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On 10/7/2019 at 4:18 AM, vulgalour said:

Also of note is in an episode of The A-Team when a hearse gets converted so that the top opens and, if memory serves, B A Barracus emerges behind either a machine gun, or a flame thrower, or a rocket launcher, or all three.

Probably because it appeared in the opening titles for some time!  It was a Cadillac hearse, 1966 I think, and it was Murdock that popped up, armed with a machine gun.  Pretty sure BA was driving, as he was the team's ace driver.

On 10/6/2019 at 11:36 PM, RichL said:

I'm sure Lindley was rolling round in a Jensen Interceptor in series one 

Lynley did have an Interceptor, yes, but I think it was in the last series.  I suspect something had "happened" to his Bristol and this was the replacement.

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The first thing I even remember on telly as a kid was Daktari, the Land Rovers had a lifelong influence and even at 3 or 4 years old I preferred the District Commissioner's S1 to the S2(a) driven by Dr Tracey, the various pickups driven by bad guys or the striped Jeep Pickup used by Wameru in some episodes,, went over my head and it never occurred to me that it was filmed in America( the lhd S2, should have been a giveaway)

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Anyway, I was livid when I got a Daktari Land Rover one Christmas, the colour wasn't an issue as I'd only ever seen it in black and white, neither was the ill proportioned 2a with a S1 truck cab body, no it was the fact that there was never a striped Land Rover in the programme, apparentlly, according to Fatha N I discarded it and only played with the Lotus gift set ( with VW Type 2 recovery truck) set instead.

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The Dodge Challenger from Vanishing Point. As films go it’s fairly pointless, Barry Newman makes all sorts of mistakes in it like upshifting about 8 times flat out and downshifting when he’s bollock flat out but the soundtrack of the Dodge is awesome. A good film to watch pissed actually as the films a bit shit after the first hour. 

Bullitt takes some beating as well, good film, plot line a bit confusing but the chase soundtrack is good. I read somewhere the actual soundtrack of the Mustang was over dubbed with a GT40. It’s obviously edited as the final scene as he’s catching up with the charger (unlikely...). It looks bloody fantastic though, especially when Steve McQueen is hammering it, those cars must have been absolutely unforgiving brutes to drive, you can see him using his shoulders almost to wrench the lever into second.

Usually though on the TV they manage to fuck it up completely. Coronation Street are the masters at this. When Martin Platts has his Cavalier brake pipes cut, managed to drive across Manchester then despite the car having dual circuit brakes the brakes completely failed at the point he was doing about 100mph down a road leading up to a brick wall. 

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The vehicles from The Dukes of Hazzard and The A-Team were certainly influential, though the tv car which probably made the most lasting impact on me was this one:

1031396124_1968VauxhallVictor2000SL-RXD996F-RandallHopkirkDeceased.jpg.3dfc5e42b5b6bd586b9e4d22eb9aab68.jpg

Yup, it's Jeff Randall's white 1968 Vauxhall Victor 2000SL from ITC's Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased),

For those who don't recall the series, it involved Mike Pratt playing the perpetually down-at-heel private detective Jeff Randall, still solving cases around London with some help from the ghost of his recently-killed partner, Marty Hopkirk (Kenneth Cope).

The single series was filmed between May 1968 and July 1969, and then broadcast on ITV regional networks between September 1969 and March 1970 (though only LWT broadcast all 26 episodes at the time, with Ulster Television dropping it from the schedules after episode eight). It was also sold to US networks, as per ITC's business model, where it was retitled My Partner The Ghost

The show continued to live on as repeats in the 1970s, before returning to BBC2 in 1994 (which is where I first encountered it).

I was so impressed by its sleek styling and those quad lights; for quite a while the Victor FD (or, better yet, the VX4/90 version) battled it out with the MkIV Cortina as 'car I most wanted to own'.

I still think that side profile is a high water mark of British saloon car design.

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I made a point of watching each episode, not because I was particularly interested in the proto-Rentaghost detective hokum, but to see the Vauxhall blatting about late-60s London.

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All these years on, it's still an itch I'd quite like to scratch...

 

The Victor was one of six press cars loaned to ITC  by Vauxhall for a number of series they were working on at the time. RXD996F was a real registration but one worn by several different white Victors during filming - continuity buffs can while away a happy day with the DVD box set, watching the interior switch from black to red and back again.

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Impressively, although the car was less than a year old during most of the filming, it spends most of the time looking deeply scruffy, which was probably not what Vauxhall's press office was hoping for.

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Exactly how the potless Randall was running a nearly-new FD series Vauxhall was never explained, either.

The real RXD996F was apparently last seen in a Welsh scrapyard in 1976, having very likely succumbed to terminal rot and/or ignominious resale value, like so many others. I understand the FD series had such a reputation for terrible rust by the mid-70s that you could hardly have given one away, with dealers typically refusing to take them as part-exchange.

 

The series also regularly featured an Austin Mini Superdeluxe in Tartan Red which had belonged to Marty Hopkirk, but was now driven by his widow Jean - who worked as Randall's secretary.

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Jeff Randall also drove it quite regularly, presumably when the Victor was in for yet more warranty repairs.

Or when he needed to arrive incognito at yet another spooky mansion.

