You need to watch the movie. on the list of cars to be stolen was Eleanor the 73, 429 mustang. The car is the movie star. Yes it has a early 71-72 bumper and a 73 grill and tail lights, 71 front signal lights, Painted custom for that time. All the stunts were real people got hurt. The jump Eleanor did was all real. I will watch the move again. You should check it its the best.
Believe me, I've watched the movie more times than you can imagine - both the remaster and the original film pre-restoration - with a critical eye that you'd never believe (have you heard about the beauty car's incorrect hubcap on the left front?). I've spotted many things documented on the forum, but - for the moment - relegated to the VIP Lounge due to controversy over the Halicki legacy. I might have the moderators bring it back to a public forum due to the important content within it:
http://www.7173mustangs.com/thread-gone-in-60-seconds-1974-eleanor-observations-was-halicki-really-a-car-thief-etc?page=4
That said, both cars were '71/72s with '73 grilles installed, and no real modifications made past that - and all it takes to know that is rudimentary knowledge of each vehicle's differences and their respective panel fit. The '71/72 bumper, fenders, and front valance remained unchanged on both cars in the film, as did the flip-down gas cap (!). Even the '71-72 blackout paint on the taillights were NOT stripped of paint to match the 1973 models.
We seem to be going off topic, but since it's a fun one, allow me to continue the derailment with that great photo of the man himself with the fire-damaged stunt car, pre-modifications:
Please understand, I mean no disrespect, but having spent many hours doing research on these films and publicizing the information (see the IMCDB + other pages here on the forum), I find it a bit upsetting when someone who is regurgitating very old, incorrect information isn't willing to consider that the lore and legends of the past may be incorrect and fraught with inaccuracies. It seems harmless enough, but this blind allegiance to unsubstantiated stories (and in this era, on forums) is precisely how Michael Alameda has continued to successfully misrepresent (not only to the public, but to multiple Mustang magazines) his J-code 429 car as an original from Diamonds are Forever, when it is not (it is one of the floor cars from the 1971 Las Vegas Convention Center, but it seems as of Mr. Alameda prefers to be associated with the glitz of the film) - and has gone so far as to represent the car as such on the Barrett-Jackson auction block (the car never sold - the big-money bidders were wise to it). The Marti report on that car - plus Lois Eminger's own research for Mr. Alameda, publicly documented online (
http://www.network54.com/Forum/234286/thread/1219631751/Diamonds+are+Forever+Car+on+Ebay) - proves quite irrefutably that the car had nothing to do with the film.
Believe me, there are dirty stories and politics behind a lot of these undocumented vehicles. Given Toby Halicki's penchant for making up stories to sell his film, I'm very reluctant to believe a lot of the stories handed down through the years - with exception to what can be confirmed through watching the film with a magnifying glass, or confirmed via a backstage photo.
-Kurt
