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The American Graffiti Coupe … The Good Old Days

By Brian Brennan

History. That conjures up all sorts of thoughts as everyone and everything has its “history.” And the world of hot rodding is no different. However, early history is based on the actions before World War II, and then there is modern hot rodding where it becomes fun. It is often credited with starting in the early ’70s through a movie that came out in the early ’70s about the summer of 1962 in Modesto, California (central California), about 70 miles south of San Francisco. The movie was American Graffiti, and the car is the brilliant yellow ’32 Ford five-window coupe–the Milner coupe, as it is so often called.

Call the movie what you wish–coming of age, a summer of fun, a documentary of graduating high school students—still, there’s no denying it lit a fire under many current and future hot rodders. The movie was loaded with soon-to-become famous Hollywood types–from both sides of the camera. Our leather jacket–wearing anti-hero was John Milner (played by Paul Le Mat), who drove the 1932 Ford coupe dressed in bobbed front and rear fenders; it’s technically not a highboy coupe, but that’s what it was (and still is).

02 american graffiti cars 1932 ford coupe 1955 chevy
Two of the most famous cars from the movie American Graffiti are the 1932 coupe and the 1955 Chevy driven by a budding movie star Harrison Ford.

The story goes that the movie producer Gary Kurtz, a George Lucas film, purchased the car for around $300, and the Deuce five-window had fenders initially. Still, the Lucas studios removed the fenders and gave the car much more attitude. The studio was also responsible for the sectioned grille, bobbed rear fenders, and cycle fronts to go along with the new 327 outfitted Man-a-Fre four two-barrel intake with Rochester carbs, what appear to be Cal Custom valve covers, custom headers, and a Crane Cam ’stick reminiscent of a Duntov 30/30; popularly called a “fuelie cam.” The studio also took the red Deuce and painted it brilliant yellow, which has become the iconic color it is. From here, they installed a 1957 Chevy rearend with 4.11 gears, and the frontend was dressed in a chrome I-beam axle and tube shocks. Ushering the power rearward was a BorgWarner T-10 four-speed manual trans utilizing a Hurst shifter that was topped off with a “piston” shift knob.

There were three other notable cars in the movie: the 1955 Chevy (from the movie Two-Lane Blacktop, driven by Bob Falfa, played by a 30-year-old Harrison Ford), the mild custom white with red scallops 1958 Chevy Impala (driven by a much younger Ron Howard), and, of course, the 1951 Merc custom. Although the part was small, who can forget the 1956 Ford T-bird driven by the mysterious blonde (Suzanne Somers)?

Well, this movie launched many of our careers and hobbies. We are forever grateful to George Lucas, the movie American Graffiti, and the little five-window coupe (still owned by Rick Figari of NorCal who purchased the car in 1986). A complete story on the Graffiti coupe can be found in Pat Ganahl’s May ’76 Street Rodder. MR

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