Ralph Garcia Jr., Kevin Marti and Hugo Sanchez pose in front of the reputed "Bullitt" car. (Ralph Garcia Jr.)



The associate, Hugo Sanchez, delivered the car to a shop Garcia owns in Mexicali, Mexico. It was scheduled for restoration when Sanchez called Garcia and told him that he had run the vehicle identification numbers on the car and discovered it was no ordinary Mustang.
“I was going to turn it into another ‘Eleanor’ car, but my partner Googled the VIN,” Garcia said. “That’s how he found out it was the ‘Bullitt’ car. He said, ‘You can’t touch it!’ ”
The pair later enlisted the expert opinion of Ford evaluator Kevin Marti, who gave the car his official seal of approval.
Though initially skeptical — “I see car fraud on a daily basis” — Marti asked Garcia for detailed photos of the car, then traveled to Mexicali to inspect it in person.“Then I was sure,” he said, after checking VIN stamps and specific aspects of the car that would likely be unknown to anyone attempting to pass off a regular Mustang as the “Bullitt” car.
Marti said there were two identical cars used in the filming of “Bullitt,” a “hero” car that was used for the casual driving scenes, and a “jumper” car that was used for the dramatic chases, some of which involve airborne launches.
“This is the jumper,” Marti said, based on documents obtained from the filming and alterations to the car’s suspension system.
Is this the car Steve McQueen drove in the car chase movie "Bullitt"? Two car restorers say it is, and have the backing of a respected car historian to prove it. (Ralph Garcia Jr.)




The “hero” car is also extant, Marti added, but a nondisclosure agreement prevented him from saying anything except that it is in the hands of a private party, somewhere in the southeastern U.S. (Published reports have speculated it’s in Kentucky.)
In the Warner Bros. film, directed by Peter Yates, McQueen’s police Lt. Frank Bullitt chases and is chased by bad guys across San Francisco. Forget your “Fast and Furious” and your “Gone in 60 Seconds,” the “Bullitt” car scenes are believed by many movie historians to be the best ever filmed.
Car historian and former Petersen Automotive Museum consultant Ken Gross, who called the car “the Holy Grail of the Mustang car crowd,” said the car could be worth $1 million at auction — if it is not proved inauthentic.
“This is certainly on the list of top 10 list of most desirable missing cars,” Gross said, right up there with the Porsche that actor James Dean was driving when he died.
Gross and Mustang builder Jason Engel, of the Oklahoma shop Classic Recreations, said the Marti seal of approval is key.
“If Kevin says this is it, I’ll back him,” Engel said. “He’s fanatical when it comes to the little details of these Mustangs.”
Garcia said the car’s not for sale, even though he’s had offers from private parties.
For now, Garcia said, the car is headed for a full restoration, and in the future could show up at a Barrett-Jackson or Mecum auction event.
“It’s been a blessing for me and my partner,” Garcia said. “We have a lot of plans for it.”
Unfortunately, Marti said, the value of the car has already been diminished by restoration work Garcia and Sanchez performed prior to his inspection, as it would have been worth more to true car aficionados in its raw, unrestored state.
“When I first spoke to [Garcia], I advised him to not do anything before the car was evaluated, but that advice was not taken,” Marti said. “That will detract from the value.”
One car expert warned that the value is also dropping fast as McQueen-era fans age out of the car collecting hobby.
“I know younger car collectors who’ve never even seen ‘Bullitt,’” said ClassicCars.com evaluator Andy Reid. “These guys better sell this car soon.”

[GTP534]

I remember when I watched that movie in the car chase, they were going down the hills in San Francisco but in the editing there was a Volkswagen Beetle that always seemed to be there keeping up with them!

[whitelion65]

Originally Posted by GTP534

I remember when I watched that movie in the car chase, they were going down the hills in San Francisco but in the editing there was a Volkswagen Beetle that always seemed to be there keeping up with them!

Number 53???

