American Graffiti Page

THE HISTORY

The story of the American Graffiti '55 Chevy began in 1970 when three 1955 Chevy 150 sedans were built for the 1971 movie Two-Lane Blacktop by Richard Ruth of Competition Engineering in Sunland, California (Jay Eshbach sent in information in 2010 that the cars were built before Ruth moved the shop to Sunland, when it was located at 8217 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood.)

Ruth patterned the cars after his own big-block '55 Chevy street racer after Two-Lane Blacktop/American Graffiti/Star Wars producer Gary Kurtz went street racing with Ruth while preparing for Two-Lane Blacktop. After that evening, Kurtz ordered two cars just like Ruth's '55 and a third '55 to be used as a stunt car.

While Ruth was building the '55s, the studio arranged for General Motors to deliver three big block crate motors to his shop. One of the '55s received a leftover 1969 L-88 427 Chevy big block while the other two were equipped with the new 454s. Ruth installed a Weiand tunnel ram with dual Holleys on the two main cars, and a single four barrel on the stunt car. The stunt car had a full rollcage and was equipped with a Ruth-designed right and left braking system so it could be intentionally thrown into a skid and rolled over for a scheduled rollover scene.

Ruth delivered all three cars to the studio painted powder blue, but the studio had them finished with a gray primer appearance to fit the persona of the drag racers played by James Taylor and Dennis Wilson. The studio equipped one of the two main cars with brackets to support the cameras for filming interior shots while the actors were driving. The other main car was used for the exterior shots of the car on the road.

All three cars were used during the cross-country shoot on Two-Lane Blacktop and appear in the film to sharp-eyed observers. The original script called for the '55 to roll over as it swerves to avoid a car wreck between a station wagon and a truck. Instead, the driver just ran off the road and did not roll over. Ruth surmises the film crew did not include anyone with the skills necessary to roll the car over exactly as needed in one take using his right/left braking setup. Since it had not  been rolled over as scheduled, the stunt car stayed with the film crew for the entire filming from Los Angeles to the Great Smokey Mountains.

When filming on Two-Lane Blacktop was completed, the three '55 Chevys were relegated to the Universal Studios prop car storage lot. A studio mechanic spotted the three '55 Chevy hot rods on the back lot and bought the camera car since it was in the best condition of the three. He pulled out the Chevy big block for use in a boat and his son ended up with the car. The son repainted the car white with a candy-colored stripe down the sides and over the back, dropped in another 454, and drove it to high school as a daily driver.

The car saw movie duty again when, during filming of Smokey and the Bandit, it was used to record motor sounds that were dubbed in for the TransAm.   The '55 was sold to a new owner and it then passed through a succession of owners until 2000 when it was located in Canada. It has since returned to the United States where it has been returned to the on-screen appearance with most of its original components intact - including some of the original camera mounting brackets that had been welded to the frame.

While preparing for American Graffiti, transportation supervisor Henry Travers picked up the two remaining Two-Lane Blacktop '55 Chevys from the studio storage lot. He had both cars painted black and removed the left/right braking system on the stunt car so it could be driven as a "camera car" because it had an automatic transmission and would drive more smoothly for any close-ups of the actors inside the car.

The stunt car was used in the crash scene at the end of American Graffiti where it was towed for the rollover. Travers brought in a non-running, salvage yard '55 to use as the "burn" car. The burn car was actually a 2-door hardtop with a piece of wood fastened in place to give the appearance of a 2-door post. As soon as the scene was finished, the burn car was sent back to the salvage yard.

After filming on American Graffiti was finished, the inventory of studio-owned cars was assigned to Travers for disposal. He removed the drive train and front sheet metal from the stunt car and sold the remains to a California stock car racer who was interested in the battered car since it had a full roll cage. The racer stored the car in a friend's salvage yard where it sat for several years. Due to a zoning dispute, the salvage yard was eventually forced to clear out some of the inventory and the remains of the stunt car was sent to the crusher. T

​he other '55 Chevy sat in Henry Travers' front yard for over a year before it was eventually sold to Sam Crawford, who owned it when it was featured in a May 1976 issue of Street Rodder magazine with other notable "Graffiti" cars. 

​

Steve Fitch of Wichita, Kansas bought the Graffiti '55 from Crawford in the late 1970s. Fitch later bought the yellow '32 Ford Coupe driven by Paul LeMat's character "John Milner" in a sealed bid sale from the studio after More American Graffiti was completed. He owned both cars when he and the two most famous cars from American Graffiti were profiled in an October 1983 Car Craft magazine article. Fitch did a meticulous, detailed restoration of the '55 to American Graffiti trim, and is credited with preserving the Coupe in as-is condition from the filming. 

