Restomods At The Movies: Top 10 Badass Modded Cars In TV And Film

June 26, 2018

#4: American Graffiti’s 1932 Ford Coupe

Hey, you know when I said I was done talking about American Graffiti? I lied. Anyway, I’ve got a good reason for coming back to it, and that is that it’s chock full of amazing cars. We already talked about the Chevy 150, and now it’s time to focus on a more classic-looking rod from the movie. John Milner, played by Paul Le Mat, is the town’s racing king, and good lord does he have the car to match it.

A more recent picture of the Deuce. [Via Rod Authority.]

This Deuce was bought by Gary Kurtz for $1300, but it didn’t just roll off the forecourt and onto the screen. The top had already been chopped by three inches, but it was painted in primer with red fenders, and would need a lot of work done to it. The car was taken to Bob Hamilton’s shop in Ignacio, California, where it was fitted with motorcycle fenders up front and bobbed rear fenders, as hot rodders had done to circumvent vehicle laws. The headlight stanchions were remade in aluminum, a dropped I-Beam axle was fitted, and the shell was sectioned. It was given a lick of Canary Yellow paint by Orlandi’s Body Shop in San Rafael, before having work done on its 327 small-block Chevy by Johnny Franklin’s Muffler Shop, Santa Rosa. There, the crew fitted a Man-A-Fre intake manifold, four twin-barrel carbs, new heads, and sprint-style exhausts. It eventually wound up in the hands of American Graffiti fan Rick Figari, who had the car restored and still takes it to shows to this day.

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