FE Power Forums > Drag Week 2015

Roadkill magazine

(1/2) > >>

thatdarncat:
While checking out the magazine stand the other day I came across an issue of Roadkill magazine issue #2 ( winter 2016 ) with some coverage of Dragweek 2015. Being Roadkill it tends toward the carnage and road weary. No photos of Jay, Joel or I, we must not be Roadkill worthy and I guess I'm ok with that lol. Some good photos of competitor Mike Peevey's '73 Ranchero and it's 572 cube Jon Kaase nitrous'd 460 and some pictures of Tom Bailey's Unlimited winning car and other participants that weren't used in Hot Rod. Main cover article in the magazine is an article on the vehicles of this past summers Mad Max film. Elsewhere in the issue there is an article on the making of the 1976 movie Gumball Rally with plenty of pictures of the real 427 Cobra used in the movie, but not much else Ford oriented. My advice is, at $9.99,  just check the magazine out at the newsstand unless you're a real Dragweek hardcore.

cjshaker:
Gumball Rally is one of my all-time favorite car movies, along with American Graffiti. The shots of the Cobra racing the Ferrari and Milner's coupe racing Falfa's '55 were forever ingrained in my  brain! I always tried to find out more about that Cobra, but info always seemed hard to find.

thatdarncat:
Well Doug, I can help with more info lol. I too love Gumball Rally. Being a life long fan of Shelbys and Cobras I joined the Shelby American Auto Club ( SAAC ) back when I was still in high school. At the time SAAC had a 6 times a year club magazine "The Marque" and there was an article ( Feb-Mar 1977 ) written by the owner of one of the two 427 Cobras used in the film on his experience that was very interesting. I don't have a scanner at home and my attempt to photograph the article didn't work well. The owner who wrote the article was Duane Bowers and his Cobra was CSX 3255. He purchased the car in 1971 and it had been restored before he was contacted by Warner Bros. Another Cobra owner had first been contacted by the studio, but they turned down having their Cobra used. Warner Bros. initially asked Duane if he was interested in selling his car to the studio, but he declined. He did agree to rent the car to them. Two identical Cobras were needed so that production wouldn't have to be shut down if something happened to one of the cars. The second 427 Cobra used was CSX 3243 and it belonged to Les Lindley ( It still does according to the registry ). Both cars were painted before shooting to look identical. The studio had the cars for 4 months of filming and they both endured various damage, both mechanical and body damage. Duane's car suffered 2 blown engines. The article details that, per their contract, the studio paid for all repairs by the car owners shop of choice and the cars were repainted again after filming. Both Duane & Les said they were happy with the experience. Duane sold his car in the early eighties and it has been through a few owners since. Looking back in time from now in 2016 it's interesting to think back to a time when real 427 Cobras would be used this way and that owners would agree to it, but it's nice they did and we have it immortalized on film. By the way, did everyone know it was a real 427 Cobra used in The Hollywoods Knights too?

jayb:
Kevin, why don't you stop by some time with that article from the Marque and I'll scan it for you - Jay

cjshaker:
Thanks for that great story, Kevin! I had learned a little about the 2 in Gumball Rally after scanning some posts in the Cobra forums, but never could find the back story about them. I'm pretty sure their whereabouts are still known, but they seem to be hid pretty well these days (as are most real Cobras). It IS hard to imagine "renting" your Cobra to a movie shoot, knowing how those cars are always treated, even before the value skyrocketed! I always cringe during some of the scenes in the floodway, but when the Cobra and Ferrari come out of it and onto the highway, they really get on them....and once that Cobra hits 2nd gear, he passes that Ferrari like it's standing still! I always knew, even as a kid, that those Cobra's were real because that was before the quality kit cars were even available. Thanks again for taking the time to write that up.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page