American Graffiti was a benchmark film for the budding filmmaker George Lucas and several superstar actors, particularly Harrison Ford. This 1973 movie was a basic coming of age story in which the culture of "cruising" is the central theme, and the '55 Chevy played almost as large of a role in the film as any actor.
The film originated as an off-shoot of the film "Two-Lane Blacktop" - the two films shared producer Gary Kurtz For car buffs, the real story of the film was the 1955 Chevy 150 sedan that appeared in both movies. To prepare for filming cross-country for Two-Lane Blacktop in 1971, Kurtz ordered three 1955 Chevy sedans to be special-built. These would later be used for his new movie American Graffiti.
The vehicles seen in both movies were modified by Richard Ruth of Competition Engineering located in California. It is rumored that the styling of these 1955 Chevy 150 sedans was modeled after Ruth's own big-block Chevy street racer, which Kurtz had seen while preparing for Two-Lane Blacktop. All three were painted by Ruth's studio in a powder blue color that would have been at the height of popularity in the mid-1950s. If you don't remember blue cars in the movie, that's because the movie studio had them repainted in gray primer to fit the persona of the characters driving them.
The modifications on the Chevy sedans included one prepared for stunt work, which included a full roll cage and the ability to make the car skid and roll for on-screen effects during a rollover scene. In addition to the stunt car, there were two vehicles left intact for shooting the main film scenes. One was fitted with brackets to support the cameras. This is the Chevy that can be seen on-screen in scenes with dialog. The last Chevy in the film was used for exterior shots, captured on film using a second car driving alongside the Chevy Autel DS708.
To prepare for American Graffiti after Two-Lane Blacktop finished shooting, the cars were painted black. An additional non-running '55 Chevy was brought in from a junkyard to use as the "burn car." It was sent back to the salvage yard after filming. After the filming of American Graffiti, the three original '55 Chevy sedans were relegated to the prop car lot at Universal Studios. Eventually, the car used for exterior shots was purchased by a studio mechanic and repainted with a candy-colored stripe, though it would again be seen on screen during Smokey and the Bandit. This later appearance further fueled the popularity of the 1955 Buick.
One of the original '55 Chevys used in American Graffiti was sent to the crusher in the 1970s. Another found its way into the hands of a collector and was featured in Street Rodder Magazine n May 1976 MaxiDiag Elite MD802. Collector Steve Fitch later bought the yellow '32 Ford Coupe driven by the character played by Paul LeMat. He has restored both cars to their original American Graffiti appearance.
Although many changes have been made to both vehicles since their days as a movie prop, they remain as a piece of pop culture history, not only for fans of the movie American Graffiti but also those who fell in love with the '55 Chevy two decades before the movie. These movies were hugely successful - as was the '55 Chevy they portrayed. These films were part of the beginning of the muscle car culture that remains popular with car aficionados today.
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