American Grafiti. The hero of the film, although originally scripted to be Steve Milner, played by

A yellow 1932 Ford, a black 1955 Chevrolet, a white 1958 Impala and a maroon 1951 Mercury: these are the unlikely stars of American Graffiti, the cult movie released in 1973 that was directed by George Lucas.

They quite simply stole the show, taking the limelight away from budding actors Richard Dreyfuss and Harrison Ford. They even managed to detract attention from the brilliantly perceptive screenplay which, set in 1962, centred around a bunch of 'pedal to the metal' kids who were learning to cope with life after graduation.

No one can deny that they were, and will remain, a very special bunch of cars. The hero of the film, although originally scripted to be Steve Milner, played by Paul Le Mat, turned out to be Milner's car, a certain little yellow '32. The five-window Deuce coupe was bought by Gary Kurtz, the producer, for $1300 from a selection that he had located before filming, mainly because it already had a chopped roof.

Once purchased, the Deuce had its front fenders removed and the rear ones bobbed. The grille was sectioned, which entails literally cutting out a section in the middle and welding the top and bottom back together, thus shortening it. The bodywork was then totally stripped, and repainted in canary-yellow lacquer.

The engine it ran on during filming was a 283 cu. in. Chevy V8. Chrome headers, a Man-A-Free inlet manifold and four 2G Rochester carbs gave the engine some sparkle. The beautiful exterior, that launched a thousand project hot rods, is sadly like an ageing movie star's make-up: underneath, it's a totally different story. So long as the cameras don't pick them up, the unseen parts can be as tatty as hell.

The coupe, like all tired-out old movie stars, created its fair share of trouble, which included proving almost impossible to attach any cameras to, and it also ran over the assistant cameraman!

The co-starring '58 Impala was bought, again by Kurtz, primarily for its red and white tuck-and-roll interior—the fact that this would be almost non-evident in the film does not seem to have bothered him. The Impala ran a 348 cu. in. engine and was treated to a new coat of paint in preparation for its silver-screen debut.

A set of chrome-reverse wheels were fitted, and a set of six '59 Cadillac bullet-shaped tail-lights were glued to the original lights. Next comes the '51 Merc, which was purchased after it was found in the spectators' parking lot of a stock-car track—so again, don't expect wonders! With the exception of a quick roof chop, a shaved hood, trunk and doors, a one-bar grille and frenched headlights, the car was left almost as standard. The engine, as with most lead sleds, is stock.

Then there's the '55. Its history is certainly the longest of the four. While the others were lazing about in parking lots, this little Chevy was busy clocking up its first screen appearance in Two-Lane Blacktop, an earlier Gary Kurtz car movie.

Its basic condition and specifications during filming were a little more impressive than the other three, as the preparation work was far more thorough. For a start, the car runs with some real power on a 454 cu. in. big-block. The Chevy was almost totally rebuilt, inside and out; hand-built front frame rails were fitted, plus a tube-axle suspended on Koni coil-over shock absorbers, and Airheart disc brakes were responsible for bringing it to a halt. The '55 was definitely streets ahead of its co-stars when it came to power and overall condition. However, it still fared no better when all four were put up for sale once Graffiti was in the can.

Advertisements ran in the Northern Californian local papers, and none of the cars attracted any buyers, except for the Impala which sold for the ridiculous sum of $200! Even though the Deuce was advertised at a mere $1500, people were just not interested. Once American Graffiti hit the streets, people changed their minds and money changed hands.

The Merc, by the way, now belongs to ex-Stray Cat Brian Setzer, who is featured on pages 52-55. The coupe, on the other hand, was not re-advertised—I guess the movie moguls figured one chance was enough. It ended up sitting for five years as an uncared-for exhibit at Universal Studios.

In 1979, however, it was treated to a quick coat of paint and was hauled out to make an appearance in More American Graffiti. Both the run of the film (a pointless sequel) and the run of the Deuce, its engine now nearly seized, were short-lived. After filming, the little '32 found itself once again back at Universal, with the future looking bleak.

Eventually, Steve Fitch, a keen Graffiti enthusiast, convinced the moguls to sell and took the Deuce home—where he also had the original Chevy. The reunion ended when Rich Figari, who was absolutely obsessed with the '32, convinced Fitch to sell. He had been 'phoning him almost fortnightly for 31 years! A delighted Rich took the coupe off to its present home in San Francisco.

All four cars are now lovingly cared for by devoted owners, so we can rest assured that none of these old movie stars will be forgotten.

The black Chevy used in American Graffiti was actually constructed from the parts of two different '55s used in Two-Lane Blacktop. Released in 1971, two years earlier than Graffiti, the film followed the trail of a lone Chevy racing a Pontiac GTO across the south-west of America.

This classic film, almost surreal in quality, revolves totally around the race, emphasizing this by dispensing with any names, the characters being known simply as The Driver (played by singer/songwriter James Taylor), The Mechanic (Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys) and GTO (Warren Oates). A total of three Chevys were required for filming, two identical in case of breakdown.

After sitting neglected at Universal Studios, the Pharaoh's Merc from American Graffiti is now in the caring hands of Brian Setzer

One of the '55 Chevys used in Gr-came to a bad end as a result of an illegal drag and a third 'stunt' 55 that was to be used in a crash scene which eventually did not take place. The two main Chevys were meticulously built by Richard Ruth (who also played a small part in the film) of Competition Engineering.

A misunderstanding had taken place; Ruth thought he was supposed to be constructing two high-power, high-class machines, when in fact, what the producers wanted were two 'cosmetic' Chevys, quality being of little importance. Ruth even sprayed them in powder-blue lacquer, only to see his work painted over with grey primer—to create a realistic 'ready-to-race' hot rod look.

By the end of filming, both cars had suffered the normal heavy usage associated with films and were much the worse for wear, which is why parts from both were used to make the one good Graffiti car. The third, as yet unemployed, stunt car eventually got a job in the final crash scene of Graffiti.