Dan Thompson may not have a role in the latest installment of "The Fast and the Furious" movie franchise, but an old love will: His 1968 Dodge Charger.
And she'll look a lot hotter than when Thompson had her.
As a classic car collector and restoration expert, the Bakersfield resident is on Hollywood's radar, which explains the call he got last week from his buddy Brian Frick, a local mechanic who said the film's producers were looking for owners of circa-1970 Chargers. Terry Woodcock, the Hollywood scout on the hunt for the mean machines, once lived in Bakersfield and still has connections among local car enthusiasts.
Frick put in a call to Thompson and another collector, Mark Pounds, owner of Kern Valley Trucking. Thompson ended up selling his '68 Charger, and Pounds let go of us '69 model -- neither the exact year of the car driven by actor Vin Diesel in the franchise, but close enough.
"The '69 and '70 Charger have basically the same body," Thompson explained. "Only difference is the clip (the grill, taillights, side marker and bumper sections). What they'll do is take the two cars they bought and get a different front clip from a known manufacturing company like Year One who specialize in these types of replacement parts. They'll put those parts on these cars and make them look like a 1970 model. What you'll end up with is a 1970 Dodge Charger with a blown hemi engine. That's what Vin Diesel uses in the movie. Someone that didn't know the car couldn't tell, but I can tell right away."
Living up to the name of the movie, Thompson said the inquiry, meeting and sale went very fast.
"This was out of the blue. Brian got the call from Los Angeles (on a) Thursday, then called me and said they needed the car by Monday. Then on Friday, Brian said Terry was coming in this weekend after they got the money allocated for the purchase. I went over on Saturday and loaded it on the truck. Terry handed me a check and that was it."
Thompson wouldn't disclose the sale price and was cautioned against saying much about the details of the filming. Currently in production, "Furious Five," the title of the latest installment, is due in theaters April 29.
April is shaping up as a red-letter month for Thompson. Beyond the release of the film, he's due to retire from 35 years in the insurance business earlier in the month. After that, the 61-year-old will be free to pursue his passion for restoring cars.
A fan of the open road, the Bakersfield collector and restoration expert has been fueling his passion for big-wheeled autos since 1966, after his father presented him with the keys to a 1964 Dodge Coronet. Putting the car's power to the test whenever he got the chance, Thompson's teenage years were like an extended scene from "American Graffiti," the 1970s cinema classic about hot rods and cruising.
"We used to go out to Famoso Raceway on Sundays," recalled Thompson. "Some guy would go out there and sit on an ice chest full of beer and start the races all day. We'd take our lunch and friends and have a lot of fun. We also used to go cruising up and down Chester Avenue and just socialize."
But like most experiences with first love, it didn't last. Thompson blew the engine a year later and his father auctioned off the car. The loss fueled his quest to find a replacement, a journey that lasted until 1988.
"My sister married a fella who was into street rods. Together we found the same car out in Cuyama. Not a four speed like I had, it was push-button. I started attending a lot of car shows and saw the value their restored versions had."
Working full time as a local insurance salesman, Thompson opened his first garage and restoration shop on East California that same year, amassing nearly 100 autos from some of his favorite model years. Customers could find everything from parts to plenty of shop talk at Dan's Restorations.
"Barracuda, Charger, Super Bee, Dodge Challenger, anything from the muscle era of '64 to '72," he said.
Thompson lost his shop's lease in 2000, but found another location and took the opportunity to downsize to 50 cars. But he has big plans for a rebirth.
"I bought a new property in 2004 off a lady who was a teacher," said Thompson, who declined to get more specific about the location for security reasons. "The land was previously used for horses. There was a lot of wire and cleaning up to do before we could reopen," he said.
With the shop in good shape, Thompson said he's in full countdown mode for retirement.
"After April 1st, I'll be working on my cars every day," he said.
And possibly fielding phone calls from eager Hollywood producers with the need for speed. As it turns out, "Furious Five" wasn't his first brush with fame.
"I got a call when they were working on the 'Dukes of Hazzard' remake movie about seven years ago," said Thompson, recalling the search for the '69 Charger dubbed The General Lee. "They didn't need the cars after all, but said they'd keep my number."
Source:
No comments:
Post a Comment