When Fitch later put both cars up for sale, the '55 wound up in Maryland in the hands of the current owner, Wayne Newsom, and the '32 Coupe returned to the San Francisco area with Rick Figari. The '32 Coupe has continued to be carefully preserved by Figari and many "movie prop" features on the car are still visible - such as holes drilled in the  frame and brackets welded on for the camera mounts. Figari is committed to preserving the Coupe because, in his view, it will only be original once. 

• In both movies, and today, the car has distinctive radiused rear wheel wells.

• In Two-Lane Blacktop, the car's trunk was lift-off fiberglass and held in place with "hood pins" on the upper corners and in the center of the lower edge below the trunk emblem. In American Graffiti, the pins can still be seen on the car. The trunk on the car is now hinged, but the original brackets used to mount the pins are still in place on the top corners and the spots where the holes in the trunk lid were filled are still visible if you look closely.
  
  

• In both movies, you can see the tube front axle and chrome radius rods under the front of the car. In the magazine articles, the car is shown with the tube axle, the the 4-link setup, and the coil-over suspension. The car still has the same axle, which was custom built by Richard Ruth, although the other components have been changed.
  
  

• In Two-Lane Blacktop, there are several good shots of the big block 427 engine, the Weiand tunnel ram, and the headers. The Street Rodder and Car Craft articles also show the engine and headers. There were no shots of the engine compartment in American Graffiti, most likely because the film was set in 1962 and the only big block Chevrolet engine then available was the 409. The car is thought to still have the same L-88 427 engine, and is still equipped with the headers that were fabricated by Richard Ruth and are unique to the car, although the original Weiand tunnel ram and the hydraulic throttle linkage installed by Ruth have disappeared.
  
  

• In Two Lane Blacktop the car had front bucket seats, a white headliner, fiberglass doors with sliding plexiglass windows, a roll bar, and no rear seat. In American Graffiti , the bucket seats were replaced with a bench seat, the fiberglass doors and plexiglass windows were replaced with stock steel doors and rollup windows, the roll bar was still in place, the headliner was still white, and the rear seat area was covered with a white "tonneau" cover from the top of the bench seat to the package tray. The original old-style Covico three-spoke steering wheel is clearly visible, too. The car's current interior represents the biggest change from the car as seen in the two movies. The car now has a full red/gray leather interior, the steel doors are equipped with power windows, the roll bar is gone, a stock '55 steering wheel has replaced the Covico wheel, and Bel Air trim and gauges have been added to the dash. 

• In the 1983 Car Craft magazine article, the '55 is pictured with the Kansas license plate "GRAF 55." The plate is still on the car since it has never been titled or licensed in Maryland.
  
  

• In Two-Lane Blacktop there is a gas station scene in which the attendant is seen filling the gas tank after the fiberglass trunk lid was removed. The gas tank filler neck was accessed through a hole cut in the floor of the trunk on the driver's side close to the rear bumper. That hole is still there, but covered by a sheet metal plate that has been fastened to the floor of the trunk from underneath. Richard Ruth also appeared in this scene. He’s the mechanic wearing the Glendale Speed Center T-shirt who strolled out to look at the car.

Although many changes have been made to the '55 since its days as a movie prop, Richard Ruth has examined detailed photos of the car and has verified that the car is one of the originals that he built for Two-Lane Blacktop and went on to fame as Falfa's American Graffiti '55 Chevy. 

Guide to the three Two-Lane Blacktop/American Graffiti '55 Chevrolets 

• Main Car 1 - Equipped with a 427 crate motor, M-22 Muncie, 4.88 Olds rear, fiberglass front end, doors, and trunk lid, straight axle front suspension when built. Used for exterior shots in Two-Lane Blacktop, modified for American Graffiti. 

• Main Car 2 - Equipped with a 454 crate motor, M-22 Muncie, 4.88 Olds rear, fiberglass front end, doors, and trunk lid, straight axle front suspension when built. Used only in Two-Lane Blacktop for interior scenes. 

• Stunt Car - All steel-bodied car equipped with a 454 crate motor, TH 400 automatic, Olds rear of unknown gearing. Used Two-Lane Blacktop, modified for American Graffiti. Crushed in the late 1970s.

• Visit the Two-Lane Blacktop Home Page for more information!

Article ©1998-2005. Walt Bailey. 

Revised 2005 after interviews with Richard Ruth, Henry Travers, Steve Fitch, and Two-Lane Blacktop and American Graffiti production crew members. 

