The Chargers of Hollywood Star Car Meseum in Gatlinburg, TN

[JR]

So I was in Tennessee for a job interview this past weekend, and on the way home I discovered the Hollywood Star Car Meseum in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

I'll skip the history of the Meseum, and get straight to the Good stuff, the Chargers.

First off, there's an obligatory General Lee. I'm not a General Lee guy, and really wasn't here for this one, but here it is. It seemed like a clean car with a quick orange respray thrown over the top of it, judging by a scratch on the quarter showing clean metallic grey paint under the orange. A nice car overall, but I think it was a nicer ride back when it was grey.

A strange thing about this car, was the random stick on reflectors on the side. Someone went through the trouble of shaving the original side markers, only to add these stick on reflectors later. I couldn't figure that out.

More to be added in here shortly.

[JR]

Next, we have Dom's charger from Fast and Furious. I believe this one was from the 4th movie, but I'm not 100% sure on that.

It looked nicely finished for a movie car, but you could definitely see the flaws up close. The roll cage wasn't welded to the floor, it was welded to some strange square tubing above the floor. I don't know why they do it this way. Also, I noticed they didn't bother to remove the dome light from the roof. Its just two screws, but a reminder of how movie cars are thrown together.

The fiberglass front end was decent, but panel gaps are noticeably wide. They would never pass on a personal vehicle, but for a movie car, they were fine. You could see the support braces for the fake blower peeking through the gaps in the hood cut out.

The V.I.N. states that this particular car was a 68 model originally.

Not knocking this car, I love it, and it's done a lot to get the next generation into chargers. I'm happy to see it in person. This thing will never go out of style.

[JR]

Lastly, we have the faux Daytona from Fast 6. I love this thing.

It was hard to get photos of it because it was in the center showroom, packed in with other cars and people, but I got a really good look at it.

It was by far, the nicest finished of all the movie cars there. It was clear the builders put the most time in the finish work of this one. The paint was excellent, the fit and finish was pretty good overall. There were a handful of custom touches that worked really nicely overall. And the shortened nose looks pretty good in person. I can't imagine it's anywhere near as aerodynamic as a real Daytona, but for a movie version, it looks damn nice. This would be the one I'd want to take home.

It was finished like a hero car, but it still had the hydraulic handbrake and dual rear calipers. Maybe all of them had this. The exhaust runs inside the car, and out the quarters. The mufflers sit right behind the seats.

Overall, this was a very nice car. The only real flaw that was noticable, was that the filler around the rear window plug has started to crack in one corner. I'm not sure if they used a glass or steel plug, but the filler work needs to be redone.

But overall, I love this thing. It's awesome, and didn't get enough screen use in it's movie.

[Bad B-rad]

Maybe the GL charger started as a 68? that is why the stick on reflectors?(68 marker lights had been filled??)
I know the have a 69 tail panel on it,but who knows just a thought because, you are correct it just don't jive.

Nice pics, any more cool cars there?

[JR]

Oh yeah, there was a handful of REALLY good stuff there. I'm resizing and uploading the non charger stuff in a post coming up.

My wife must have felt like she was chasing a kid in a toy store as I ran around giddy with excitement seeing my film car heros up close. More pics coming in a few minutes.

[JR]

Ok here's some of the non charger stuff.

First up, is Tom Cruise's race car from Days of Thunder. Just to get it out of the way, I don't care how crazy the man is, his movies are awesome, and this one is no exception. I still think this is one of the best looking race cars ever.

It's also suprisingly small in person. It's easy to forget how cars have gradually gotten gradually more bloated in size over the last 20 years. This car would probably look tiny next to a modern NASCAR Chevy.

[JR]

Next is Letty's Jensen Interceptor from Fast 6.

Something it shared with the Daytona was, it was very nicely finished as well. I don't know why the cars from fast 6 were detailed so nicely, but they seem to have been done to a higher standard than some of the other films cars. Judging by these two, at least.

[JR]

A couple of other cars.

First off, I'm a HUGE Back to the Future fan, and they had a Delorean here, but it seemed very crudely thrown together. It's pretty obvious someone just bought the cheapest non running Delorean around, stuck some random bits on it to vaguely resemble the time machine, and called it good. It was a sad fate for this car. I'd rather see this one restored as an original Delorean than suffer this fate.

Also, here's Helen Hunt's Jeep from twister. It's apparently the only one that survived. It is complete with "Dorothy" in the bed. It is in really nice condition.

