Cop Car Ford Crown Vic Transformed Into a General Lee Dodge Charger
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- Опубліковано 16 лис 2024
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Check out this video feature on how Hollywood stunt man James "Ski Car Stunt" Smith built a General Lee Dodge Charger out of an ex-cop car Ford Crown Victoria in just 12 days... and then jumped it at a live stunt show!
James is used to dealing with tight deadlines and limited budgets when it comes to certain productions and has a unique gift of making the impossible happen, on time.
When tasked to be the stunt coordinator for the 2017 "Dukes of Hazzard" Fan Festival at an event called Cooter's Last Stand in Virginia, Smith had to come up with yet another (and increasingly harder to find) 1969 Dodge Charger to be turned into a General Lee hero car for the stunt show. To make this an even bigger challenge, the car would have to survive a big jump at the end of the show on both days of the event.
So James came up with a plan for a vehicle that would look the part, survive the jump and be easily repairable if something were to get broken. Plus the vehicle he had in mind as a donor was readily available and no one would care if it got wrecked. He sourced a 1999 Ford Crown Victoria Police car retired from the Portland Police department. With a little help from his brother and partner at Smith Bros. Restorations, they attacked the Crown Vic with a few tools and a Sawzall... reducing the car to a basic drive-able tub in about three hours.
Then the task of hanging a mixture of newly ordered 69 Charger body panels and salvaged parts out of the extensive Smith Bros. Restorations own stash onto the late model Ford chassis. James integrated the roll cage into the structure of the newly formed Charger and in about 12 days had the car finished and painted flat black for a quick video shoot in which he drove the car on two wheels... called a car ski because of the narrow tire tracks left behind.
James then painted the car to look like the General Lee from the "Dukes of Hazzard" television show and got it ready for the Cooter's Last Stand event. The car performed flawlessly and flew great on both days of the show. When asked if he would consider making more of these nearly indestructible flying General Lees Smith says ... "Maybe"
Thanks for watching and please share this video with a friend!
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HOWDY EVERYONE! Check out this Stunt video featuring James and Sam ua-cam.com/video/lKR07V0E2RA/v-deo.html
how much would you charge to build a general lee like this?
Would you still build one if u have someone wanting one?
I have mad respect for James Smith for several reasons...
1. He understand the value of the classic charger and won't ruin one for a one time jump
2. He made a perfect replica of an iconic car.
3. He did the stunt with a landing ramp so the car can be used multiple times.
Respect!
Replicated a iconic car with another more plentiful iconic car
Dont forget he did that poor vic a favor by removing "portland" off of it
Couldn't agree more!!!
@kytryd73....maybe u can meet him one day an toss his salad.
My biggest is 6:46 "There's a little damage there but that's just history of the car."
The irony that the general lee is made from a police car.
A Ford one that
Nothing wrong with Ford, as long as it wasn't made in the US... The best engine ever built is the Australian Ford Barra straight 6. The Ford Falcon model stopped production in the US in 1965, but it lived on in Australia and New Zealand until 2016. It either had a V8 which was okay, or the Barra inline 6. That Barra is without question, the best petrol engine ever made. Don't believe me? Google it.
He's not saying there's something wrong with Ford, just that it's ironic that they used a Ford to make a car that is so famous as a Dodge.
@@mrfixitusa6165 Exactly they should have used a modern charger if they could
@@KiwiPokerPlayer The Ford modular V8 engine is a great engine, the heart of many police cars and taxi cabs for decades, logging hundreds of thousands of miles. Was used in Mustangs, Lincolns and trucks, features overhead cams with either 2, 3 or 4 valves per cylinder. I have 2 vehicles with the 4.6 liter.
This guy is a hero. Save the vintage cars.
It's not even a real charger lol
@@PlymouthOwner he means save the real ones from being destroyed
@@PlymouthOwner the general lee is a dodge challenge look it up
@@PlymouthOwner not trying to be rude i just get really annoyed when people misuse the names of the cars I like
@@PlymouthOwner That's the point. The guy's conscience finally guided him to make the correct decision.
As long as the jump cars are like this I wouldn't mind watching a jump some time. Thank you for not using a real Charger.