Revised again in 2010 by Kathy Schrock with information from Jay Eshbach.

THE HISTORY

Mike and Sandra Famalette, from Washington state, are the owners of the '58 Chevrolet Impala (Steve Bolander's car) from the movie. Sandra writes: "Mike purchased the '58 from Henry Travers who was working for Lucas Films. In 1972, before the movie was released, Mike had seen an ad in the San Francisco Chronicle for a car auction for movie cars and Mike had already been looking for his first car. So Mike and his father went to Sonoma. They were the only two there and Mike's dad was not too happy with his son purchasing this car because it was not in good shape. In fact, one of the puttied-in Caddy taillights fell off just before getting home and he ran a stop sign because the brakes didn't work. Mike drove the car to high school."

"In 1974, Mike joined the Marine Corps and the '58 was parked in his parents' garage. It wasn't until our daughter, Ashley, was looking for a senior project that she thought about the car. At her high school, the seniors have to choose a project that is a stretch from the normal things they do and there has to be a related topic to write a paper about. Since Mike was helping, she choose "the importance of a positive father influence on his daughter."

"We were so happy when she came up with the idea to remove and replace the engine of the car as her project. In the summer of 2002, Mike, Ashley, and our son, Matt, went down to California and pulled it out of the garage for the first time since 1974 and brought it back to Washington. Ashley finished her project and got an A, but the '58 still was not running."

"The local Spokane paper, the Spokesman-Review, has a column that runs on Saturdays called My Favorite Car. Mike had sent them some information and pictures of the '58. We missed seeing the article, but John Soloman had seen it. John went through a lot to try to get in touch with Mike, but came up empty every time. Then, one day, John showed up at our house when Mike was not home. He started to tell me that he was in charge of promoting of the Late Great Chevy 2004 show in Coeur D'Alene in August 2004 and that he would like us to bring our car. I called Mike and John went through his story again. Mike wanted to bring the car but only if it was drivable. So John Solomon, Bob Bushnell, and Larry Fitzgerald helped with the final completion."

"Many other people helped out through the years. Rick Blackstock and a Marine buddy, Chris Gilbreath, were the first to help, and Todd Johnson, my daughter Ashley's automotive mentor during her senior project also helped. The car was originally brought home with a tired 348 four-barrel and a 3-speed transmission. It was replaced with a 283 and a 2-speed Powerglide. The next engine change was a 350 LT1, and it now has a 348 Tri-Power with a 3-speed turbo hydro. Mike has owned it for a very long time. The car has never been a show car and always been more of a movie prop. In fact most of the '58 replicas look much nicer than our original movie car, but we like it a lot, none the else." Note received August 1, 2004

Article and photos ©2004 Sandra and Mike Famalette

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkH1YW9MG2g

American Graffiti was filmed in both Petaluma and San Rafael, California, although the filmed was inspired by George Lucas' teen years growing up in Modesto, California.

Each year, in May, Petaluma holds a large American Graffiti Tribute and car show, so the map above was available that helped me locate the spots around town and nearby. 

In October of 2013, I visited Petaluma, CA, and attempted to locate the present-day locations of many of the scenes in American Graffiti. My favorite part of the day was being driven down Paradise Road, while watching the scene from the movie on my iPhone, and listening to Green Onions play on a CD!

American Graffiti also has a connection to Modesto, California, where George Lucas grew up. The movie is based on the life and times of a teen growing up and is set n 1962.

A nonprofit group has acquired a 45,000 square foot building and campus located on the old “Historic US99", less than a mile from the original Burge’s Drive In, the legendary turn around point in the Modesto Cruise Route in the late 50s and early 60s.

The Graffiti USA Museum showcases a vintage exterior, complete with an operating replica classic diner, inviting visitors inside for an immersive Graffiti USA experience, taking the visitor back in time to 1962, and bringing the nights of the cruise to life.

Find out more here: https://graffitiusamuseum.com/

Franklin Mint 1:24 '32 Deuce Coupe Replica

​

On July 12, 1999, I received a note from Rick Figari, the present owner of the 1932 Ford Coupe.

He stated, " As for collectibles, the Franklin Mint photographers and engineers recently spent four days at my home photographing, measuring and drawing the coupe. They are due to release a limited edition, 1:24th scale model of the car which will come in a glass case with a copy of the video. Also Revell/Monogram is planing to release a model of the coupe in diecast in 1:25th scale."

It was released in 2001, but has been discontinued. You can find out more about it here and probably find one for sale on eBay every now and then!

MORE AMERICAN GRAFFITI

A follow-up movie, More American Graffiti, was released  on August 3, 1979.  You can see a preview here.