[bingoTE50]

Ive got Bullit on DVD. I wonder if they used more than one R/T Charger. They had trouble getting Mc Queen to slide/drift the car due to his racing experience, he found it foreign to him. They had to cut and reinsert action to prolong the car chase thats why the VW keeps on appearing.

[snowcone]

Why the repost?

[QLD-Bluey]

I wonder if it still has the 10 speed gearbox in it? LMAO

[Peter B - CV8]

Originally Posted by QLD-Bluey

I wonder if it still has the 10 speed gearbox in it? LMAO

And the tyres that squeal & screech in the dirt....

[jaydee]

Strap yourself in and crank up the sound.



Not even Steve McQueen would change gears mid corner, 8 min mark.
Mustangs are a dime a dozen, wheres the Charger ?( not the fake one they blew up)

[Bonn]

Originally Posted by snowcone

Why the repost?

No such thing as too many Bullit posts

[Bonn]

Originally Posted by jaydee

Strap yourself in and crank up the sound.



Not even Steve McQueen would change gears mid corner, 8 min mark.
Mustangs are a dime a dozen, wheres the Charger ?( not the fake one they blew up)

The Bad Guy driving looks like Roland Dane

[Kingsley]

For those who remember this particular Charger from another famous movie chase. Authenticity subject to debate. Elderly owner refuses inspection and will not sell.

[roddy1960]

G'day ...How many "the General " Dodge Chargers did they wreck in the Dukes of Hazzard I wonder ? "You got your ears on Enos , C'mon , Yekk , yekk , yekk...( Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrain here ".... Oh Daisy Duke and those high shorts and low cut tops )..Johnny Cash even did a song about it.. Here it is ..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0m0hTrtlWM and Waylon Jennings did one too that featured General Lee a bit .. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qogVHlmFcx0#t=33.002311 AND sweet sweet Daisy.....Maybe there needed to be a song about Steve McQueens Bullitt Mustang...
Cheers Rod

[Fairlane 500]

Originally Posted by Darren290

For those who remember this particular Charger from another famous movie chase. Authenticity subject to debate. Elderly owner refuses inspection and will not sell.

Need to get that turkey under cover.

Surely that couldn't be just left sitting out in the weather.

I wonder if it ever actually had 938 DAN plates?

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by Bonn

The Bad Guy driving looks like Roland Dane

G'day , Yep , He bloody does.
On the Charger , what about our own http://www.e55chargers.com/e55-charg...argers-rt-e49/
They were a looker ..and you can see the obvious family resemblance to the Dodge Charger..
I think the Challenger was around then too and still is and the Hellcat is likely to be sold in OZ..527 Kw no less and around $200,000 converted to RHD..Imagine a Mustang GT350 taking on a Hellcat in a remake of Bullitt..Would be great ..Cheers Rod..

[Blue Roo]

Originally Posted by Darren290

For those who remember this particular Charger from another famous movie chase. Authenticity subject to debate. Elderly owner refuses inspection and will not sell.

The movie was Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry. And what a waste of a 1969 Charger sitting in some ones backyard, rusting away.

[arronm]

[QUOTE=roddy1960;5896048
I think the Challenger was around then too and still is and the Hellcat is likely to be sold in OZ..527 Kw no less and around $200,000 converted to RHD..Imagine a Mustang GT350 taking on a Hellcat in a remake of Bullitt..Would be great ..Cheers Rod..[/QUOTE]

Check out the VW bug. Just like the original

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FFbi6A_ZDOc

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by arronm

Check out the VW bug. Just like the original

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FFbi6A_ZDOc

G'day arronm...Thanks...I've never seen that before...Wow..
It was fabulous ...The VW was pretty darn cool too....
Tell you what . that Mustang looks meaner to me than the newest one...
Great clip....Cheers Rod...

[Lunch]

Goes to show that that vw is just as iconic as the chase scene itself. Awesome remake, that running style at the end though...

[deesun]

Originally Posted by Blue Roo

The movie was Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry. And what a waste of a 1969 Charger sitting in some ones backyard, rusting away.

As a young kid I loved that movie.