Gone in 60 Seconds (1974) - observations, did Halicki really steal Eleanor, etc

[Kit Sullivan]

Remember, the movie was self-financed by Halicki...who along with his cousin owned a huge scrap yard just outside of L.A.

There is no doubt that he used anything and everything he could from the yard. It is quite possible that our beloved yellow "Eleanors" were sourced in part from salvaged cars. Or maybe not. I don't think there is definitive proof either way.

It is logical to assume he probably would not have bought pristine- condition used cars as his "Eleanors" knowing they would only be smashed up in short order. And since they all had to be painted alike and modified as needed to match each other, reclaimed scrap-yard cars makes good budgetary sense to me.

I knew Halicki casually for a while in Buffalo New York, and talked to him on several occasions and asked many questions about the movie. The source of the cars themselves never came up though.

As the old Tootsie-Roll commercial says: "The world may never know!"

 

[cudak888]

Remember, the movie was self-financed by Halicki...who along with his cousin owned a huge scrap yard just outside of L.A.

There is no doubt that he used anything and everything he could from the yard. It is quite possible that our beloved yellow "Eleanors" were sourced in part from salvaged cars. Or maybe not. I don't think there is definitive proof either way.

The photo of the stunt car is proof in itself that it was pieced together from multiple vehicles, beginning with the fire-damaged Grabber Yellow unibody wreck.

It's anyone's guess from that point forward (right down to the door skins), but I can't see them duplicating this amount of teardown for the other car, even if both began as wrecks.

That, and I would have imagined seeing a photo of both cars torn down instead of one.

I knew Halicki casually for a while in Buffalo New York, and talked to him on several occasions and asked many questions about the movie. The source of the cars themselves never came up though.As the old Tootsie-Roll commercial says: "The world may never know!"

The world won't know. Toby is gone, and with him went most of what we'd really like to know - though given that his story would often change, I doubt that we'd ever get a straight answer if he were alive.

Other than the things you've mentioned, is there anything additional in your discussions with him that may be of interest? Things about the film that have not been mentioned through the usual media channels (or even by people in the know)?

-Kurt

 

[cudak888]

Due to the extent of the historical information contained here, I've asked the moderators to move this thread out of the VIP Lounge and directly to the public forum where everyone has access and can chime in.

-Kurt

 

[Kit Sullivan]

My relationship with Toby was business-related ( he bought many used cars ( well-used!) from a Ford dealership where I was the used car manager in North Tonawanda ( Buffalo) New York.

I was in my early thirties at the time, and did not want to continue to consistently pester him with "fan boy" questions about "Gone.." Most of our meetings were business/ lunch meetings, a couple nights out for dinner/ drinks ( once with Denice). Many of the things he told me should naturally be taken as gospel, but some details are easily refuted with period photographs. He was a consumate salesman and hustler overall, so he may have "embellished" some of the stuff he told. I don't care though, he was a good guy to do business with, generous with his time and a pretty funny guy too. I liked him.

He was tragically killed only a few weeks later a few miles away.

 

[luxstang]

Kurt, if I remember correctly the thread was moved to the VIP section to get it out of the public eye because of all the allegations of car theft and forgery.

So I guess moving it to the general area probably would require extracting the info and facts but removing the allegations to keep the forum out of harm´s way in case anybody wanted to sue for the insinuations.

 

[cudak888]

Kurt, if I remember correctly the thread was moved to the VIP section to get it out of the public eye because of all the allegations of car theft and forgery.

So I guess moving it to the general area probably would require extracting the info and facts but removing the allegations to keep the forum out of harm´s way in case anybody wanted to sue for the insinuations.

My main concern was when that "Eleanor60" user popped up on Wikipedia, claiming to have direct connections with Denise. This person - whether they work for the company or not - isn't a threat; more of a liability to them if said person actually works for them.

That said, if it really was that much of a threat, Ron Moore's "We the Filmmaker" interview wouldn't remain up - which was a direct influence to this thread.

-Kurt

 

[luxstang]

Yeah. Don't get me wrong. I don't mind at all.

 

[Big Block MACH]

Wow info on the original Gone in 60 second is so righteous.

But just like Dirty Harry, It was only Clint Eastwood not really Dirty Harry who said, Do you fell lucky well do you punk? So that being said. No disrespect to the move Gone in 60 seconds over facts to what Eleanor was made from a 71-72 or pieces of 73 mustangs. Eleanor was a fictional character named Eleanor a 73 mustang and somewhere in the world I saw something that said it had a 429 in it.

