When cult classic movie Two-Lane Blacktop was released in 1971 who could have guessed that a 1955 Chevy 150, which was one of two cars featured in the movie (the other was a 1970 Pontiac GTO), would generate so much interest nearly 45 years later. And last week at an Arizona auction one of the three 1955 cars built for that movie would sell for xxx,xxx?
There is lots of wrong information about these 55's and their links to another classic movie, American Graffiti, so first let's clear up some facts. There were three 1955's built for Two-Lane Blacktop; the first was used when the filmmakers wanted a shot showing the exterior of the car. The second movie car, the interior car, was used when the film shot scenes of the actors inside the car. A third car was built for a final scene and was designed to crash and rollover, but the script was changed and that car was never crashed.
After the movie was filmed, the interior car was sold off by the producers. The remaining exterior car gained fame when Harrison Ford drove it in American Graffiti. And the ‘55 designed for the rollover scene got its chance finally at the end of American Graffiti. To add to the lore, American Graffiti actually had an additional 1955 Chevy that they used after the rollover and was filmed on fire.
The two 55's that were in the crash scene of American Graffiti were eventually scrapped and are not in existence. The ‘55 Chevy that was the star of American Graffiti eventually made its way to Maryland and that is where Walt Bailey of Frederick, MD gets involved in finding the interior car from Two-Lane Blacktop.
Walt Bailey actually owned a green ‘55 Chevy in his youth and when the movie first came out, saw it with his buddies. That started his interest in the movie and he remembers later watching it on the SPEED Channel as part of their "Lost Drive In" features. Before DVD's and everything being offered on the Internet, Bailey couldn't get his own copy until someone at SPEED burnt him a copy.
Bailey's interest in the cars resurfaced when the owner of the American Graffiti car lived in Maryland and started showing it at car shows where Bailey was at. In 1997 Bailey found an article in a 1983 Car Craft magazine that showed the GTO and two 55's together. In reading the article, Bailey learned about the filmmakers having both an interior and exterior car. Bailey wrote the author, Jeff Smith, an update explaining how the American Graffiti car was then in Maryland.
It seems nobody had any idea where the interior car went to, until Smith received a letter from a Canadian who "thought" he had the American Graffiti car, but later turned out to be the interior movie car from Two-Lane Blacktop. Smith put Bailey in contact with the owner and in due time a deal was struck in 2001 and Bailey became the owner of this icon.
But before sealing the deal, Bailey had contacted the original car builder Richard Ruth and verified key pieces of the car that would be present on the original car. The car had special mounts in place for the cameras and other unique features that Ruth designed for the film. Ruth later examined the car and has certified that this was the interior car from the movie.
But the car had been drastically changed since the movie was shot. The fiberglass doors had been replaced with steel replacements. The front end had been replaced with a Camaro front clip. Bailey finally located a firm in Washington that could sell him a vintage set of American Racing 200's wheels.
It took Bailey five years to get the restored ‘55 Chevy to how it looked in 1971 for the movie. Ruth provided a replacement front end and offered his guidance and suggestions on what needed to be done. Bailey, through a stroke of luck, was even able to locate the original fiberglass doors in Canada. Finally, in 2006 it was done cosmetically.
Bailey actually had a goal to let James Taylor, the singer/actor, who drove the car in the movie, get to see his restoration and finally in 2009 they were able to meet and bring closure for Bailey. Bailey stated he often gets questions about whether it is a replica or the real movie car, and fans often think it was part of the American Graffiti movie too.
Bailey estimated that he has shown it at 50-60 major national shows and finally "It's time" to sell it and let someone else enjoy the car. But Bailey has always been a car guy and still has a red 1963 Corvette convertible, that is a numbers matching car with 117,000 miles on it. Plus, his next task is retrieving his granddad's 1953 Plymouth and restoring that. So Bailey won't have much rest after selling the Chevy from Two Lane Blacktop. The car sold on Saturday afternoon for $159,500 (with 10% buyer's commission).