Curtis Fleabag it’s Remanufactured AMD body panels, As he said multiple times throughout the video. The only “real” charger parts were either too far gone to use on another car or are super easy to purchase new. It’s a Ford frame, and cheap steel that looks like a charger.
It's basically a kit car! Cool beans! Much cheaper to build and own than rebuilding a Charger from junkyard parts! And it'll get way better gas mileage, as the only thing an original '69 Dodge Charger couldn't pass, was a gas station! LMAO!!
Charger383Mopar YES!
@Indy Sanders If the wheelbase is the same im sure it would work. try it and donate it to me when youre done.
Charger383Mopar yep
Disclaimer: No Chargers were harmed in the making of this video.
Perhaps not, but what of the SJWs who are wailing and gnashing their teeth over the Confederate Battle Flag? Who speaks for them. Who *cries* for them???
Fabrizio Julian Caldara just liberals
Didn't mean to make a political comment of this. I just watched the video because i was interested in how they fit the shell of a charger in a Crown Vic. I don't care your ideologies, I'm not even american.
John-Del the flag was already erased from the "official " Charger.
John-Del no one because whoever thinks the confederate flag is racist is a dumbfuck who thinks we should erase history
As a Mopar enthusiast this makes me so happy to see! This is what film crews, and stunt performers NEED to do whenever a classic car is required for whatever scene or stunt is being done. It absolutely breaks my heart to see old pickups or muscle cars of any brand get destroyed just to for a movie scene...I can't even watch the "Fast and Furious" movies because it kills me to see old vintage cars get destroyed just to film a movie. I truly love what they did here with this car. It's helping to keep the genuine factory production parts/complete cars in circulation where they belong! I can't even imagine how many production 69 chargers have been destroyed by film and stunt crews over the years as the "General Lee". What they did here is absolutely awesome! I really hope this becomes a trend for these sorts of things in the future, and more real factory production cars can be left for restorations/driving. Excellent job!
Chad Fitterling one of the ones that hurts the most for me is from the tv show scrubs. They wreck a nice 70-72 skylark because of a spoof of some movie where a 71/72 blue skylark drives over a bridge. Don’t remember what it was called exactly
I watched a video once and they actually used some 70-71 chargers and replaced some parts so it looked like a 69
@Curtis Fleabag did you watch the video? LoL they made that charger shell from scratch. Its all pressed sheet metal....
Curtis Fleabag No, it’s still a crown Vic.
It's a FORD charger!! Someone had to say it!! Lol, and honestly it just doesn't sound right!! But nevertheless this is absolutely the right thing to do,to many cars have been destroyed just for the sake of entertainment!
Cool build. I like that rather than wreck the last few chargers that are left, use a car that is super common instead.
true I do want a real 69 Charger like this & drive it to Hazard, Nebraska!
now I want to buy a crown vic and make charger from it !!!
microbusss I wanna build a General Lee and drive it all over LA and San Fransisco to piss off the libs lol
martinez1701a you would probably get shot at. Rebel flag through the hood not a good idea
Bernie Lomax good thing I carry
Guy rebodies car in 3 days, put most body shops to shame.
You should produce General Lees for customers from Crown Vics. That would be great!
Contact Smith Bros Restorations.
Check out Stacie's Country Cooking & Adventures on youtube.
Yeah 👍 I want one too 😊
Best looking ford I've ever seen lol
Glenn & Carolinda Powell I’m a GM guy and I still agree lmao
I'm a GM guy too; but disagree. I miss my 1969 Mustang :(
Oof
Don't you mean best forge you've ever seen?
Apparently you've never heard of a Ford GT40? Torino Talladega, a Mustang?? It's been a pretty popular car for like idk @ 60 years now..
This is a great build! Hollywood take note...you don't need to wreck any real Chargers any more!!!
Quite tempted to build my own now.
Me to and I have a real one but I don't dare race it with other cars bumping into it / close so this = Perfect drift car or dirt track race car just needs a lsx or a 440 Rb / 2 gen hemi
Richard Price yes...please stick with a Dodge motor. Done be one of those guys.
