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Dukes of Hazzard The General Lee
Dodge Charger
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General
Lee Toys
The General Lee is the 69'
Dodge Charger driven by
the Duke cousins Bo and Luke in the television series The Dukes of Hazzard. It
is known for the chases and stunts, especially high jumps, in almost every
episode, and for having the doors welded up, leaving the Dukes to climb in and
out through the windows. The car appears in all but one episode of the series
(the third broadcast, Mary Kaye's Baby). The car's name is a reference to the
Confederate General Robert E. Lee, and indeed the vehicle embodies the Southern
United States, bearing as it does a Confederate Battle flag on its roof and a
horn which plays a bar from the song "Dixie".
The idea for the General Lee was developed from the famous bootlegger Jerry
Rushing's car, which was named for General Lee's favorite horse, Traveler.
Traveler was also the name of the car in Moonrunners, the 1975 movie precursor
to The Dukes of Hazzard. History
Although the exact number of General Lees used varies from different sources,
according to Ben Jones ("Cooter" in the show), as well as builders involved with
the show, 256 General Lees were used to film the series. Others claim about 321
were used in the series. Approximately seventeen still exist in various states
of repair. On average, more than one General Lee was used up per show. When
filming a jump, anywhere from 500 to 1,000 pounds of sand bags or concrete
ballast was placed in the trunk to prevent the car from nosing over. Later in
the series the mechanics would raise the front end of the car to keep it from
scraping against the ramp causing it to lose speed, thereby providing a cushion
for the driver upon landing. Stunt drivers report enjoying the flights but
hating the landings. Despite the ballast, the landing attitude of the car was
somewhat unpredictable, resulting in moderate to extremely violent forces,
depending on how it landed. (On a DVD player, using slower settings will reveal
that on many of the jumps the cars literally bent upon impact.) All cars used in
large jumps were immediately retired due to structural damage.
From 1979 to 1985, 1968 and 1969 model-year Chargers were sourced and converted
to General Lee specifications. Despite popular belief, no 1970 models were used,
according to all builders involved over the years. Also, a list containing a
Vehicle Identification Number for each Charger used as a General Lee was given
to Wayne Wooten of the Dodge Charger Registry; no 1970 models were listed.
Obtaining cars was not an issue until later years. By that time, the car was the
star of the show and Warner Brothers moved building of the cars in house to keep
the cars consistent in appearance. Later in the show's run, when it got too hard
and/or expensive to continue procuring more Chargers, the producers started
using more 'jump footage' from previous episodes (something that had already
been done occasionally previously) and in the final season, according to various
interviews and segments on the various episode DVD releases, radio-controlled
miniatures were occasionally used to the chagrin of several cast members.
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Episodes 1 to 5 were filmed in the Georgia towns of Covington and Conyers in
November and December 1978. Georgia episode cars consisted of 6 Dodge Chargers.
The first General Lees were built by Warner Brothers (WB) and shipped to Georgia
where John Marendi (picture car coordinator) labeled the first 3 cars LEE 1, LEE
2, and LEE 3 in no particular order for film editing purposes. LEE 1 was a 2nd
unit car with a full rollcage. It is a 383 V8-powered 1969 Charger equipped with
air conditioning (A/C). It was originally code T3 Light Bronze Metallic with tan
interior, 3 speaker dash, and chrome rocker trim. After the now-famous jump over
Rosco P. Coltrane's police cruiser by stuntman Craig Baxley, it was stripped of
its front seats and 1969-specific grill and taillight panel. LEE 1 was used once
more as the "Richard Petty" tire test car in the fourth episode Repo Men and
afterwards was retired to a junkyard in Georgia, but later bought and restored.
