What, you mean McQeen didn't do his own driving in Le Mans either?
One minor correction regarding the GT350. The "real" GT350s ('65 & '66)
had HiPo 289s- same motor as my Cobra. Of course GT350s were still
being manufactured in '68 when Bullitt was filmed, but the only
connection to Carroll Shelby by then was the name. But the 390 was
was light weight and very hot. Probably a good choice for the this
flick.
Roland
> Hey Gang,
>
> I first saw the Bullitt chase scene while sitting in my brand new '69
> Roadrunner and my wife still remembers the ride home from the drive-in. The
> scene is certainly a classic... Perhaps THE classic car chase! But....
>
> Steve McQueen did NOT do all his own stunt driving. Apparently he wanted and
> planned to do it all (much to the dismay and displeasure of the production
> staff) but quickly realized he was far out of his depth. Remember at the
> very start of the chase scene Steve tries to take a corner in the Mustang
> and fishtails through the intersection? Well, that was both real and
> unplanned and pretty much ended his high speed driving in the movie.
>
> The chase scene was shot at full speed. That is to say, the cameras were not
> set to give the impression of speed, they really shot it that way at speeds
> up to 110 mph on San Francisco city streets. The high speed bumper clashes
> were real but driven by stunt men. BOTH cars were driven by stunt men, in
> the case of the Dodge the guy became an actor and did not use a standin for
> anything.
>
> The Mustang was not a (Shelby) GT 350 which offered engine choices of 302
> and 428, it was just a new fastback with a GT 390 engine and a four gear.
> The GT 390 engine started out at 335 horses and was sorta, kinda, almost
> stock... Had bigger heads, bigger valves, electronic ignition, and headers
> but kept the stock cam and carb (600 cfm) mainly because those were already
> plenty hot enough. It ran good enough to blow the rear end at least once.
>
> Pretty much ALL of the Mustang's suspension was replaced and rewickerd.
> They, for instance, went so far as to add cross members to the underside.
> Anything they didn't replace they magnafluxed.
>
> The '68 Dodge Charger was a 440, apparently a single four-barrel engine
> though I have seen references to it being a 6 Pack. Most of the
> undercarriage work was limited to the front suspension though they used
> police interceptor rear springs. It was also a 4 speed and in real life just
> ate the 'Stang alive at all speeds and under all conditions.
>
> Since they wanted to run the cars all out, they actually reduced tire
> size--and eventually shaved off rubber--on the Charger to handicap it. The
> 440 is indeed a brutal engine.
>
> The 2 Mustangs used in the movie were freebies from Ford. The 2 Chargers
> used were actually purchased cars. I don't know what became of the Charger
> that survived the movie but the 2 Mustangs not only survived, they have
> cloned themselves so often that they now reportedly account for about 25
> cars located in California.
>
> Both the Dodge and Mustang were severely damaged during the chase.
> Apparently the Mustang got to vibrating so badly that door handles and such
> were falling off...
>
> But what about the THIRD car in the chase? The pursuit car was a Corvette
> stripped of most of it's bodywork and with cameras hanging all over it. It
> survived without incident though it did not have to make those horrendous
> jumps.
>
>
> Cheers!
>
> --Colin Cobb, Las Cruces, NM, USA
> '41 Chevrolet Coupe, '65 Sunbeam Tiger, '66 Morgan Plus Four, '89 Alfa Romeo
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