Hell’s Chariot Is For Sale – The 1949 Mercury Custom Coupe From “Grease”

This is Hell’s Chariot, it’s a 1949 Mercury Custom Coupe and it’ll be immediately recognizable to anyone who’s seen the 1978 smash hit film Grease starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.

Hell’s Chariot was built by Eddie Paul (of Customs by Eddie Paul) to be the signature car driven Leo “Crater-Face” Balmudo, the main rival of John Travolta’s character Danny Zuko. The two men have a memorable race down the Los Angeles River, between the First and Seventh street bridges.

Fast Facts – Hell’s Chariot From Grease

• Hell’s Chariot was built by Eddie Paul of Customs by Eddie Paul specifically for use in the 1978 film “Grease.” The car would later star in the films “Streets of Fire” (1984) and “Used Cars” (1980).
• Eddie Paul built Hell’s Chariot using a 1949 Mercury Custom Coupe as the starting point. The roof was cut off to convert the car into a convertible, it was given the distinctive flamed paintwork, and wheels with spinning blades attached.
• The car features heavily in the film, most famously in the race down the Los Angeles River as its driver, Leo “Crater-Face” Balmudo, attempts to use the spinning blades to puncture Danny Zuko’s tires.
• Hell’s Chariot is powered by a 255 cubic inch flathead V8 engine and power is sent to the rear wheels through a column-shifted 3-speed manual transmission with Touch-O-Matic overdrive. It remains in largely original, screen-used condition.

Grease, Greased Lightnin’, and Hell’s Chariot

The 1978 film Grease remains one of the most enduringly popular family-friendly films from the 1970s. The film actually started out as a Broadway musical in 1971 before being converted into a film and given a cinematic release.

Above Video: This is the famous race scene from the 1978 film Grease, shot in LA between the First and Seventh street bridges, featuring Hell’s Chariot and Greased Lightnin’.

Without going too deep into the plot, the film is a story about a greaser named Danny Zuko (John Travolta) and his Australian love interest that he met over summer holidays named Sandy Olsson (Olivia Newton-John).

Grease is packed with memorable music and quotable quotes, though perhaps the most memorable part of the film is the race between Danny Zuko and his arch nemesis Leo “Crater-Face” Balmudo. Zuko is driving “Greased Lightnin'” and Balmudo is driving he car you see in this article, “Hell’s Chariot.”

The film would ultimately gross over $396 million worldwide, and in 2020 the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

Hell’s Chariot – The Mercury Custom Coupe From Grease

The script for Grease called for a number of custom cars to be made, the two most important were Greased Lightnin’, which was to be driven by Travolta, and Hell’s Chariot which would be driven by his key rival.

There can be little doubt that Hell’s Chariot is one of the most famous cinema cars of the 1970s, and it’s instantly recognizable to anyone who remembers the film.

Hell’s Chariot started out as a relatively standard 1949 Mercury Custom Coupe, it was acquired by Eddie Paul of Customs by Eddie Paul who was building the cars for the film.

Paul would chop the roof off to turn the car into a convertible, he also added flames front and back over the black paintwork, and those famous hubcaps with blades on them that spun as the wheel turned.

The car is powered by a 255 cubic inch flathead V8 engine and power is sent back to the live axle rear end through a column-shifted 3-speed manual transmission with Touch-O-Matic overdrive.

Hell’s Chariot would end up in private hands eventually, after it had also been featured in the films “Streets of Fire” (1984) and “Used Cars” (1980). Later in its life it would also appear in the TV show “Americarna” (season 2 episode 7 entitled “Million Dollar Movie Cars”) as well as an episode of the TV series “Pawn Stars.”

The car is now due to roll across the auction block with Mecum in mid-August, if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.

Images courtesy of Mecum

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Daihatsu TAFT – The “Tough Almighty Fourwheeldrive Transport”

The Daihatsu Taft is likely one of the most ambitiously named vehicles in automotive history – the name “TAFT” is an acronym for “Tough Almighty Fourwheeldrive Transport.”

I think many of you will agree that there are far too few vehicles with the word “almighty” in their model name, and Daihatsu set about making this right in 1974 when they released the first vehicle in the Taft model series.

Fast Facts – The Daihatsu Taft

• The Daihatsu Taft was originally released in 1974 as a simple, Jeep-inspired 4×4 with a modestly sized 1.0 liter petrol engine.
• Over the course of the Taft’s 1974 to 1984 production run Daihatsu released a long wheelbase model to accompany the original short wheel base model, a tray back version was offered as were different engine options.
• The Daihatsu Taft F55 is the long wheelbase tray back version, fitted with the 2.5 liter diesel inline-four cylinder engine fitted, and mated to a four-speed manual transmission and a two-speed transfer case.
• The Taft F55 you see here has been recently restored inside and out, it was imported into Florida in 2022 and it’s now being offered for sale.