And so on, The 2000 version of Gone in 60 seconds Eleanor was a 67 Fast back not a GT500 and GT 500s never looked like that from the factory ether. Its a movie for fun so lets have fun with it.

 

[rpmcarter]

Just a hypothesis based on a couple of conversations with him, thats all.

And Kennedy was shot by Lee harvey Oswald, but killed by George Hickey.

Kit I've checked the internet and colleges. I was looking for a program that offered "movie/film/ theater" to get a better understanding of the use of props.....only to learn this whole thing was simply provided to the public as "entertainment". Movies are not intended to be factual or prop exact. In fact they use many things to give a movie a visual. The horrible thing I learned was the movie of question here was performed by less than high quality actors without an award among them for this film. What was even more horrible was the fact the movie was lacking in history of any actual event. I was SO disappointed, I was hoping to engage in this fact based debate. It is so depressing now.

But your point on Kennedy, explain the trajectory of a bullet in the back of the head blowing off the scalp off from the front and flying back....very confusing as it relates to physics.

 

[Kit Sullivan]

Eleanor was a fictional character named Eleanor a 73 mustang and somewhere in the world I saw something that said it had a 429 in it.

That is the crux of what is wrong with your statement: NOWHERE in the movie was it ever mentioned or referenced that the 73 Mustang named "Eleanor" that Maindrian needed to steal had a 429 engine in it. In fact, no mention of the engine size at all was ever brought up in the movie. You may have heard or read this somewhere else, but it is not true.

 

[cudak888]

Eleanor was a fictional character named Eleanor a 73 mustang and somewhere in the world I saw something that said it had a 429 in it.

That is the crux of what is wrong with your statement: NOWHERE in the movie was it ever mentioned or referenced that the 73 Mustang named "Eleanor" that Maindrian needed to steal had a 429 engine in it. In fact, no mention of the engine size at all was ever brought up in the movie. You may have heard or read this somewhere else, but it is not true.

Thinking out loud on a related note: Other than the statement in the film that the fictional character of Eleanor is intended to be a '73 Mustang (not only is engine size never mentioned, the term "Mach 1" is never heard nor seen), the only other defining statement was that the bodystyle was "...one of the last of the Mustangs."

When you think of the classic Mustang formula, that statement wasn't far from the truth. The II, Fox, and SN95 were all uniquely their own; sporty cars sized around sub-compacts (ex: Pinto) as opposed to compact-midsize (ex: Falcon/Fairlane).

A Mustang respective of the size category of its original roots didn't show itself again until 2005, and the S197 in itself wasn't really much more than a re-imagined '65-68, right down to the interior. Not really new at all.

Frankly, the 2015 S550 is really the first "new" Mustang concept using the classic formula that we haven't seen since 1973.

How true that statement was...

hijack>

-Kurt

 

[detroitjohnny]

I just read through the whole thread. What fun! Been in love with this movie from the first time I saw it in 85.

 

[rpmcarter]

it was fun entertainment..... I was so disappointed to learn none of it was true.

 

[73vertproject]

Note to all:

The movement of this thread from the VIP forum to the General Discussion area was discussed amongst the moderators with some degree of trepidation, due to the controversial and perhaps libelous nature of its content. Opening the discussion to members with diverse opinions related to the topic could produce both positive and negative comments.

Please respect the purpose of opening the thread to General Discussion: to allow a broader discussion and understanding of various perspectives related to the Gone in 60 Seconds vehicles. Disrespectful and derogatory comments are not aligned with the purpose of this thread. Respectful discourse containing differences of opinion are always welcome.

[/moderator warning]

::devil::

 

[rpmcarter]

I look through this thread ...... and I see nothing but potential

uhhhh OH

 

[cudak888]

Ah, but the trained eye can see through a used car salesman's hyperbole. No reason for the same theory not to apply here.

-Kurt

 

[rpmcarter]

 

[Kit Sullivan]

All the studied supposition and assumptions do not replace 1st- hand information gathered from the principles involved.

 

[rpmcarter]

"You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension - a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into the Twilight Zone. "

 

[Luke]

C'mon you blokes back on track, this has been an interesting and informative thread. The investigations are into the actual car used not the what it is thought/supposed to be and to that purpose it was excellent.