DO YOU REMEMBER the movie "Bullitt?" The 1968 Warner Bros. movie starred Steve McQueen and is legendary for its car chase through San Francisco with McQueen (the good guy) in a Highlander Green Ford Mustang chasing two hit men in a Jewel Black Dodge Charger R/T.
Lafayette resident Frank Panacci was a kid when the movie was made, but he remembers it well, as he was allowed on the set. His father was a San Francisco motorcycle officer at the time and was assigned to crowd control during the filming and became acquainted with McQueen.
Later on, as an adult, Panacci had the opportunity to be an extra for TV and movies shot in San Francisco including "The Streets of San Francisco," "The Towering Inferno" and "The Laughing Policeman."
The motivation for wanting to re-create the "Bullitt" cars was rather unusual. It came as a result of Panacci's mother's death. Panacci said the filming of "Bullitt" was a memorable time for his family, and he wanted to do something as a remembrance of that time. He decided it would be a good idea to re-create the cars of the famed car chase.
"In 2003, I bought a baby blue Ford Mustang for $13,000. It was in pretty good shape, but, of course, the wrong color. Originally, I didn't plan on having the Charger, but once I had the Mustang, I decided I would look for a Dodge Charger as well," he said.
A friend told him of one in Hayward that had been garaged and was in pretty
good shape -- except that it was all in pieces. He paid $6,000 for a fire engine red Charger with a white interior and also received many extra parts for the car.
"I wanted the cars to look like the movie cars and, other than the fact that my Mustang has the 302 c.i.d. V-8 engine instead of the 390 c.i.d. V-8 engine, they are identical," he said.
The Charger was painted "Jewel Black," and the black vinyl top was added with a matching black interior. The Charger has a 440 c.i.d. Magnum engine and both cars are equipped with four-speed manual transmissions, manual steering, and disc brakes. The movie cars (there were actually two Mustangs and two Chargers used in the movie) had beefed suspension systems to handle the abuse of the chase scenes which Panacci has chosen not to replicate.
Panacci had the paint and interiors professionally done, but almost all of the mechanical work, which took about 1½ years, was done by Matt Ciucci, a good friend and nonprofessional mechanic.
The total cost of restoring the Mustang was about $21,000 and the Charger about $27,000. Panacci estimates the current market value for the Mustang at $25,000 and the Charger at $30,000, but he points out that the value of this type of vehicle varies a great deal with the economy, as these are vehicles a few people may want but that no one actually needs.
The $18,000 paint job on the Charger makes Panacci -- the deputy fire chief of Daly City -- a little reluctant to show his cars except on special occasions. The Charger took first place in its class at the Bay Area MoPar Alley Car Show in 2009 and he will show both cars in May at the Marin County Concours d'Elegance.
It's unknown what happened to the Chargers after the movie shoot, but the primary Mustang was scrapped. The backup Mustang, however, survived and is rumored to be owned by a private collector in the Ohio River Valley.
If you happened to have missed "Bullitt" or would like to see the chase again, it is on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMc2RdFuOxI .
Have an interesting vehicle? Contact David Krumboltz at MOBopoly@yahoo.com .
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