It is currently for sale for 1 million dollars. LEE 2 was also a 2nd unit car
with a full rollcage and tan interior. It was used for the opening scene in One
Armed Bandits. In this scene, Bo and Luke were chasing Rosco's police cruiser
with the General after Cooter stole it; during this chase, LEE 2 is shown making
a jump (the second that Baxley performed).LEE 3 was the unit 1 close-up car and
the second General Lee built by Warner Bros and is seen in the first publicity
photos. It was a R/T SE (Special Edition) model. It was powered by a 440 Magnum
V8 and also had A/C with power windows and a woodgrain dash. This car had a tan
interior and a removable roll bar that allowed installation of a camera for
in-car shots. This car was painted 1975 Corvette Flame Red with a special
basecoat. The basecoat was used after they found Lee1's paint appeared blotchy
because it was applied direct over factory paint. Eventually the first 3 General
Lees started to show visible damage, so the crew had to start making more. The
first General Lee built in Georgia was a 1968 Charger converted to look like a
1969; the tail light panel, front grill, and front seats taken from LEE 1 were
used. The paint used on these cars was Chrysler EV2, aka, Hemi Orange. Interiors
not originally tan were sprayed with SEM brand "Saddle tan" vinyl dye. The first
3 Georgia Lees had a set of crossed flags (a Confederate flag and checkered
flag) on the panel between the rear window and trunk lid. Although 4 sets were
created, only 3 were used. They were discontinued due to the continuity of the
General Lee graphics, making it one less thing to be used. The 3 surviving cars
went back to California and had the crossed flags removed upon reconditioning.
The wheels were 14X7 inch American Racing brand "Vectors" throughout the show
and were mounted on P235/70R14 B.F. Goodrich Radial T/A tires with the blackwall
side facing out.
The Veluzat era
Andre and Renaud Veluzat built General Lees for WB from the 2nd season into the
4th season. Viewers can also see two "Georgia" cars used often up into the early
second season. LEE 3 and a specially caged car never appearing (but built) in
Georgia were used heavily in early California episodes. The Veluzats were
somewhat inconsistent in how they built the cars, so this is when the most
variations from specification are found. The paint was GM code 70, Flame
Red,(still orange, just the name of the color) but there does appear to be some
variance here: interiors were mostly dyed brown and occasionally SEM Saddle Tan.
According to some sources, the Veluzats charged WB $250 a week per car for
rental and a lump sum of $2000 to $3000 upon destruction of the vehicles; this
included police cars as well. WB mechanics had to maintain the cars at company
expense.
The money generated by building General Lees financed the Veluzat family project
of restoring Gene Autry's Melody Ranch; it had burned in the 1960s. This ranch
is where many classic Western flims were shot as well as the television series
Gunsmoke. Today, it is a fully-functional movie ranch where shows like HBO's
Deadwood are filmed.
The Warner Brothers. era
By 1983, Warner Brothers turned total control of building General Lees to a man
named Ken Fritz because the Valuzets were caught selling wrecked cars that had
received cosmetic repairs and forged VINs. Fritz didn't have the job long before
he too was fired and at this point Warner Brothers moved full production
in-house. The General Lee was now the highlight of the series, and WB received
enormous amounts of Lee-specific fan mail that nit-picked the inconsistencies of
the cars. Because of General Lee's fame, WB had their staff mechanics build the
cars to a specific appearance, even underneath. All graphics had to meet
specifications, all side markers and rocker panel chrome trim were removed; and
roll bars and push bars had to meet an exact specification. However, some
changes were made before the specifications were laid-out: the push bar became
wider, the interior became a light beige color, and the roll bars were covered
in a black foam padding. During this period, the only true way for fans to
distinguish the 1968 conversions from the 1969 originals is by the shape of the
dashpad.
As the WB era rolled on, finding the cars became an issue: Piper Cubs were hired
to search for 1968 and 1969 Chargers amongst the populace; the jumped cars were
now no longer scrapped after one jump if deemed salvageable, and were repaired
and used until they could no longer function; and, as last resort, miniature
radio-controlled models were also brought in toward the end of the series to
replace most of the big jump stunts, thereby saving more cars - something that
proved unpopular with many episode directors (including Tom Wopat) who felt that
the models looked too fake. By this time, there was also a rivalry for "TV's
greatest car" with the Knight Rider series, leading to the models being used
more and more for greater jumps to try and out-do that series. Taking full
control also saved some money as now WB had the ability to buy cars, recondition
them, and use them without paying daily rental fees.