702366158_1964AustinMiniBAP245B-RandallandHopkirkDeceased3.jpg.17bae23e6e2b669de0ba4e265ac630ff.jpg

Rather more happily, this Mini is believed to have survived, having been profiled in the June 1993 issue of MiniWorld magazine and still showing as taxed on the DVLA website.

1290884480_1964AustinMiniBAP245B-RandallandHopkirkDeceasedMagazinearticle.thumb.jpg.30f3a707beb3a587e2f3a7ddf6b75080.jpg

 

Another ITC production, Department S  - featuring Peter Wyngarde as the irrepressible Jason King - used the consecutive numberplate for a Ventora that showed up in a few episodes.

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Apparently the Victor from R&H(D) also popped up here and there in various other ITC series too.

The 2000s remake of Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), starring Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer, did not feature a Victor FD - thus I didn't bother my arse watching it.

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35 minutes ago, Remspoor said:

What cars were used in the R&H remakes? I cannot find any images on line.

Any hows feast your eyes on this lot http://randallandhopkirk.org.uk/locations_main.htm

I think the main car was a 1970s Mercedes coupe in the remake, I'm probably wrong as I only watched a bit of it.

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6 hours ago, sierraman said:

The Dodge Challenger from Vanishing Point. As films go it’s fairly pointless, Barry Newman makes all sorts of mistakes in it like upshifting about 8 times flat out and downshifting when he’s bollock flat out but the soundtrack of the Dodge is awesome. A good film to watch pissed actually as the films a bit shit after the first hour. 

I don't think alcohol was the thing of choice in 1971.. Dodge actually refused to supply cars to the production because of the drug use in the film. Don't bother with the remake, it's shit.  Nick on Nicks garage on You Tube i building a correct U code replica, and you'll see a replica in the film Terminal Velocity, and Death Proof. My fave car of ever. Barry Newman drove a Torino in Fear Is The Key, but just not the same....

 

Oh, Naked girl on a motorbike too. These things stick in your mind when you're 8...

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Bullitt takes some beating as well, good film, plot line a bit confusing but the chase soundtrack is good. I read somewhere the actual soundtrack of the Mustang was over dubbed with a GT40. It’s obviously edited as the final scene as he’s catching up with the charger (unlikely...). It looks bloody fantastic though, especially when Steve McQueen is hammering it, those cars must have been absolutely unforgiving brutes to drive, you can see him using his shoulders almost to wrench the lever into second.

I read that the Mustang had to be properly tuned and beefed up for the film, whereas the Charger was showroom stock. 

Quote

 

 

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23 hours ago, anonymous user said:

I think the main car was a 1970s Mercedes coupe in the remake, I'm probably wrong as I only watched a bit of it.

Close!  It was a W123 coupe, on (iirc) an A prefix, so 1983-4.  Emilia Fox's character drove a Triumph Stag.  But the remake was, quite simply, total crap.  And I'm being kind when I say that.  But then, I'm old enough to remember the original, first time round.  Ditto The Prisoner, and Ironside.  Remakes?  Just don't!

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On 10/6/2019 at 2:18 PM, colnerov said:

 

 ...And the subsequent bent front axle.

Not after a while.  Instead of in the Dukes of Hazzard where they jumped a car, broke it and got another one, the studio built a special jump truck for The Fall Guy.  It’s so impressive to see it jump, land and keep going in one take.

They moved the engine and gearbox backwards into the cabin to put less load on the front axle.  They stripped the axle out too so it was just 2wd.

Because the truck was going to land more on 4 wheels they needed to help the stunt driver’s spine survive (nose down landing is harder on vehicles but the car bending absorbs some of the shock for the driver).  The driver was suspended from the roll cage by bungee straps  into his harness which I think they still do for stunt drivers now.

http://topclassiccarsforsale.com/gmc/206280-the-fall-guy-gmc-screen-used-stunt-truck.html

The truck was lightened where possible and the springs and shock absorbers were reinforced.  This meant it could take off from an air ramp at 40mph, fly and land where they wanted it to and if there was a problem they could do take 2 as soon as they’d turned around.

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17 minutes ago, Andyrew said:

Ahhh double bollocks!

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I remember watching the first episode of Auf Wiedersehen Pet. To be honest it was the mk4 Zephyr that made me want to watch it, I really like them when I was about 14 or so & I'd seen the programme advertised & it showed it.

Turned out to be a great show anyway & required Friday night viewing ! The sight of Oz cleaning his toenails with a trowel will stay with me forever :o

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Gonna play the ol’ Uno Switch card on you and take a look at some prime shite on offer in gameshows of yesteryear:

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A classic choice for gameshow producers - this one in Primula Yellow (yes like the cheese) and being a City it didn’t even have a parcel shelf

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America’s Sale Of The Century often offered Camaros and Mercedes 190s... ours didn’t

D95F675A-8A9C-417E-9A6F-B30DA4ED0F14.thumb.jpeg.f3f74d0ef61095c20551a8f1c019e7ab.jpeg

To quote the late Jim Bowen ‘It’s a Proton. One of the best cars you can buy’

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And finally back to 3,2,1 for this. Not gonna hate on the Allegro but would’ve felt woefully dated (especially in 1100 poverty spec) compared to a Mk3 Escort in 1982

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