Building hileanor

[Hileanor]

Already posted in introductions so here is the deal I recently got my dream car a 72 fast back that needs so tlc to be where I want her, she is primer grey and has a 429 swap with a c6. When I am done with her I will have a ride that looks like it came straight off the screen of gone in sixty seconds. At this point and time she isn't road worthy because she is a 302 car that hasn't had the shocks and springs changed and the previous owner installed a b&m shifter but didn't hook up the cable bracket, but given time and patience she will be road worthy by next year. That's really all I have right now later I will be asking where I should go to get things like interior and some body parts. So thanks in advance for any and all help and support.

 

[Hileanor]

here is what i am starting with haven't gotten up to the storage building to get any better pics but at least you have an idea of what i have to put into her

 

[droptop73]

Best wishes with your new project.

 

[Boss1Ray]

Welcome from Oklahoma City.

Ray

 

[73inNH]

Looks like a blast! Keep us posted!

 

[giantpune]

Are you going for the look at the beginning of the movie or the end, after the car has hit a pole and made the jump?

The car in the movie was a 72 with parts from the front of a 73 and then finished with school bus yellow paint. Good news I guess is its still using the 72 bumper, fenders, and fender extensions. It does have a 73 grille with vertical turn signals. I'd have to go back and watch the film to see if the 73 turn signals were even hooked up. It looks like they have the 72 style lights down in the lower valence.

 

[Hileanor]

Going for the non-wrecked version lol and actually it was a 71 that had been refit to look like a 73 cause it took him 2 years to get the money to make the movie

 

[timachone]

Great plan - keep us posted!

 

[Hileanor]

Plus I am pretty everything on the car worked as it should because all of the cops in the movie were actual police that is how he got permission to drive 70 miles an hour through the city. In fact the only cop in the movie who wasn't supposed to be in it was the one next a wrecked car on the side of the road before the jump scene, cause that was an actual wreck that happened minutes before they came through in Eleanor

 

[71ProjectJunk]

Welcome from Texas!

 

[cjstaci]

Great idea. That is one of my favorite movies. The ending was funny too. It was a low budget movie, but the use of real police, fire and aid, as well as real crowds, in my opinion, made it a better movie.

 

[Hileanor]

Great idea. That is one of my favorite movies. The ending was funny too. It was a low budget movie, but the use of real police, fire and aid, as well as real crowds, in my opinion, made it a better movie.

Definitely added to the greatness of the movie, one of my favorite parts was the security guard that didn't know about the car being taken he honestly looks like "**** well there goes my job"

 

[Steve McMahan]

Welcome from So Cal, I loved that car, hope your driving her soon.

 

[1973 Mach-1]

When I first got my '73, I was tempted to turn it into an Elanor. But frankly, I loved the 70s vibe it had with the Keystone Klassics and the shackles. Also most of the original paint was still there, so I went for the "survivor" style. Patina and all.
Good luck with Elanor. Looking forward to seeing pictures.

 

[tpj71mach]

Congrats on your new project! Have fun!

 

[Spike Morelli]

One of the good things about the original Eleanor, is that to build a tribute ,you don't have to work too hard or spend a ton of money, to replicate the exact look of that movie car. You don't even need a NACA scooped hood.Further, engine and driveline specifics weren't apparent in the movie, so you can do your own thing in that respect.
Now, building a clone of the Nicholas Cage version, ( and geeeez, how many clones have been built ), will take a butt-load of money to replicate that visual before you even get around to what's underneath.
I've posted this before, but I don't understand why in hell the people in charge of movie cars don't know more about the cars, to ,at least visually, have the hottest model of the particular car. The studio didn't even try to make the original Eleanore look like a Mach, or a Boss, more likely to be coveted and worth stealing.
The remake with Nicholas Cage uses a custom flared/scooped/accessorized fastback,....why not visually make it look like a real Shelby. I mean, In the movie, if you are getting paid big bucks to steal cars, why not boost valuable cars!
Supposedly, according to the movie, John Wick is said to be driving a Boss 429, but anyone with any experience in Mustangs knows that car is not a Boss 429. How do the people providing the vehicles to the studios get their jobs, from a Cracker Jack box????
At least, in War of the Worlds, Tom Cruise drives a real Shelby GT-350 ( or at least it looks right ), and in Top Gun , that beautiful P-51D that Tom supposedly owns in the movie.........he really does own it, a real-deal hot rod of the air. As a good example, it didn't take an act of God to get it right for Tom's movies.
American Graffitti got it pretty darned right, obviously George Lucas knew his cars.
But for some reason unknown to me, movies requiring a hot Mustang as a main character , seem to ignore the fact of what the top of the line valuable Mustang looks like. Hey Universal, Paramount, hire me! I'll show ya!
Heck, even gorgeous Barbara Eden, ( Jeannie from I Dream of Jeannie TV series ), owned and drove a real Mach 1 Cobra Jet in real life. See below

 

[JJU9507]

Man, would loved to sniff those seats!! major Nelson was a punk! kept rejecting her advances!

 

[bishoppeak]

Man, would loved to sniff those seats!! major Nelson was a punk! kept rejecting her advances!

He came around!