JD'S Memes

After filming American Graffiti, transportation manager Henry Travers sold Steve’s '58 Impala via a classified ad in the San Francisco Chronicle. A local teenager bought it for $285, and on the way home, the brakes failed, and one of the taillights fell off. The owner kept the car until 2015, when it went to auction and was purchased by NASCAR personality and racing commentator Ray Evernham. Evernham had the car restored to its as-filmed appearance, and the renewed Impala made its public debut at the 2016 SEMA show.
The character Bob Falfa, played by Harrison Ford, drove a '55 Chevy in the film, challenging reigning drag racer Milner. Three black ’55 Chevys were used, including a junkyard find for the crash scene and two others. These cars had previously appeared in the film Two Lane Blacktop. One had a 454-cu.in. V-8 and a Turbo Hydra-Matic 400, while the other was powered by a 427 cu.in. V-8 paired with a Muncie M-22 transmission. During the race scene, the car’s axle broke, and in a second take, the replacement axle broke as well. Only one of the ’55 Chevys remains, and for a time was owned by the same Kansas collector who had the ’32 Deuce coupe. It later went to an owner in Maryland, who restored the car to show condition, though it was extensively changed from its appearance in the film.
In total, some 300 cars were used in filming American Graffiti. Local vintage-car owners were paid $20 to $25 per night (reports vary), plus food, to lend their vehicles to the production.
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