Hollywood doesn't wreck original chargers 😂
Knackered Dad Hollywood doesn't care, a car is just money to them :-(
This man is a true car enthusiast, he knows the value of a car that can't be replaced
I like to play with muscle cars if this is accurate thats damn sad
My wife is gonna be mad when I start cutting up my Grand Marquis, lol...
Did she get mad
its easier to get forgiveness than permission!
Cornelius Crewe lol
I'm turning my Grand Marquis off road with a 3" lift and truck tires lol!
I am cutting my Marquis and putting a 51 Merc body on it. Keep your fingers crossed
Makes perfect sense, the CVPI is a full frame beast of a car, the toughest cop car ever, and has a similar width and wheelbase to a Charger. It's far more rugged than a B body. A reusable jump car, what a concept!
I beg to differ, I have a 68 Dodge Charger with 383 BB bored out 30 over. all bushings and parts replaced under the B-Body. I've tested it around ugly dirt roads hardly ever feel em having torsion bars, and new suspension parts with Energy suspensions. Old Dodges were and as sturdy as the crown vic. Steve McQueen's Mustang can vouch for that too during the chase scene.
@westbender 820 its also about 500-1000lbs heavier.
@Curtis Fleabag loved to see old general lee's wrinkle when they did those jumps.
@@frigglebiscuit7484 I'm glad you told that Joe Biden loving gun banning clown off
@Johnny Deez Bah. A 69 has nothing on the updated technical marvels of a modern day CVPI
I love how you’re thinking about the cars, keeping the classics alive and destroying less aspirated, popular cars
general vic or crown lee
Crown Royal...
Vic Lee
The force is strong in this one.
cee dee general lee interceptor lol
I like general vic more
Please, please, *please* make a semi step-by-step tutorial on this car!
No kidding. Cause now all the sudden owning a general Lee doesn't seem to be too out of reach.
@@hiesenburg669 or doms charger
Got access to wrecked, low mileage crown vics, wish he would show us how to
Dang bro show us how to do it
Could you imagine showing up to the tag office in that? "Yeah i need to register my Ford Crown Vic." Lady: "ummmmm....what?"
Can you imagine getting pulled over by a cop and trying to tell him your Dodge Charger is actually a Ford Crown Vic ?
uncledadcan yeah that would take some explaining! I'd be carrying my project photo album just in case!
Or buying this car and taking it to a mechanic and him telling you "Dude this is not a Dodge Charger it's a Ford Crown Vic." 😠
Johnny cash gave him a idea in one pice at a time lol
P71 ?
I am a 63 year old recently retired government fleet mechanic who has been driving Crown Vics as my personal cars for over 2 decades. I don't plan to ever drive anything else. There are enough cars and parts to keep a Crown Vic (and Mercury Grand Marquis) running for decades into the future. They are one of the safest cars ever built. They are built like a tank. And stock ones are super comfortable and get amazing gas mileage on the highway. I was involved in a fairly major accident in one several years ago, and it held together. I only had very minor injuries. If this had happened in a little front wheel drive car, it would have been completely crushed, and I probably would have been too. The Ford Panther platform cars are absolutely amazing.
This was awesome to see!!! As a kid in the 70s, I watched Dukes of Hazard religiously and this was so satisfying to watch! I loved it!!!
As a huge fan of the 68 - 70 Chargers, I find this utterly fascinating. I really appreciate this gentleman saving the remaining Chargers .
I have been wanting a General Lee my whole life
Honey I'm cutting up the Lincoln!
Hell yeah! I love NOT destroying classics! Thank you
Pure genius! No more babying your 50+k vintage mopar with one of these
Tom Eis thinking about doing this. You're right. The coolest send-it-mobile
Uncle Jessie would've beeen so proud of you recycling most of your strapped parts
I was there and until you got right up to it ..You could hardly tell that it wasn't a charger...while y'all had it sitting there I was jaw dropped as to how well and safe the car was built...Wild is the word I would use just wild!!! Loved it great job!!!!!!
How was the sound?
uncle freddie it actually didn't sound bad ,besides that signature dodge start ..