The General Lee from The Dukes Of Hazzard Motion Picture
At the beginning of the movie, the General
was a faded orange with a hand-painted "01" on the doors, black steel wheels,
standard front bumper, and no Confederate flag. Midway through the film, Cooter
repairs the General after it's vandalized by Boss Hogg's hirelings. He repaints
it a bright orange and adds the well-known trademarks (American Racing "Vector"
10-spoke "turbine" wheels, octagonal "01", black grille guard, Confederate flag
on the roof, "Dixie" horn, and "General Lee" above the door window openings). In
an era of Political Correctness, the Confederate flag on the roof is made an
object of conflict in the movie on two occasions. In the first occasion, the
Dukes are stuck in an Atlanta traffic jam.
During this time passing drivers make remarks towards them that alternate
between cheering the South and condemning them as practicing racism, leaving the
Duke boys puzzled; the last to comment says, "Nice roof, redneck!..join the rest
of us in the twenty-first century?!" and displays obscene hand gestures.
Mystified, Bo and Luke slide out of the windows so they could sit on the
windowsill to look at the roof and, to their horror, discover the flag. In the
second incident, the Dukes wind up with coaldust on their faces, giving them the
appearance of driving around in blackface; they stop at a traffic light and some
African American youths notice this and the Confederate flag on the General. The
youths come to the conclusion that the Dukes are making a racist statement and
are about to give them a physical opinion of their roof graphic and facial
appearance. Just as the youths were about to assault Bo and Luke, two black
police officers show up and throw the Dukes in jail. The movie General not only
flies and makes controlled landings, but also drifts with the aid of
professional drifter Rhys Millen. During jump scenes, some stunt cars were
jumped under their own power by stunt drivers; others had their engines and
transmissions removed. The engineless Chargers were then launched without
drivers by a gas-driven catapult similar in principle to those used on aircraft
carriers. Approximately twenty-four 1968 to 1970 Chargers were used in the film.
Unlike the TV show era Lees, the movie cars used aftermarket graphic kits. The
movie gave them new credibility and are no longer considered to be an inaccurate
choice. Otherwise, except for the white letters on the Goodrich Radial T/A
tires, the exterior of the movie's "close-up" General Lees varied little from
the TV show cars. The paint was Big Bad Orange (an American Motors Corporation
color) rather than Corvette Flame Red; the interior headliner was black instead
of tan, an actual roll cage was used; a 3-spoke Grant wood-trimmed steering
wheel replaced the standard wheel, an AM/FM stereo radio with Compact Disc
player was installed in the dashboard; and the interiors were a custom color
vinyl fabric made to look like the dye/paint used in the later eras of the TV
show. One still can differentiate the '68 Chargers by looking at the dash pad,
but now 1970 Chargers were thrown in the mix. Overall the cars resembled an
average General Lee clone car from the late 1990s to early 2000s, but the
overall flavor of the General Lee is still obvious.
Movie car list
1. 001 - 1968 - 2nd Unit - Tilting Arm
2. 002 - 1968 - 1st Unit - Hero - Hemi
3. 003 - 1969 - 2nd Unit - Remote Drive Vehicle
4. 004 - 1969 - 2nd Unit - Buck
5. 005 - 1969 - 2nd Unit - Stunt Driver
6. 006 - 1969 - 2nd Unit - Sling car
7. 007 - 1969 - 2nd Unit - Go mobile
8. 008 - 1970 - 2nd Unit - Buck
9. 009 - 1969 - 1st Unit - Hero Car
10. 010 - 1969 - 2nd Unit - Stunt Driver
11. 011 - 1968 - 2nd Unit - Sling Car
12. 012 - 1969 - 1st Unit - Pre Cooter - Hero
13. 013 - 1969 - 2nd Unit - Remote Drive Vehicle
14. 014 - 1968 - 1st Unit - Pre Cooter - Hero A/C
15. 015 - 1968 - 2nd Unit - Jump Car
16. 016 - 1968 - 1st Unit - Hero Car
17. 017 - 1969 - 2nd Unit - Soft Jump Car
18. 018 - 1968 - 2nd Unit - Buck
19. 019 - 1968 - 1st Unit - Pre Cooter - Hero
20. 020 - 1969 - 2nd Unit - Stunt Driver
21. 021 - 1969 - 2nd Unit - Stunt Driver
22. 022 - 1969 - 2nd Unit - Pre Cooter
23. 023 - 1969 - 2nd Unit - Stunt Driver
24. 024 / #50 - 1969 - 2nd Unit - Buck
25. 025 / #51 - 1970 - 2nd Unit - Jump Car
26. 026 / #115 - 1969 - 2nd Unit - Parts Car
27. 027 / #126 - 1969 - 2nd Unit - Spare
28. 028 / #127 - 1970 - 2nd Unit - Sling Car
Eleven of the cars used for the movie had been purchased from the Luedtke Auto
Group. Many of the cars needed extensive restoration and most had been cut up to
allow for inside camera views.
