Great looking car! Now you need to build Ralph Malph's 29 roadster pickup from Happy Days.
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Great looking car! Now you need to build Ralph Malph's 29 roadster pickup from Happy Days.
Nice project.I opted for 2 less windows and the backwards doors,BUT I LOVE THE LOOK.http://media.motortopia.com/files/11...3x423_32_3.jpg
speaking of American graffiti, There is a collectors 'toy' collection called moments in time, and they did a limited release of the known cars from American Graffiti.. ( Milner coupe, the Merc ect... ).. they feature a 1:64 diecast replica of the car, and a backdrop with original scenes and charecters from the movie put in a display case...... I got the Milner coupe, which the backdrop is Mels drive in.... the car isn't completly correct but it's close... painted firewall, liscense plate is the wrong color and number, and the yellow is more bananna colored than it should be
there made by Motor max and I got mine at Walmart
I don't know rumrumm, these little scooters are getting quite pricey!!! At this point I think I am going to have to borrow a dollar just to buy a bottle of Old Harper (only because the guy can't break a fifty of course)!!!:LOL:
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All Right Guys,
Here are some photos of the back of my project that I think you all will really like. YES, I cheated and added some parts before my 30 days were up but I just couldn't help myself :rolleyes:. As you can tell I have put my license plate in the middle of the tail lights (as seen in the movie) plus you can see by the license plate color that the paint I selected for the coupe body is pretty much a dead on match to the original coupe :cool:. This week I am hoping to get some more things added to the body and when I do I will share my photos with all of you.
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Which front axle is used on the coupe? Also, which width? The New Nerf Bar you have looks pretty much dead on, Gonna have to grab one for my build.
What a cool shot of the coupe without the motor in it and of the 55! What is the story on that shot? Your car is looking great!
Matt,I've got the whole set.:) Got the coupe online several years ago then stumbled on the Merc at Wallyworld,found the 55 at another Wallyworld and found Ron Howards 59 Chevy at yet another Wallyworld,I think that was all of em produced,but ya gotta have Suzanne Summers T-Bird so I found one that looked right to the set.Only thing missing is the 62 Ford Police car.:):) Mine are the big ones I think 1/18 scale
Hey Newbomb Turk,
First off I just have to say that you are going to LOVE this bumper if you decide to order one (and I really hope you do)!!!!
OK, to answer your question about the front axle. The Original Graffiti Coupe has an original front 1932 Ford HEAVY axle (this axle was used ONLY on 32 Fords) that has been dropped 4 inches. The Axle was then chrome plated. Please take notice that the center of the axle is silver and not chrome. This is because the axle was NOT polished out in the center there for leaving it a rough finish (stock) which the crome does not stick to. Now the axle I have on my project in all of my pictures is a Magnum 32 axle that has been dropped 4 inches. the measurement from king pin to king pin is 48 iches as where the original coupes is close to 49 inches. The KOOL thing about the magnum axle is that it has the stock looking appearance of an original 32 Ford (however it is NOT a HEAVY AXLE). This means no logos to remove. I do have an original 32 heavy axle that I am planning on getting dropped and chromed so the axle on the project is going to be replaced. This is only being done so my project matches the original coupes. I know, I'm touched in the head!!!!!**)**)
What motor are you putting in???
Hey Jack60,
I am putting in a 1962 327 engine. The engine has a 270 comp cam with 1:94 double hump heads and 10.5 domed keith black pistons. The intake is the ever so rare Man A Fre with four 1958 chevy truck 2bl carbs.
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Hey Mr Blue,
This photo was taken by Steve Fitch back when he was restoring the coupe and 55 (as soon as he got the coupe home from Universal Studios). Many people think Rick Figari (owner of the coupe today) was the guy that saved the coupe but the truth is that it was actally Steve Fitch that saved the little coupe! Steve said the coupe was in REAL SAD SHAPE from sitting out in the California weather so he had no choice it save it if he ever wanted to drive the car (yes, the coupe was not running when Steve bought the coupe). Here is another picture for you to look at!!!:cool:
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It boggles my mind that those two cars sat unwanted for so long after the movies were done. I guess AG wasn't an instant box office hit and after a while found it's audience.
