I just often wonder if when they were discussing the cars for this movie if they ever talked about having a chopped merc for the Rebel to drive?? It was cool that he had a merc and I have always loved the James Dean merc but I think if he drove a chopped one he would of stood out even more,since at that time it wasnt as common.I just wonder why the studio wanted him to drive a merc and if a chopped merc was ever talked about? It really doesn't matter I love the movie and I love the merc that they used and I hope to one day get to see it.
When I saw the car in 1978 at the Denver world of wheels show she may have been lowerd just a bit in the rear but it was hard to tell. sp1ke
Very old thread but since you brought it up, here are some shots of the car when we went thru Reno on our way to Pebble Beach. About 5 shots in our coverage of the trip west in the summer of 2010. It was in the garage section of the collection and the guys there were also going to Pebble Beach and let us take these shots. http://www.hotrodsonline.com/articles/10_Harrah's/slides/DSC04757.html
We had it at " Movieworld" when i was there, ive sat in it, walked by it every day, and for the life of me cant remember if it was lowered , maybe in the back a little
The car in Reno is the real thing. It has plenty of do***entation to prove its history. I've seen the car up close several times over the last 30 years or so. No reason to believe it is not the Dean car. Old thread, but great car.
I too have the diecast of Dean's merc and have watched the movie many many times. One thing I wonder about is the car in the movie and even the diecast has a two tone grey tuck and roll on the seat, almost like a candy stripe. was the actual car restored to more stock appearance? Dean's car does appear lower in the movie and looks to almost bottom out in a few scenes where he is driving. Maybe the film crew just added some weight to the rear for additional lowering.
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