(By Greg Rourke) – Movie cars…everyone has their favorites. Some are obvious…Milners coupe from American Graffiti. The Two Lane Blacktop 55 Chevy. James Bonds various Aston Martins. Christine. Bandit’s Trans Am. As for me, I’m unconventional. The quadraport 66 Impala from Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry for one, I actually sought out and purchased one just like it. The Ford WT9000 from White Line Fever is another, although my homeowners association wouldn’t like one of those dripping oil in my driveway even if I did have the resources to buy one. Then there’s the 1973 Plymouth Fury III from Thunderbolt And Lightfoot.

Didn’t catch that flick you say? 1974 was before you were born is no excuse. It stars Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges, a couple of aimless drifters who decide to rob an armored car facility. Clint uses something much bigger than a Smith and Wesson model 29 to accomplish this task, but we don’t have time for that now. They hitch a ride from a maniac in said Fury, with big rubber on the back, teetering in ridiculously long shackles and mean sounding exhaust. The maniac is played by Bill McKinney, who played another maniac with an arrow protruding from his chest in Deliverance, as well as one Big Daddy Don Garlits in Heart Like A Wheel. An impressive resume.

So what is it about this Fury? I have no explanation. The dual spotlights make me think this car was sourced from a police auction. As a 70’s teen we jacked up our cars in back. Exhaust choices were glasspacks or Hush Thrush turbo mufflers, so this car sounded good to us. L60-15 bias ply rubber was as good as it got back then, and if it didn’t fit shackles or air shocks, sometimes both were just what we did. Or perhaps it was recreational substances we may or may not have imbibed in at the drive in movie back then that made stuff seem cooler than it was. In any case, if you read BangShift I’m certain you’ll like this car on some level.