Daihatsu

Daihatsu is perhaps one of the least well-known Japanese automakers, despite the fact that it’s also one of the oldest. The company started out as Hatsudoki Seizo Co. Ltd in 1907, it was essentially a commercial entity arm of the Engineering Department’s faculty at Osaka University.

This is the F55 version of the Taft, meaning its the long wheelbase model with a tray back and a 2.5 liter diesel engine up front.

Hatsudoki’s early years were dedicated to the development and manufacturing of small gasoline engines for industrial use. They also built steam engines for the Japanese National Railways, followed later by diesel railway engines, and finally by road vehicles.

Simple, affordable, and lightweight three-wheeled vehicles entered production with Hatsudoki in the 1930s. After WWII in 1951 the company was renamed Daihatsu and it’s focus remained much the same, the manufacturing of small and affordable vehicles.

In the 1960s Toyota bought a significant share in Daihatsu, slowly increasing their stake over time.

Daihatsu became one of the most successful “Kei Car” marques in Japan – these are vehicles designed to fit neatly within Japanese government restrictions on size, weight, and engine displacement which gave them access to a special low tax bracket.

Over time Daihatsu’s focus shifted from developed countries and regions to the developing world, today they’re a major player in countries like Indonesia and Malaysia.

The Daihatsu Taft

The Daihatsu Taft was clearly influenced by the early American Jeep, and by the Japanese vehicles that had been based on it – like the Toyota Land Cruiser and Nissan Patrol.

The 2.5 liter diesel is an inline-four cylinder engine producing 61 bhp and 107 lb ft of torque, with the power sent back through a 4-speed manual transmission and a two-speed transfer case.

The Taft has a utilitarian design with stamped steel body panels, a ladder frame steel chassis, live axles front and rear on leaf springs, a minimalist interior, and a front mounted engine sending power back through a manual transmission and two-speed transfer case.

The original Taft was the F10, it was powered by a 1.0 liter gasoline engine, later versions would receive a 1.6 liter gasoline engine, or the 2.5 liter diesel which was later followed by a 2.8 liter unit.

The model family was offered under a number of different names in different global markets, it was known as the Blizzard, Scat, Wildcat, and Pionier depending on where you were in the world.

Tipping the scales at between 2,170 and 2,760 lbs, the low weight and small dimensions of the Taft made it ideal for accessing hard to reach areas on narrow trails overgrown with plant life.

Production would run from 1974 until 1984, after which time it was replaced by the Daihatsu Rugger, which was also known as the Daihatsu Rocky or the Daihatsu Fourtrak, again depending on where you lived.

The interior is just as utilitarian as the exterior, it has seating for two and it’s left hand drive.

The Daihatsu Taft F55 Shown Here

The Taft you see here is a 1981 F55 model, the long wheelbase tray back version with the 2.5 liter diesel engine.

We don’t see many of these getting restored but with the rising interest in both classic four-wheel drives and classic Japanese vehicles, we may see more Tafts getting the restoration treatment.

The restoration on this one finished recently and the vehicle was then imported into the United States in March of 2022. It’s now being offered with a clean Florida title and the correct tool kit.

If you’d like to read more about this unusual classic 4×4 or register to bid you can visit the listing here on Bring A Trailer.

Images courtesy of Bring A Trailer

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Display Piece: A 1974 Ferrari Dino 246 GT Front End

This is the front end from a 1974 Ferrari Dino 246 GT, there’s no word on what happened to the rest of the car sadly, but this nose section is now available to buy online as a display piece.

Though it was technically named the Dino 246 GT, sans “Ferrari,” it is now commonly referred to as the Ferrari Dino so ensure there’s no confusing it with the Fiat Dino from the same era, that was powered by the same engine.

Ferrari had originally conceived of the Dino line of production cars as an answer to the likes of Porsche and their 911 sports car. Ferrari were only selling very high end V12 cars at the time, and it was clear that there was money to be made at a more achievable price point.

The “Dino” marque was founded by Ferrari to offer a series of cars to compete with sports cars like the Porsche 911. It was named after Alfredo “Dino” Ferrari, Enzo Ferrari’s son who had tragically died of Duchenne muscular dystrophy in 1956.

The first Dino was released in 1967 at the Dino 206 GT. It was powered by the new “Dino” transverse 2.0 liter all-aluminum, 65º V6 with double overhead cams.

