By Bo Durban and Nikolas Worden - 07/17/2024
This very special Trans Am was one of several used in the filming it Smokey and the Bandit
Storyline
Phase 1
- Used as an insert car
- First day of filming 8/30, we have Sally holding the clapperboard
- Inside of the car
- Lose thread on passenger seat
- 1976 Trans Am interior
- Outside of the car
- Talk about the towbar (don't mention the damage yet)
- Rigging bars mounted to car
- Mention that it still has its snowflake wheels, but the tires were changed to blackwall
- has seat belts
- The car has blackwall tires w/snowflake wheels
Phase 2
- The rear window is pulled out
- For 3rd person view (check term)
- First used for the mailbox smash scene
- Then it was used for the farm scene
- And the windshield was replaced
- Show scenes with front mounted camera, but the back window is missing
- Mention Pace CB144 / show the 3 angles of the cb
- In the rocking chair scene, sally says "they can see right down into this car" and the next scene, her t-top is installed
- In the 2nd week it has snowflake wheels and raised white letter tires
- One theory is that the blackwalls were 8 or 10 ply tire for the extra camera equipment weight. But they are also noisy. So maybe they thought they needed 8 ply in theory but it turned out it was not a good idea.
- In the 3rd week it has black steel wheels and black wall tires
- It is believed that they pulled the snowflake wheels off of this car and installed them on Trans Am #4
- maybe just say they needed the wheels for another car (because we havent talked about trans am #4 yet)
Phase 3
- Converted to hero car
- Notice the damage to the bumper stripe caused by the tow bar (shot as a reminder)
- Scenes used in the movie
- New behind the scenes pictures
- In the very last week of filming in GA
Phase 4
- Pick up shots in California
- List of all the scenes
- I dont have any behind the scene from california
Did this trans am get crushed like the ones in Georgia? Or did it survive?
Unique Characteristics
There were minor details about each Trans Am that made them unique. We used these details to identify each Trans Am as it was used in the movie.
- Has Seat Belts
- Lose thread on passenger seat
- Starts with no "G" logo in windshield / windshield changed in 2nd week of filming
- Rear window removed in 2nd week of filming
- Grilles removed for camera rigging
- Starts with snowflake wheels / changed to black steel wheels by 3rd week
- Has CB144 installed on dash to right of steering column
- Automatic transmission
Scenes Used
Here is a list of scenes we have identified where Car #3 was used in the movie using its unique characteristics. The scenes are listed in chronological filming order. Not necessarily the sequence they appear in the film.
Phase 1 - Close ups
Aug 30 - Wedding dress
