Today’s match up will pair a couple of cross country high speed outlaws against each other. The famed Camaro from the funny movie Gumball Rally and the Dodge ambulance from The Cannonball Run which we all know was based on the actual ambulance that Brock Yates and his balls hauled ass across country in back in the 1970s. But first…let’s check on yesterday’s results –
[box_dark] The Hardcastle and McCormick Coyote X VS The weird car from The Wraith
The Wraith car DEFEATS The Coyote X
Hardcastle and McCormick caught a lot of bad guys, but they’re dead now. The Wraith car killed them. Our condolences to their fake families. [/box_dark]
There’s no mystery about today’s combatants. The first car we’ll talk about is the 1970 1/2 Camaro Z/28 driven by a young Gary Busey in the 1976 movie, The Gumball Rally. While few details exist about the Camaro’s drivetrain, the car looks to have had an automatic transmission in it. The shifter can be seen a couple times during the movie although the sound dubbed into the film makes it sounds like a stick car. With its fender flares, chin spoiler, stinger hood, and big driving lights, it is one of the coolest Camaros to appear in a move before or since. The movie car has never resurfaced after all these years so we’re guessing it went to someone who crashed it or took it apart to use the pieces on another project or something. The movie is a fun watch and it is interesting to see Busey as a young guy and not today as he has largely been playing roles as a parody of himself these days. That Camaro is one tough looking customer and should have something for the ambulance…
On this side of the ring is the Dodge Tradesman van/ambulance used in the movie The Cannonball Run. Written by Brock Yates as a humorous retelling of his (and others) misadventures during the famous Cannonball Baker Sea to Shining Sea Dash that he founded, the move wasn’t much with regard to cinematic contributions but it featured awesome cars. In real life Brock Yates and Hal Needham raced a hot roddded up ambulance in the 1979 Cannonball Run. They didn’t finish that race but that’s pretty much immaterial to the situation. Yates created the Cannonball Run events as a form of open protest against the 55 MPH speed limit. It was probably the most ballsy thing an automotive journalist has ever done, because he participated in the events, hauling ass across the country. So back to the match. The ambulance was hot rodded with either a warmed up 360 or 400ci Chrysler engine, was loaded with drums of fuel, and was even packing a fake victim. Sure, the van is rooted in reality…but could it take down the Camaro?
WE NEED TO YOU VOTE BELOW. WHICH VEHICLE SHOULD MOVE ONTO ROUND TWO? THE GUMBALL RALLY CAMARO OR THE CANNONBALL RUN AMBULANCE? HIGH SPEED ANTICS OR A BIG RUSE? VOTE BY COMMENTING BELOW!
Tough call – would have been easier to pick Bradshaw and Tillis in the Monte Carlo. The Camaro represents all that is good that I remember of the 70’s, and the Ambulance q-ship embodies (get it) all that is stealthy and subtle EXCEPT Farrah who is constantly cold!
I give the Camaro the nod. The proctologist in the ambulance is really a zombie.. it kind of ruined the pretty lady in the carcass carrier for me.
Not even close………..the WHAMBULANCE! This is one of the easier deathmatches for me……..Hell the sheiks hopped up Rolls could take the camaro lol……..
Camaro hands down
HIM!!!!!!
Roll Onnnnnnn, yellow Camaro!
The Dodge Tradesman, because Brock actually used one in the Cannonball, and according to his book,the actual ambulance was using a 440 driveline.
I’ve got to agree here – the ambulance wins for being used in the real life Cannonball Run instead of just being a movie car. It’s not “rooted in reality” as much as guest starring as itself – even though they went back and made themselves the winners instead of showing Mad Dog and Batman (who were about as crazy in real life as they were in the movie) winning in their dually truck. Even thought the Camaro is seriously cool too.
Camaro.
Te camaro would out run the ambulance
Gotta go with the Ambulance Q-Ship.
The Ambulance…
Dodge Ambulance
The Camaro never finished the race.
Even back then they used a fake Rally Sport, note the turn signals under the bumper. Even so, the Camaro.
Funny Story about Busey’s Co-Driver of the Camaro… His name was John Duren…
In the Early 90’s he lived in Salt lake city, and was a Patient of my Dads… (He was an MD)
He had a bit of a substance problem, and was freaking weird as hell… I’ll leave it at that.
“I’m Nikolas Van Helsing, professor of proctology and other related tendencies. A graduate of the University of Rangoon. And assorted night classes at the Knoxville Tennessee school of faith healing. ”
My vote goes to the ambulance!
Pull over we want to bless you………………the ambulance
As Chip said: Rolll onnnn, Yellow Camaro! Were I to win the lottery, I would probably start building movie car replicas for fun, and the Gumball Camaro would be one of the first I’d build!
(Plus the Gumball Rally is a better movie, even if they did steal the plot from Yates. That’s what he gets for letting the studio turn his baby into a farce.)
Captain USA goes with the ambulance, I goes with the ambulance.
The Ambulance.
The ambulance, I mean it had the entire package, Captain Chaos, the Doctor, the girl, Burt Reynolds, not even a contest.
If I could have one, I’d take the Camaro.
I remember reading an article in Popular Mechanics (of all places) that during the last days of filming, they puked the motor in the Camaro. To finish the film, they rented a Chevy pick-up and pulled it’s big block for the Camaro, finished the movie, swapped motors back where they belonged and returned the truck to the rental agency. The Camaro gets my vote.
As much as I love early 2nd gen Camaro’s, I gotta vote for the Ambulance. I can just picture a cruise night somewhere full of Camaro’s, and outta nowhere this Ambulance (or replica) shows up. What would draw the bigger crowd?
Gumball
Ambulance.
For stealth? The Van….for speed/handling? the Camaro.
Yeah, I know, pick ONE…..gimme the van. No, I will NOT wear the cape/mask.
So far this is the toughest battle for me.
I’m a Ford guy but I loved the Camaro in the film,but I wanted to run an ambulance flat out cross country because Who would stop an Ambulance?
I vote Ambulance just because I like the idea.
Capt. Chaos !!! Ambulance ! Trans Con- Medi vac !
pumps one and two!…..she goes both ways! i think that van was brocks no? 440 at full song rules!!!
Ambulance
the ambulance… Proctology!!!