MovieChat Forums > White Lightning (1973) Discussion > neat Ford in the movie

neat Ford in the movie

posted 20 years ago by bluez24
14 replies | jump to latest

The LTD (not sure exactly the name, I think it was a Ford Galaxie), but the Ford in the movie is neat. The cars came with an automatic transmission (I doubt such a car came with a manual transmission, it was basically a family car), but in the movie they show him shifting a manual transmission. However, if you watch him pull up to his parents' house at beginning of movie, you saw him shifting an automatic shifter into park (on steering wheel column). But despite those goofs/errors, the engine sounds neat and the engine they show in the car at beginning of movie is neat. (When Burt Reynolds says "429..dual carbs.."). This movie was one of the first, maybe the first, big car genre movie of the 1970s.

[–] spoobel 19 years ago

Yep! Absolutely agree with you! The Ford LTD's used in this movies might have been standard family cars back then but to me they're one of the most beautiful cars ever designed in the U.S.A. in a time when Americans knew how to design and build a full-size automobile. The engine shown in the beginning of the movie is actually a Cobra engine -u can see the lettering on the Cyl head covers and the manual gearshifter seems to belong to a Hurst Rockcrusher Transmission- all in all making the LTD a real mover. But I doubt they used these modifications on all cars Reynolds drove or wrecked in this movie -would have been an expensive shame!!! I think they must have made the film in late summer of '72, to have it ready for release in '73 and by that time '71 LTD's were comparatively cheap because the 1972 model was already there and its much more fat and ugly (but built to new "safety standards"...)follower was about to be launched. So I guess the production crew simply bought a bunch of '71's, customized one to a racing machine (if ever), left the rest technically unchanged and converted some of these into Police cars to smash them all up.

[–] ConfederateGray 19 years ago

Burt drove a 1971 Ford Galaxie 500 and prob a undercover police sedan and it prob had thepolice interceptor 429 in it but the part where burt pops the hood and rows the gears was actualy taken from a built up Mustang and it wasn't a 'rockcrusher'4 speed as those were a GM trans,what you meant was a 'Toploader' as that was what Ford used.the film was using both 71 and 72 models and haad to have been filmed in either late 71 or early 72 as i didn't see any ugly 73 models as thats the year ford made the LTD and Galaxie 500 a more squared boxy car with huge ugly bumpers.lastly no 71 Galxie500 came with the floor mounted manual shifter maybe a 3 on the tree but no 4 speed manual

'Jim Dandy'Mangrum

[–] travisracer1 19 years ago

Anybody have and pics of the brown galaxie of gators from the movie im kinda wanna build up one just like it and pics would be appciated.

[–] frswinnipeg 18 years ago

it twas a 71 429 police Interceptor in the movie.. basically the same motor as the 429 Cobra Jet.

You can see the 850 Carb and chrome air clearner.. Burt says "429 DUAL carbs".. BUT in reality there was only the 1 carb on the car!

***PS: found this info on another site =

A brown 1971 Custom 500 4-door sedan with a blue interior, equipped with a 429 Police Interceptor/Cobra Jet engine and black steel wheels with Cooper Tire Wide Runner Polyglas tires, appeared in the 1973 Burt Reynolds film White Lightning and is perhaps the most famous Custom 500 ever. Unusually, scenes of the movie depict the cars (several were wrecked during filming, including the barge jumping scene) with either a manual or automatic transmissions.

[–] rrholiman2001 18 years ago

In 1971, Custom 500s could be had with the 429 Police Interceptor engine (basically the same engine as the SuperCcobra Jet) with a C-6 automatic transmission, or a 351 Cleveland or Windsor with a manual 3 speed transmission with the shifter on the column.

It is pretty easy to convert a 1971 full size ford to a 4 speed by just using the pedals, z-bar, cluth rod, etc. from a three speed car, and then mating it up to a 4 speed toploader. I'm in the process of converting a Galaxie 500 to a four speed toploader right now.

In the movie, one of the federal agents says that one of their boys "built" the car, leading you to believe it was customized, rather than stock. It looks like he is popping the clutch on some of the tire smoking scenes, but a 429 PI would smoke em pretty good with an automatic.

The close ups of the Hurst floor shifter, and of the engine, are pretty obviously from another car. But, that could have been shots they went back and got later. The easy way to have done it would to have been to just put a Hurst floor shifter on a 3 speed manual model.

Still, the idea of a big block, 4 speed sleeper, like that, is pretty cool.

[–] nonaggt 16 years ago

The engine shown near the beginning of the movie is clearly a 351 Cleveland with ONE 4-barrel Holley carb, the unique Cleveland valve cover shape is obvious. The valve covers with the "CS Shelby" logo were commonly available back then, they certainly don't make this a "Cobra" engine. While the '71 big Ford was available with both a 351-C and a column-shift three speed manual trans, but I doubt any of the cars used in the movie were equipped with either. The Hurst shifter (and the engine) shots were likely a Mustang or Torino.

[–] wolfsblood66210 16 years ago

The thing that sticks with me is how almost every car they show is a 1971 Ford! You'd think it was the only car on the road back in the day based on this movie.
I've always loved those cars. It seems like those cars never got the respect that earlier big cars get.

[–] nekkid_hill_billy 16 years ago

well it was cause most of them were police cars and that was the top car for police use in 1971 same as the crown vic today

ksp has one of the 71 in mint condition they use for shows 390 hp 429 car

it was one of the old cruisers they restored

[–] Aguywholikesmovies 15 years ago

Sorry that is a 429/460.Not a 351c. this. http://www.walt-n-anne.com/images/Ranchero/429small.jpg

Not this. http://1bad88gt.homestead.com/files/80_lx_engine_ps.jpg

[–] SunCanyonRoad 11 years ago

The 1972 Ford Custom/Galaxie/LTD model line uses the EXACT same sheet metal as the 1971 model year. It wasn't until 1973 that there was a new design. The only difference between the 71 and the 72 is the 72 has a beefier front and rear bumper.

As for Reynold's Brown 1971 in White Lightning it was a standard automatic car. The 4-speed and engine establishment shots were taken from a Ford Mustang.

[–] schlockrod 16 years ago

This Ford is, I think, a 1971 model.
This flick has to be the swan song of full-size hopped-up Detroit iron in the movies. It was all downhill after this: EPA, NHTSA, even NASCAR brought about the death of the full-size hot-rodded Anerican car.
A good car flick, with lots of burning-rubber highway scenes and glorified '70s Southern culture.

[–] Xcalat3 15 years ago

very nice car

When there's no more room in hell, The dead will walk the earth...

[–] rextasy 15 years ago

I like that they didn't have Gator drive a flashy muscle car or something. The Ford in the movie is the perfect '70s ridge-runner car...a four-door sleeper with everything underneath souped up. One more piece of realism that adds to the movie.

[–] 15 years ago

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