[alfaitalia]

Next is Letty's Jensen Interceptor from Fast 6.

Something it shared with the Daytona was, it was very nicely finished as well. I don't know why the cars from fast 6 were detailed so nicely, but they seem to have been done to a higher standard than some of the other films cars. Judging by these two, at least.

Nice...rare even in the UK.....and 440 Mopar powered of course!

[JR]

And while there were several more cars, this is the last one I'll post. (Given that we are in the Charger section of the board.)

My ultimate favorite 80s tv car of all time. I don't care the show is cheesy, i don't care how terrible 1980s General Motors products are, and I don't care how silly the idea is, but they had K.I.T.T.!

I felt like a 6 year old kid standing next to this. And this car was done pretty well. The exterior was done very nice. Excellent quality paint, nicely fitting nose cone, black out lexan taillights done just as in the show, the exterior was almost perfect.

The interior was done nice, but it was clear some corners were cut. It had a correct two monitor dash and digital gauges, but some of the buttons we're stickers under lexan instead of actual buttons, and the overhead console was incorrect.

But overall, I don't care. It's Kitt, and I love it. I must have taken 30 pictures of this one. I've never had the inclination to build a film car replica, but dammit, I want one of these. At least a Trans Am with the exterior done. I may settle for an 87-91 Trans Am GTA one day, but I still think this is one of the coolest cars ever.

[Bad B-rad]

VERY NICE!!!!!
I agree on the BTF DeLorean(flat tire in photo,LOL!!!)
And the KITT car is awesome!!!
My wife had an 81 or 82 Trans-AM(what ever the first year for that style) it had the hood the T-tops and the cut out and red-light up front(we bought it like that) but it was Blue and in like 1998-1999 so the red "swoosh" was just like 4 or 5 square red marker lights that would go on a trailer or a duel wheel truck, mounted to a plate LOL!!!

Sound like you had fun!!

[timmycharger]

Great pics JR!

I think it was on "fast and Loud" where they were building a K.I.T.T. clone. I was shocked at how much of the dash parts are available to make a replica, apparently that show was a favorite for lots of guys in the 80s!

that DeLorean was a sad site for sure, they couldn't do any better than that? LOL

Did they have a Mad Max/Road Warrior Interceptor?

[Bad B-rad]

Not sure what is in worse shape, the Delorean or that "Doc Brown" mannequin standing next to it!!
That is one scary looking Doc Brown.
Looks like he got hit with  1.21 Gigawatts, not the clock tower!!


He looks like Phil Hartman in that Caveman Lawyer SNL skit. 

[Mike DC]

          
The GL's signals were probably shaved by by one owner and then stick-on replaced by another one.  Some states (and some inspectors) care more about that stuff than others.  As a '69 model it only had reflectors from the factory and not working lights.  Slapping on the stick-on reflectors is technically restoring it to OEM safety specs.


The F&F rollcages are mounted on long pieces of angle-iron welded in place over the wiring harness cover areas.  It's a way to spread out the load like the normal floor plates do.  It's faster/easier than custom-shaping a plate for each mounting point and it works reasonably well even on rusty cars.  

 
The short-nosed Daytona is probably no worse than a stock Daytona for aero drag resistance.  But that shortening job would be liable to upset the nicely balanced front/rear downforce in the original design.  

[lukedukem]

I haven't been there since 2011, and all that fast and furious stuff wasn't there. Did they still have the Christine coming out of the wall on the stairs?

Luke

[JR]

Sorry for the late reply guys, I'm working third shift this month.

Unfortunately, there were no mad Max cars there. But given the success of the recent Fury Road, I expect they will have one some day.

And yes, Christine is still there breaking thru the wall. It scared my wife when the engine started as she walked up the stairs.

I also forgot to mention, tickets to enter were only 12.50 per person. So if you're passing through , I'd highly recommend it!

[Laxy]

Great thread, thanks for all the pics. Absolutely love all these cars.

[Dino]

Agreed on KITT, the Delorean and that orange pos.   

I just can't look at these GLs anymore. I automatically associate them with basket case cars and unfortunately it's usually true.

For sure I'll be owning a sweet custom Delorean one day, and I've always wanted a Trans Am with the exterior looking like KITT minus the wheels, scanner, and possibly a different color. Not sure about the interior but I'm not driving anything with that silly steering wheel.   

Now I must say, I pity the fool who doesn't have an '83 Vandura in his museum!