Nice to see you going to such great pains to replicate the 32. Reminds me of the lengths Von Franco went to when cloning Grabowskis two versions of his T. BTW, anyone who grew up in my era should do yourself a huge favor and buy the Mad Fabricators DVD "The car that ate my brain." It is all about Norms T's and there are lots and lots of clips of the car and Norm that I have never heard of or seen before. We've watched it a lot since we got it for Xmas, and never get tired of it. It will turn you into a 12 year old again who is glued to his TV set on a Friday night , I guarantee it!! :D:D
Don
Hey Don,
I just LOVE the Kookie T!!! Infact I just meet Norm Grabowski this past Saturday at the Pete & Jakes 40th reunion. Norm is one GREAT and FUNNY guy!!! Below is a picture of Norm and me at the show (I'm the scary looking one!).:eek:
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We met Norm at Turkey Run a few years ago. He is nuts!!.........but in a great way. :D Bet he's a hoot to have a few cold ones with. :LOL:
Don
Thanks for the other cool shot project thx138! Love seeing that behind the scenes stuff! That 55 chevy makes me drool too! so cool, awesome about meeting norm. I still have an autographed picture he signed for me about 5 years ago at the turkey rod run. Great guy. Thanks again. Don Jr.:)
So THAT'S where my autographed picture went!! :eek: Just for that I'm keeping the one of Carmen Electra. :cool::3dSMILE:
Don
Hey Guys,
Here is a shot of the inside of the graffiti coupe project. This photo is just a rough draft on what is to be. Tomorrow the weather here in KC is supposed to be nice (seems it has been raining everyday) so I am going to pull the body out and take some photos to show you all how it is turning out. In these photos you will start to see everything start to come together and you will see stuff that has never been in the photos of all the mock up stages. Basically it is going to start finally looking like the Original Graffiti Coupe so get ready!!!!:toocool:
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OK Guys, here are some new photos of the project :D. Door handles trunk latch have all been installed along with the right side 1/4 window. The 1/4 window has the same type of green tint that the original coupe has and believe me when I say this took forever to find!!!! I hope you all notice the door garnish molding as this is just like stock (notice the top of door picture) and has to be installed the same way which is the barrel nuts (you can get these at MAC's Antique Auto Parts). Great pain and effort is going into this coupe to make it just like Milner's so I hope you all enjoy this thread :).
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Here are a few pictures of the the dash and gauges in the project coupe. ALL the gauges in the dash match Milner's 100% :cool:. I think I may have more money in the gauges than I do in the whole coupe :whacked:!!! The hardest gauge to find was the Stewart Warner (all the gauges are Stewart Warner)120 mph Speedometer. Man I will be glad when this car is done!!!
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Looks great!
This is a great project.
I'm really liking this!
Dave G
Ditto! Looks fantastic!
I'm looking forward on seeing you and the car at the Street Rod Nationals in Springfield next year.:3dSMILE:
Back in Febuary of 1992 I was at Universal Studios in Florida and they had (2) 32 coupes there that looked the same as the movie car, 1. was in a compound in the middle of the studio with the old props from Jaws and some other movies, it was in very bad shape, there was also a second car at a Mel's diner that was set up,, there was also a black 1957 Chev there beside the coupe at Mel's
Does anybody know what happened to these cars?