Enzo Ferrari wanted to homologate this engine for Formula 2 but this required 500 vehicles with the engine fitted to be sold within a 12 month period, and Ferrari simply couldn’t meet that volume.

As a result Ferrari formed a pact with Fiat that allowed Fiat to use the engine in two new models, the Fiat Dino Spider and the Dino Coupe. Fiat would manufacture the engines in the required volume, and Ferrari would use them in their own Dino.

The Ferrari Dino series proved to be a success for the Italian automaker, they built the model series over three generations between 1967 and 1980.

The Dino 246 GT was designed by Aldo Brovarone and Leonardo Fioravanti at Pininfarina, then built by Scaglietti.

The most beloved of the Dinos are the first two generations, the 206 GT and the 246 GT/GTS models with their sleek curves and ageless style.

The front section you see here comes from a 1974 Ferrari Dino 246 GT, the paint has been removed from much of it but the hood still carries the original red paintwork.

Though it could possibly be used by someone restoring a 246 GT, this piece is most likely to become a wall or floor mounted display piece.

It’s currently being offered for sale in a live online auction with Collecting Cars, if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click the listing here.

Images courtesy of Collecting Cars

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For Sale: Burt Reynolds’ 1978 Pontiac Firebird Formula 8.2 Liter 5-Speed

This 1978 Pontiac Firebird Formula was bought by Burt Reynolds in 2016, at his direction it was then modified in the style of the legendary Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am movie car.

Genuine Burt Reynolds-owned cars only tend to come up for sale relatively rarely, so this example will likely attract a lot of attention. It may also be one of the last cars Reynolds ever bought, as sadly he passed away just two years after purchasing it in 2018.

Fast Facts – Burt Reynolds’ 1978 Pontiac Firebird Formula

• Burt Reynolds was a Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy Award-winning actor who would be nominated for an Academy Award later in his career.
• Reynolds is perhaps best remembered today for his portrayal of Bo “Bandit” Darville in the 1977 film “Smokey and the Bandit,” a film that would go on to become a box office smash hit and the second highest grossing film of the year.
• In “Smokey and the Bandit” Reynolds would drive a black Pontiac Trans Am, the car would feature heavily in the storyline, making the model one of the most desirable cars in the country.
• The 1978 Trans Am you see here was bought by Reynolds in 2016, he had it converted to a modern “Smokey and the Bandit” specification by the team at Butler Performance.

Smokey And The Bandit

Smokey and the Bandit was released in 1977 as the directorial debut of former stuntman Hal Needham.

The interior has been kept close to original, with the exception of that Hurst shifter stop a 5-speed manual transmission and the dashboard, which now has a 10,000 rpm tachometer and a 160 mph speedometer with readouts for fuel level, oil pressure, and coolant temperature.

The film starred Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, and Jackie Gleason, it cost $4.3 million to make and it would eventually rake in over $300 million at the box office, making it the second highest grossing film of the year.

The fundamental premise of Smokey and the Bandit, without giving too much away, follows a Coors Beer smuggling operation as a truck hauls 400 cases of the beer from Texarkana to Atlanta.

Bo “Bandit” Darville runs a distraction operation in his Trans Am to keep the police attention off the truck, with Sheriff Buford T. Justice nicknamed “Smokey Bear” trying to catch Bandit as the film progresses.

The film is a fast-paced action comedy with plenty of irreverent humor, and interestingly it was the start point of a relationship between two of the major actors – Burt Reynolds and Sally Field.

The Burt Reynolds Pontiac Firebird Formula Shown Here

As mentioned in the introduction, this car was bought by Reynolds in 2016, then sent off to Butler Performance for a comprehensive rebuild to a modern take on the classic Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am specification.

Above Video: This is an original trailer for the classic 1977 film “Smokey and the Bandit.” As you can see, the black Trans Am is practically a key actor in the film.

The car is bow powered by a fully rebuilt 8.2 liter V8 with aluminum cylinder heads, FAST fuel injection, an aluminum radiator with electric fans, March pulleys, ceramic-coated headers, and a custom exhaust system with Spintec mufflers.

The dash now has a 10,000 rpm tachometer and a 160 mph speedometer with readouts for fuel level, oil pressure, and coolant temperature. The odometer now reads 3,500 miles since the rebuild was completed.

The car now rides on adjustable QA1 coilovers up front, it has Wilwood brakes, a Shaker hood, and 18″ RAMC alloy wheels inspired by the originals. Inside the car you’ll find air conditioning, a Cobra CB radio (of course), a Hurst shifter, and a Pioneer stereo with JL Audio speakers.

It’s now being offered for sale on Bring A Trailer, if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.

Images courtesy of Bring A Trailer

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