​A description of the plot is on that preview page and it reads:

"Ron Howard, Cindy Williams, Charles Martin Smith and Paul Le Mat return in this laugh-filled follow-up look into the lives of the gang from George Lucas' original coming-of-age classic, American Graffiti.

Set a few years later, the film traces the continuing hopes, dreams and romances of these high school friends. Gone are the sock hops, cruise nights and make-out spots. Now it's all about campus parties, love-ins and peace rallies - as these friends find themselves in the midst of the amazing era that was the mid-60s.

Featuring a timeless soundtrack loaded with the period's greatest hits by Bob Dylan, Donovan, Simon and Garfunkel, The Byrds, The Doors and more, it's a story sure to evoke memories of a time when becoming an adult meant laughing, crying and savoring old friendships."

DISCOGRAPHIES

AMERICAN GRAFFITI

Title : 41 Hits From the Soundtrack of American Graffiti ©1973

Publisher : MCA Records / Double LP : MCA2-8001 (CD : MCAD2-8001)

Side 1 of 4 (Record 1)

1. (We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock : Bill Haley and His Comets (2:08)

2. Sixteen Candles : The Crests (2:48)

3. Runaway : Del Shannon (2:18)

4. Why Do Fools Fall in Love : Frankie Lyman and the Teenagers (2:14)

5. That'll Be the Day : Buddy Holly (2:14)

6. Fanny Mae : Buster Brown (2:52)

7. At the Hop : Flash Cadillac and the Continental Kids (2:25)

8. She's So Fine : Flash Cadillac and the Continental Kids (2:18)

9. The Stroll : The Diamonds (2:26)

10. See You in September : The Tempos (2:03)

Side 2 of 4 (Record 2)

1. Surfin' Safari : The Beach Boys (2:05)

2. He's the The Great Imposter : The Fleetwoods (1:33)

3. Almost Grown : Chuck Barry (2:09)

4. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes : The Platters (2:37)

5. Little Darlin' : The Diamonds (2:04)

6. Peppermint Twist : Joey Dee and the Starlighters (1:58)

7. Barbara Ann : The Regents (2:14)

8. Book of Love : The Monotones (2:17)

9. Maybe Baby : Buddy Holly (2:01)

10. Ya Ya : Lee Dorsey (2:22)

11. The Great Pretender : The Platters (2:35)

Side 3 of 4 (Record 2)

1. Ain't That a Shame : Fats Domino (2:31)

2. Johnny B. Goode : Chuck Berry (2:38)

3. I Only Have Eyes for You : The Flamingos (3:09)

4. Get A Job : The Silhouettes (2:37)

5. To The Aisle : The Five Satins (2:44)

6. Do You Wanna Dance : Bobby Freeman (2:35)

7. Party Doll : Buddy Knox (1:54)

8. Come Go With Me : The Del-Vikings (2:37)

9. You're Sixteen-You're Beautiful (And You're Mine) : Johnny Burnette (1:56)

10. Love Potion No. 9 : The Clovers (1:53)

Side 4 of 4 (Record 1)

1. Since I Don't Have You : The Skyliners (2:35)

2. Chantilly Lace : The Big Bopper (2:21)

3. Teen Angel : Mark Dinning (2:35)

4. Crying in the Chapel : Sonny Till and the Orioles (3:04)

5. A Thousand Miles Away : The Heartbeats (2:25)

6. Heart and Soul : The Cleftones (1:49)

7. Green Onions : Booker T. and the M.G.'s (2:25)

8. Only You (And You Alone) : The Platters (2:35)

9. Goodnight, Well It's Time to Go : The Spaniels (2:43)

10. All Summer Long : The Beach Boys (2:05)

AMERICAN GRAFFITI TRIVIA AND LINKS

What movie had the police car destruction scene from American Graffiti as the in-flight movie on a airplane? Airport 1975 

MORE MOVIE INFORMATION

Dusty Rhodes, LtCol, USAF/Ret, contributed this bit of information:

"Not sure how interested you are, but did you know that several of the extras in the movie were young Airmen from Hamilton AFB?

I was the Information Officer at Hamilton AFB in Novato, CA in 1972. I received a call from a casting director concerning getting some young men to appear in a movie they were filming in San Rafael, CA, which is adjacent to the base. San Rafael is where the street scenes were shot, between midnight and about 3 AM. It seems that none of the actors in the local area were willing to cut their hair for a "period piece" from the 60's, so they thought about active duty military. I put the pitch out in the base newspaper and several young men took the offer. They had to take "leave" to work in the movie, but they were paid and got a real kick out of it...but none of them had ever heard of anyone who was in the movie. How fleeting fame."