I saw your twin this morning on the way in to work. Nearly identical, sitting in one of our local hot rodders yards. He's been a buy and swap kind of guy since I've known him. I'll say.....its not near as sweet as yours! His 32 has seen a lot of road use without baths. LOL's. :LOL:
Dave G
;)
I have NEVER wanted to copy someone elses car or try to duplicate/clone a " movie car ". I always built my own stuff to look like what I like ... but I must commend you on your dedication ... :D
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Hey Guys,
Thanks for all of your positive feedback on my project :3dSMILE:!!! At the present time I am waiting on a few things to come in and when I get them things will really start rolling with this project :cool:. When all of this happends expect a lot more photos!!!! In the mean time I figured I would share a little something with all of you. Back last year when I went to vist Steve Fitch I got the ORIGINAL front wire looms that were on the coupe during the filming of American Graffiti :toocool:!!!!! Enclosed is a picture of the original wire looms and a couple of bolts that actually came off the original coupe too. I believe these bolts were used to mount the grill shell but that is just a guess at this point. Anyway these parts will be on my coupe! I also added a couple of photos (from the early Street Rodder Magazine) showing the front wire looms on the coupe. Anyway, I just thought you might all get a kick out of this??? Just so you all know, I was on top of the Word that day I got the parts!!! In fact, that day I went to Steve's house was my 39th B-Day so I think that B-Day is going to be hard to top!!! But then again you never know ;).
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OK, I have gotten a lot of emails stating that a lot of you guys are wanting to see the drip rails on the New Age Motorsports Body since you can't really see them that well in the pictures I have posted. So below are some photos of the functional drip rails. SORRY, but these drip rails are very hard to photograph as I keep getting glares from the paint (now you know why I don't take pictures for a living) but I think can make them out pretty well.
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Thanks for the information on the axle. That clarifies alot. If I can't find an original for reasonable dough, it would make sense to run a Magnum. What about the tabs that get welded on for the shocks? Obviously, Those would have to be installed before chrome plating takes place. **):cool:
Hey Newbomb Turk,
Glad I could help you out on this matter! As for the tabs/L Brackets that are located on the front side of the axle, I use a neat little bracket that Ed over at New Age Motorsports designed. This little bracket just bolts to the bottom of the axle using the spring perch bolt and nut. The look is just like Milner's axle without having to weld the piece to the axle. PLEASE TAKE NOTE, if you are going to use a Magnum axle you MUST use this type of bracket as you are not supposed to weld on the ductile steel as the weld will not really hold to the abuse. However if you are going to spend the BIG $$$$$ for an original 32 heavy axle then you can weld on it if want to, as this axle is made of forged steel but I would just stick with this KOOL little bracket if I was you. You can contact Ed at info@newage-motorsports.com for this bracket. As you follow this build you will find out that I use New Age Motorsports a lot to help me get the things I need for this build. I use Ed to do this as he is one of the only guys out there that was willing to help me build what I wanted, everyone else just wanted to sell me parts off the self which in my case would not work!! I hope I answered your question with out get to long winded :LOL:??? Below are a couple of photos showing this bracket.
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You REALLY are going to a lot of trouble to make this thing as close to the original as possible. Nice job! :) Funny how a little thing like the original loom turns us on, huh?
You and Von Franco have a lot in common. You are going to have to hit one of the shows where Paul is making an appearance some day and show him the car. I bet he would love it.
Don
Hey Don,
Glad you are enjoying this post as I am having fun doing it!!! Yeah, I'm doing everything possible to make this coupe just like the original coupe (besides having a fiberglass body but who can really tell???). My plan/goal is to have Paul drive this coupe so I can actually say Milner drove this coupe!! I always say "if your going to do something you might as well do it right" and even though the original coupe is not done real proper (infact it is a little POS) it is the car I fell in love with when I was seven yrs old and by God thats the car I am going to build (even though it's not an original idea and some may not like this coupe it is the car I have ALWAYS WANTED, besides it's going to be mine and not theirs!!!) PLEASE NOTE, my coupe is being built the way the coupe was in the movie and NOT the way the coupe sits today!!! Yes, there is a BIG difference between the two but thats a whole nother story.
You're right, the Graffiti coupe and Grabowskis T have some elements that are a little "wrong", like the short Deuce shell on the coupe and the frame side rails on the T. But we rodders overlook those little errors because the overall car itself is so cool and the memories we have of them are so much a part of our youth. Some cars are just so wrong they are right...........if you understand what I mean. :)
Don