American Graffiti 55 has a new owner!! Real car

Taylor has to get the jets changed....

 

I think I remember it was burned in a storage fire

 

https://www.latimes.com/business/au...captain-america-bike-sold-20141019-story.html

 

That's a Lotta cash for a bike with questionable provenance! Damn!

 

No doubt. Makes the Hirahata Merc seem like a bargain to me both in the authenticity of the car as well as just how much you get for your money as compared to an old panhead.

Oh, and back on topic, I would also like to know more about the current situation with the Graffiti 55.

 

Here's another quarter in the fountain hoping THE 55 makes it's first public appearance, post rehab, on The HAMB. Thank you current owner and Richard Ruth for saving and preserving this car. We wanna see it!!! We wanna see all that previous owner fluff and debauchery in a dumpster.

 

The guy in Maryland that had the 55 and did all changes on it was named Wayne Newsome. He use to own hearth and home. He shared a shop with my old boss at one time. My old boss asked him to bring to the 55 to the shop a couple times because me and couple other guys were into cars but he never did. I wanted to get a picture of my 66 Impala with the 55.

 

I remember seeing pics of the car at a show and did not approve of the changes, but I ain't anybody..

 

Yeah I saw it at a show in MD and it wasn't special anymore just another black 55. I still couldn't get a picture with it.

 

Personally I wouldn't have bothered to take a pic or two unless it was to show how a car with heritage could/how they get lost. Had to make it his own non originale TLB car. Doesn't make sense.

 

The late Pat Ganahl once told me a compelling tale of one of the the '55's from this film. I believe there were three '55s used in the movie; the primary, the camera car and a stunt car.

He said long ago he had done extensive research and found a guy who said he owned one of them. I'm not sure which.

Pat said the guy and his father took the car to a James Taylor concert and actually got Taylor to look at the car, see if he could confirm its provenance. Taylor looked under the car and quickly said this was one of the cars. He said it was the car he had raced in the final scene. He knew because he had done damage to it on the first take, and the damage was was still there.

That day in 1971 Taylor said he had done the classic Muncie 4 speed first gear/reverse gear confusion/brain fart, (full disclosure: I've done that, too!!) He did a full throttle launch in reverse, snapped the u-joint and almost sent the drive shaft through the floor. Apparently the under body damage was still there when Taylor examined the car in whatever year this concert visit supposedly took place.

Pat said he had long since lost touch with the guy. Pat told me this story around 7 or 8 years ago.

 

Great post John. I'm guessing it was the late great Jay Wheatley who put a new joint in it for take 2....

 

Somehow, IMO I can't believe Taylor got down and looked under the car, let alone drove it hard. I think the story is confused with AG and the last race. And I admit I don't remember how TLB ended. Have to look it up, don't think TLB used three cars, but AG did. have to look that up too.