I know it's sacrilege to question Milner's coupe but...

Here you go

 

Well I grew up in that time and can relate to the movie. My own personal car could have doubled for the 58 Impala, it was white with the same red pinstripes, except mine had a gray top and stock interior and of course a 348 instead of small block with 6 deuces. There weren`t any rods on the street then, no chopped cars running the nightly cruise. But yes we did cruise on Fri and Sat night just like in the movie. Of course this is in the mid west. There were some rods being built at that time but not on the street yet in my area.

 

I always understood it was done for camera angles when they were filming the movie

 

I'll answer that.

Because I want one. The original ain't for sale and I want to drive the Milner Coupe. Not many have done it right, so I'm trying. I've got other cars, a '57 Belair (there's millions of 'em), a Model A (am I the only one?), a '50 Cad and a '34 truck. I've never seen a Graffiti Coupe clone in my neck of the woods. I want one. And trust me, it's been a hard go. Figari won't let you near the car and until us and a couple others did the research, nobody really knew how it was built. Real tributes or 'clones' are a challenge. Ask Von Franco. He's done some beauties and and I don't hear you haters callin' him out or questioning his motivation.

I love the Milner Coupe.

I want to drive it.

Figari said no.

I built my own.

Fuck off.

Aloha

 

The fact that Millner's coupe does not fit the mold of the our perception of what a "Hot Rod" should look like in 1962 is what makes the genre unique. The Hot Rod is an individual expression which makes each one unique in its own way. To me this is a uniquely "American" expression of freedom and individualness. Over the past sixty years we as a group have eliminated the "wheat from the chaff" to define the best of the best such as the Neikamp and Spencer roadsters while others such as Milner's Coupe in American Graffitti and the Beach Boys "Little Deuce Coupe" have ripped through popular culture to define a "Hot Rod" to the masses and introduce thousands more to it's influence. Because most of us would change something on someone elses car if we owned it, it could be said that the Milner coupe doesn't fit the mold of what we would build today and might be a forgotten mongrel of the breed if not for being immortalized in American Graffitti. However they arrived to be "icons" makes no difference to me, because however they are put together, they scream the essence of the "Hot Rod" to me!

 

Like he said.

 

Kinda like, um, my hair. haha

 

Dude, "Fuck off"? I didn't say I "hated" them (your words) and I acknowledged such a project took a lot of skill. What I said was that I didn't Understand why someone would go to all the trouble to do it.
You don't have to be offended or aggressive or that defensive. Maybe you've gotten this question too many times before? I apologize.

You said the reason you built it was because you want to drive it and that building your own was the only way you could. I get that. Fine. I still admire the talent it took to copy the original, especially since you didn't have access to it.

There are a lot more questions that could be asked, but there's not really a point if your answer is only going to be "I want one-fuck off". That's not going to lead to a discussion so, Peace. Enjoy your car.

 

Although the thread is someone else's, I was actually responding to the greek chorus of Graffiti Coupe hating hot rod experts that appear anytime you say the words 'Milner Coupe'. The question was legitimate and I should have stayed on topic. That makes me guilty of being one of the greek chorus I guess. Please don't fuck off.

 

That may be the real reason for it. To let the engine and carbs actually show in the movie shots.

I'm a couple of years younger then Fab32 but have exactly the same thoughts that he did on the car. It didn't look right when I first saw it on the big screen even though the rest of the car is great as far as appearance goes.

In the early 60's and earlier I believe California (and several other states) were strict on the 1500 lb rule that you had to be under 1500 lbs to be able to run without fenders. Or risk getting hassled by the law enforcement folks all the time. The fender thing was a constant point of discussion in rod mags at the time. The bobbed or partial rear fenders on the coupe would be spot on for that era.

 

Scroll down on this thread, there are pictures of the car many of us believe was the inspiration for Milners coupe. Plus TONS of details about the movie and cars.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=199395&highlight=coupe&showall=1

 

People are a funny animal. Everyone wants to be "different" but as soon as someone DOES something "different", everyone jumps on them for doing it "wrong". It boggles the mind.

 

American Grafitti (sp?)

The car is way over rated in my opinion but you know what they say about opinions. Uh can ya smell what I'm sayin?

The story goes it was a poorly built rod that the studio got cheap and it got a quicky paint job etc over night. Who knows what the truth about the car is. Its just another movie car, hype is just a major turn off for me.

 

"That can be your car, it must be your Mama's car"

"piss yellow deuce coupe"

"thats a field car" Whats a field car? "field car goes all around the field spreading around manure"



I dunno, Grampas Drag-u-La is pretty sweet to.


Not a big Lucas fan so really dont care.

 

I was in the Class of ‘64 at Mountain View High School. I remember cursing First Street in San Jose every weekend, up first - down second; repeated all night long.

My recollection is that the number of actual “Hot Rods” was kind of limited (we were High School students, mostly juniors and seniors). There were lots of old cars (ones we could afford) and mom & pop family cars but nothing that resembled the cars in the movie. I later quit MVHS and joined the Marine Corp and went to Viet Nam. IMHO, that movie nailed that period in history; the cars were beautiful extras but really not representative of an average Friday or Saturday night.

 

Thank you

 

I hope this doesn't apply to me. I really need a good fuck off day.

 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO... I'm waitin' for lightin' to strike you dead!

 

WOODIE...least you forget the car was built in the 70s, and by the way that's when the movie cam out. the coupe was built by people who wern't hotroders. hell you just have to look at the finders to see that. so cut the coupe a little slack, it doesn't know it's lame. personaly i think it's groovy DADDY O...POP.

 

Linked it earlier today, above, post 41

 

Wrong.

Way off.

 

File this tread under CS.

 

maybe it was an east coast thing.

 

You're a real J.D. I agree, by the way.
Yes the grill looks like shit, other than that, that is one bitchin' car. If I were cruising around the valley with my header plugs out, in my piss yellow duece coupe, looking out over my Man-A-Fre smallblock and scouting for chicks..........I'd be pretty bitchin' too.

 

Amen brotha!!!

 

Enlighten us Mr. Ebert

 

Maybe they did it different in another world

 

It could be a East Coast thing. I mean people have different experiences and different stlying influence depending on where they live. Even if they live in the same state. Just because one person says "I don't remember that" another person will say "everyone I knew had it"
And George Lucas based the movie and the cars on his experience.