American Graffiti Trivia - #1

(Originally from the Movies Trivia FAQ) ©1993 Murray Chapman

• License plate on John Milner's (Paul LeMat) car is "THX-138''. THX 1138 is a film also directed by George Lucas.

• There is a rumor that while George Lucas and a co-worker were editing the film, the co-worker asked Lucas for "Reel Two, Dialog Two'', which abbreviated to "R2D2'', a name which surfaced in Lucas' later film Star Wars.

American Graffiti Trivia - #2

• Carol's (Mackenzie Phillips') t-shirt says "Surfboards by Dewey Weber".

• The name of the airline that carries Kurt (Richard Dreyfuss) away is "Magic Carpet Airlines".

• American Graffiti was filmed in only 28 days in the San Francisco Bay area.

• There were about 300 pre-1962 cars used in the film.

1973 Academy Award Nominations

• American Graffiti nominated for Best Picture.

• Candy Clark nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

• George Lucas nominated for Best Director.

• Gloria Katz and William Huyck nominated for Best Screenplay.

• Verna Fields and Marcia Lucas nominated for Best Film Editing.

Some famous lines from the movie...

• "Do you want to end up like John? You can't stay 17 forever." - Steve to Curt

• "I'll love and protect this car until death do us part." - Terry to Steve

• "I just love the feel of tuck and roll upholstery." - Debbie to Terry

• "I was a dirty bird. Carol's not grungy, she's bitchin'." - John to Carol

• "Rock 'n roll's been going downhill ever since Buddy Holly died." - John to Carol

• "Why don't you go kiss a duck." - Steve to principal

• "Your car's even uglier than I am!" - Carol to Falfa

• "Go ahead, slug me, scar my face. I wouldn't dance with you if you were the last guy left in this gym." - Laurie to Steve

• "Joe College strikes out!"- Peg to Steve

• "Why should I leave home to find a new home?" - Steve to Curt

• "You're the most beautiful, perfect creature I've ever seen and I don't know anything about you!" - Curt to girl in T-bird

Did they make a mistake? Trivia sent in by readers...

• I just noticed for the first time a mistake in the film editing. I'm referring to the scene where Curtis meets Wolfman Jack and asks him to read his message online. At the beginning of the scene, when the camera is taking a long shot, you see Wolfman put the left (his left, our right) turntable arm back on its support. Then a few seconds later, when the camera takes a close-up of Wolfman and he is talking to Curtis, the arm is back on the disk and he lifts it and puts it back on its support again! At the end of the dialogue, the arm is back on the disk!

• The license plate on Steve's Impala and Carol's sister's car are the same.

• Terry the Tiger wore white shoes in the movie, except in one scene when he let Debbie in his car for the first time and he had on black and white saddle shoes.

• At 7:18 into the movie on the DVD, you can see the stools at Mel's counter. There are three black ones, a brown one and an orange stool. There had been two black stools and two orange stools earlier in the movie.

"Gee" by the Crows (1953)

I often get a question from movie fans about the song that is playing in the background at Mel's Diner at the 7:10 point in the movie when Toad is chasing Budda, the waitress on roller skates. The song is "Gee" by the Crows and the lyrics follow. Listen to a clip here.

GEE

The Crows

(William Davis/Morris Levy)

Do do-do do, do-do do, do-do do-do-do 

Do do-do do, do-do do, do-do do-do-do 

Do do-do do, do-do do, do-do do-do-do do 

Love that girl

O-o-o-o-o Gee, my o-o Gee, well o-o Gee 

Why I love that girl, love that girl 

O-o-o-o-o please, listen to me, hear-hear-hear my plea 

Why I love that girl

Hold me, Baby, squeeze me

Never let me go

I'm not takin' chances

Because I love her, I love her so-o

My-my o Gee, well o Gee, my-eye o Gee

Why I love that girl, love that girl

O-o-o-o-o please, listen to me, hear-ear my plea

Why I love that girl, love that girl

Why I love that girl 

​

Links to other American Graffiti sites

• Official American Graffiti Home Page

• IMDB: American Graffiti

• IMDB: American Graffiti Movie Trailer

• American Graffiti: Where Were You in '62? (Background on the filming of the movie)

• Filming Locations for American Graffiti

• Hot Rod Shop's American Graffiti Page (pics, info, and much more)

• Flash Cadillac (the history of how this group wound up in the movie)

• Project THX138 (a site dedicated to the '32 coupe)

• Script Synopsis

• American Graffiti Script Collection​