Hello mark.

08 Jan 05 14:41, you wrote to me:


 RW>> car. I remember it well. A waste of a perfectly good
 RW>> piece of machinery. Although, I would have been happier
 RW>> to see a Mudstain (Mustang) hit the last set of
 RW>> barricades and blow to little bitty pieces.

 ml> in reality, the car that was crashed into the bulldozers was a 1967
 ml> Camero stripped of engine and transmission... it was towed on a cable
 ml> 1/4th mile long... they practised and adjusted the Camero until it
 ml> tracked straight and true and then towed it on that 1/4 mile cable at
 ml> 80 or so mph into the bulldozers with the cable going between them...
 ml> the results weren't what they expected and actually came out better
 ml> than the had thought...

Sheeshh. That's even more of a waste of good machinery. BTW, it's Camaro,
not Camero...

 ml> check http://www.vanishingpointmania.com/magazine_article_1.htm for
 ml> the story... it appears to be from the March 1986 issue of Musclecar
 ml> Review Magazine titled "Behind the scenes of the movie Vanishing
 ml> Point" written by Paul Zazarine...

 ml> here's a few quotes from there...

 ml> Loftin is Carey Loftin, the stunt coordinator... Newman is Barry
 ml> Newman, the star...

 ml> ===== quote =====

 ml> One of the main points of controversy has centered around the 1970
 ml> Dodge Challengers using in Vanishing Point. Carey Loftin remembers
 ml> that he specifically requested Challengers because of the "quality of
 ml> the torsion bar suspension and for its horsepower. It was a real
 ml> sturdy, good running car." Five Alpine White Challengers were loaned
 ml> to Cupid Productions by Chrysler for promotional consideration and
 ml> were returned upon completion of the filming.

 ml> How the cars were equipped has been a point of controversy among
 ml> Vanishing Point buffs. "There were five cars," Loftin
said. "The
 ml> number five car that we never used was an automatic and it did have
 ml> the 383. All the rest had the 440. All the 440's were equipped with
 ml> four-speeds, and all were four-barrel motors." Speculation had been
 ml> that Hemi or Six Pack Challengers were used, which Loftin and Newman
 ml> dispelled. The cars performed to Loftin's satisfaction, although dust
 ml> came to be a problem. None of the engines were blown, and Loftin
 ml> recalls that no special equipment was added or modifications made to
 ml> the cars, except for heavier-duty shocks for the car that jumped over
 ml> No Name Creek. No special bracing or frame ties were used in any of
 ml> the Challengers.

 ml> Newman remembers that the Challengers were wrenched for the movie by
 ml> Max Balchowsky, who also prepared the Mustangs and Chargers for
 ml> Bullitt. "Max was like a surgeon. It was amazing. He would take parts
 ml> out of one to make another car work, because we really ruined a
 ml> couple of those cars, what with jumping ramps from highway to highway
 ml> and over creeks."

 ml> Newman agreed with Loftin's memory about the cars. "I remember the
 ml> cars had 440 engines and had a tremendous amount of power. It was
 ml> almost as if there was too much power for the body. You's put it in
 ml> first and it would almost rear back! They had a four-speed and there
 ml> was also an automatic car. That was a 383. I think we used that one
 ml> as the camera car on the straight runs."

 ml> ===== end quote =====

 ml> and another portion...

 ml> ===== quote =====

 ml> Special preparations were made for the spectacular crash at the end
 ml> of the movie, as Kowalski speeds into the bulldozers placed across
 ml> the road  with blades down to stop him. Several days were needed to
 ml> set up the stunt. A derelict 1967 Camaro was purchased and stripped
 ml> of engine and transmission. A tow-rig setup that Loftin had used
 ml> successfully in the past was employed. "I've used this rig for a long
 ml> time," Loftin explained. "And as long as you're towing
it, it will go
 ml> to that fulcrum. There was a crown on the road, and I had a mechanic
 ml> there. I would tow the Camaro, and he'd reset the front end. We did
 ml> this several times until the car would tow right in the center of the
 ml> road."

 ml> "I had a quarter mile of cable when we did the stunt. The strip of
 ml> road leading to the bulldozers went straight back, over a slight hill
 ml> and then to the left. When I started to tow, I couldn't see the
 ml> Camaro, so I told the effects man to put it in the ditch on the left
 ml> hand side so it will be in a straight line. After all the testing I
 ml> just had to believe that it would work. Once I got it up to speed, it
 ml> came straight down the road, I was doing a good 80 miles-per-hour at
 ml> the time of impact."

 ml> "With the motor and transmission out, we were prepared for the car to
 ml> go end over end, but it stuck into the bulldozers, which was a better
 ml> effect. The effects man loaded the Camaro's front-end with explosives
 ml> to go off on impact, and if I had lost control and gone into the
 ml> ditch and really hit something hard, it would have exploded there.
 ml> The director set the bulldozers about five to six inches apart, just
 ml> enough to get my cable through. He asked me what the point of no
 ml> return was, and I said 'about two seconds after you say 'action'.
 ml> Once I go it's all the way. I don't have anything to stop the Camaro
 ml> except those bulldozers!"

 ml> "We towed the Camaro with the fifth car, the 383 automatic. I used
 ml> that one because if you miss a gear and your line goes slack you lose
 ml> the car. I'd rather use an automatic than risk a chance of losing the
 ml> car. That 383 was a good running car. In fact, it would probably run
 ml> just as fast as that 440."

I think I'm going to be sick...


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