Two of the General Lees (a 1969 R/T SE and a 1970 made to appear as a 1969) were
temporarily sold to Warner Brothers by Everett "J.R." Barton of Wichita, Kansas.
The 1970 Charger was used to make the "freeway jump" during the police chase
after Bo and Luke escaped from their Atlanta Police Department escorts; it had
made the longest jump of any Lees that appeared on screen and fairly survived
and is the only car seen making that jump. In the "outtakes" one other car is
seen making a nosedive into the street and going into the guard rail. That car
DID NOT make it in the movie. J.R.'s car makes a fairly perfect landing; but
then it veers off to the left into the center divider wall. This particular
General Lee is once again in running condition and moving under its own power;
it still wears its battle scars and can be seen at auto shows in the Midwest.
The 1969 model was 'said' to have been used in one of the field driving sceens
by the transportation director, because they were needing a car that was already
distresed looking and it would be shot from the rear only, and could have been
incorporated with the filming of the movie. Both cars were returned to him. The
'69 in its original condition after filming wrapped, with the exception of parts
that were swapped from his '69 R/T to and from other General Lees.
Engines
Engines in the TV show General Lees varied; 318, 383, and 440 CID V8s were used.
However, the "close-up" Lees were 383-powered. The special purpose built "Ski
Car" (the car that was used for stunts involving driving on the left side or
right side wheels with the opposite side wheels in the air) had a 318, as it was
lighter weight. Most of the 'workhorse' stunt cars had 318s and 440s. The stunt
drivers tended to prefer 440s (a higher performance engine) for jumps, so
440-powered stunt Lees were often saved for the higher and longer jumps. Also,
though early sound effects led many people to believe otherwise, only a handful
of Chargers had manual transmissions; most had 727 TorqueFlite automatic
transmissions. Also in "The Dukes of Hazzard" motion picture Cooter put a 426
Hemi inplace of the 383.
Exit and entry
The General Lee, except in the beginning of the movie, does not have opening
doors. In the TV series, it is explained that racing cars have their doors
welded shut. In the movie, the car has been repaired after being trashed, but
the doors could not be fixed fast enough. The driver and passenger must slide in
the window (as in NASCAR). For a running entry, Bo and Luke also slide over the
hood rather than walk around the front of the car. However, in the prequel The
Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning, the left door was welded shut while the right
one was not.
Exhaust systems
Exhaust systems were basic: some had glasspack mufflers, but most had standard
exhausts with the pipe cut just before the rear end. The exhaust sound that can
be heard on most of the California-era episode General Lees is from a Thrush
brand glasspack. The sounds came from the exhaust systems fitted to the
"close-up" cars; the parts used were Blackjack brand headers, dual exhausts, and
the aforementioned Thrush mufflers. However, the sounds were dubbed in after the
scene was filmed.
Tires
Tires used on the General Lee were mainly supplied by Winston tires. The model
was named the Winston Winner. Some BFG's were noted as being used from time to
time, but WINSTON WINNERS were the main tires used on these vehicles. The
reason? Winstons had the best warranty. When these General Lee's performed these
massive stunts, it would take a toll on the tires. The warranty was so good on
the Winston tires, if ANYTHING happened to them, they were replaced,,,free of
charge.
For the Winston and BFG tires, the most common size was P235/70R14 and/or
P235/70R15
Salvaged LEE 1
LEE 1, was salvaged out of a Georgia junkyard in August 2001 by Travis Bell,[2]
and Gary Schneider.[3] The car has since been fully restored to its on screen
appearance. It was officially unveiled to the public November 11, 2006 with John
Schneider behind the wheel.
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