Telling Your Tale
Here, in his very own words, John Anderson from Holmfirth, West Yorkshire reveals how he became the proud owner of a Dukes of Hazzard-inspired 1969 Dodge Charger General Lee…
Firstly, I’m going to apologise to anyone who sees this and thinks: “Oh please, not another bright orange Charger with an ‘01’ stuck on the side!” I appreciate it’s not to everyone’s taste, but bear with me and let me explain. At the risk of it sounding like a very familiar story to anyone with a classic vehicle, it was the films and TV of my childhood that sparked my interest in cars – and not just American ones.
Like many, Bullitt was the film that first grabbed my attention as a child. However, growing up in Yorkshire in the Seventies and Eighties, I was a world away from the sights and sounds of Steve McQueen and stunt driver Bill Hickman throwing their cars around the streets of San Francisco. As a kid I wore the Betamax tape out (we had Betamax, not VHS!) watching that now legendary car chase scene over and over again. I dreamed of owning one of those magnificent cars, but had no real idea what they were back then. There were other great car chase films too: The Italian Job, The Seven Ups, Smokey and the Bandit… anyone remember The Burglars with Jean-Paul Belmondo? And Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry to name but a few. It was also a fantastic period in time for some classic car-related TV series, the likes of which we’ll probably never see again: The A-Team, The Fall Guy, CHiPS, a littleremembered series called BAD Cats, Starsky & Hutch, Knight Rider, Blue Thunder…sorry, that was a helicopter and that’s a different story! But my absolute ultimate TV series and essential early evening viewing as a kid was The Dukes of Hazzard. Every Saturday night I’d be glued to the telly as Bo and Luke Duke flew through the air in their distinctive orange 1969 Dodge Charger, pursued by the bumbling Sheriff Rosco P Coltrane. I had all the Dukes of Hazzard toys as a boy, but could never have imagined that some 33 years later I would be actually seriously looking for a ’69 Charger. I had one major hurdle to overcome though; I’d read all these great articles in Classic American about owners restoring this great car, rebuilding that big-block motor, fabricating new panels, rewiring this and engineering this and that… only problem was, I’m no practical mechanic. Nevertheless, it didn’t stop me looking for one. In 2012 I was either in the right place at the wrong time or, the wrong place at the right time (depending on who you speak to!) and came across a classified ad for a genuine 1969 model that amazingly was already a Dukes of Hazzard replica. It was the correct year (the Dukes used ’69 and ’68 Chargers made to look like ’69s), it wasn’t a rot box and I knew the previous owner had spent a huge amount of time, love, effort, not to mention money in having the car professionally turned into the famous General Lee. They say you should never meet your heroes and I had – it had been a long time coming, but I was now the very proud owner of my childhood dream car. A massive gamble considering I’d never even had a classic car before, let alone a classic American one. I was well and truly out of my depth and in at the deep end. I trailered it back to Yorkshire, wondering how I’d explain what I’d bought
to the other half. Driving the car for the first time was, I don’t mind admitting, a shock to the system: I had a new-found respect for the fantastic stunt team that made The Dukes of Hazzard what it was and take my hat off to them for the real life driving work they did – no CGI in those days. In particular stuntman the late Al Wyatt Jnr, who often drove the General Lee during some of those spectacular jumps. A particular episode saw the General fly more than 230ft through the air over a moving freight train, Al suspended from the roll cage in a rudimentary safety harness of the time, apparently wearing a Bermuda shirt, shorts and flip flops! The stunt drivers loved the jumps, but hated the landings apparently. It’s estimated The Dukes of Hazzard wrecked more than 320 Dodge Chargers in the seven seasons it ran – it may now seem like a crying shame to see them destroy classic Chargers like that, but back then they were paying only a few hundred dollars for cars that were considered 10-to-15-year-old bangers – oh, how times have changed! My Charger is not a numbers matching car – my budget wouldn’t have stretched to that – however, it’s an S/E, 440 Magnum big block with 727 torque flight three-speed, with an Edelbrock performer carburettor, manifold and camshaft. It also has TTi exhaust headers and a three-inch exhaust system. There’s also a SSBC disc brake upgrade with a power rack and pinion steering conversion. I’ve been very lucky in finding ‘a man who can’ for the mechanical side of things for me, something vital if you don’t have the skills yourself. Dave Billadeau of Billadeau Speed & Automotive is my local go-to guru for anything under the hood. Since owning the General I’ve had Dave go through everything mechanical to make sure it was in good shape and he has also done some much-needed electrical rewiring. There’s always things to do with a classic American: I’ve sourced some original 7x15 10-spoke America Racing Vector rims with Carroll Shelby centre caps, fitted a very rare period-correct Dukes of Hazzard mag mount CB antenna complete with Cobra 78x CB radio. Likewise the interior has been treated to fresh saddle tan carpet and mats and I’ve fitted an original Chrysler centre console. The Hurst ratchet shifter that was in has been replaced to a factory standard version as featured in the TV series. The General Lee name on the roof, flag and 01 numbers are a work of art in their own right, all spray painted on and lacquered – no vinyl stickers and yes, it does have the Dixie horn. My doors aren’t welded shut though like in the TV show and unbelievably I haven’t climbed in through the windows yet. Why? Two reasons: I don’t want to scratch the paintwork and secondly I’d need to remove the door locking knobs to prevent doing myself a mischief! The car has been signed by John Schneider, who played Bo Duke in the series some 40 years ago. As well as all the usual upkeep jobs on a car of this age, there are a couple of things I still need to do. Currently, the car isn’t fitted with a roll cage like the ones in the programme were, that needs sorting and I’m going to have to look at getting a little bit of bodywork seen to – it’s 15 years now since it was in a body-off state and a few little signs of old age are beginning to catch my eye if not anyone else’s. I realise I’ve been incredibly fortunate to be able to own my dream car and this will be one General Lee that won’t be destroyed reliving my childhood TV memories though. But like the General…how time flies.