As an owner of several vintage Mopars, including 2 '69 and 1 '68 Charger over the years let me say that you are a ROCK STAR!!!! Awesome way to keep the legend of the General Lee alive without destroying anymore of the ever dwindling supply of original cars. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
As an owner of 7 , yes 7 Crown Vic's and a huge love for the Dukes of Hazzard , i love this video more than one 'like' click. i would love to own that car. word cannot express my happiness towards this build. if you're ever in New Hampshire , i NEEEEED to see this car. anyway thank you for uploading .
PS: The Dukes of Hazzard has been a Family thing and the show means alot to me because my mom and i would watch this every week when i was a child. and the Crown Vic , well Ford is my life and these cars have been so loyal to me , in almost 20 years of having a Ford Crown Victoria (P71) i have never broke down. and yes , ALL my cars were retired police cars. Some call me a 'Whacker' but whatever , y'all don't know a good fleet car like i do.
what year of a crown vic would you be able to do this with?
The one in the video is a 99 but im sure they didn't change them up that much over the years
@@hiesenburg669 I'm going to hack mine up tomorrow. Im sure it will take me longer than 3 days. Wish he had showed us a little more about the build.....he is about the dollar
The panther frame is one of the best frames on the planet
Too bad we didn't get those here in Argentina.
like to see a honda accord do that? long live the crown victoria...
Thank you guys!
All the chargers that died in the 80s😭
Sebastian O. Breaks my heart seeing them smashed for movies and Tv, I want to own a 69 charger in future more then anything
Ryan Streuli wouldn’t even be nothing if it wasn’t for the show
@@DJVICTOR-es7gs u right bone, the show saved the rest of them. In 79 dad said u couldn't give one away until the show
That is just awesome!! Great job on that build! It looks just like a Charger!
Dude! That's bad ass. I'm a crown Vic lover so this is right up my alley.
I have only one word for how awesome this is: awesome.
From a B-Body Charger Fan, And especially a Dukes Fan, Thank you for saving a Charger. There's not many left. And while the jumps are always great, seeing them get all twisted up brings a tear to my eye every time.
Damn, that would be a fun car to own. Great video, very well done!
I'm so happy to see, that no classics were harmed by this🥰
Can you please in the future make a step by step video on how to make this?!?
I'm a service guy with a Ford dealer. Believe me, those Crown Vics were tanks. And they were often jumped. Sometimes they would come in with the radiator cor support smashed half way up in to the radiator. The story was always the same. The officer hit a bump and then the engine started to over heat a little while later. Among the over heat codes stored in the PCM there would be a code for vehicle top speed reached. Haha. We would just fix it, realign it, and return it to service.
Thats an amazing amount of work, he's so humble!
So great to see someone who cares about preserving classics and not destroying them for fun because each time they’re destroyed that’s just one less
This is SWEET. I've wondered many times if something like this would be possible, given the rarity and value of REAL Chargers. It's a tough, easy to find car and you wouldn't have to be completely paranoid about damaging it. Maybe you could do some kind of an in dept guide on how you did this, like measurements on welding the panels on and things like that. I just restored a 77 Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am, so I'm no stranger to body work!
Holy COW! That looks so painstakingly difficult but turned out GREAT! Youre an artist in your own kind. Beautiful work.
Cool video. Loved that show when I was a kid. Those were the good ol days.
You should receive a Mopar medal of honor my friend! Brilliant! Thank you!
You sir are awesome! Nice job on the General Lee Crown Vic!!
Roscoe and Enos are still out there waiting on the Dukes to come by.
Good tv memories.
Great General Lee! It was really interesting on seeing how the transformation happened!
This is absolutely fantastic. Like you said, flying through the air, you would never know the difference. For a completely custom build, you guys did a great job. Looks really good.
That's amazing! A shame they didn't do thos years ago, but the modern Crown Vics weren't around yet. You guys are pretty talented fabricators/men! Nice work!
You destroyed a beautiful ford crown Vic to make this? Just kidding!!!
alex hess crown Vic’s imo are ugly lol
alex hess lmfao.....awesome!!!!!
I like them but a dime a dozen
2 THUMBS UP for the CONFEDERATE FLAG 👍👍. Great job and Great video. And to HELL to the people who ruined our chances of never seeing this car on TV ever again!
All credit to you for your ingenious build and not destroying an original.
i would want one as a daily driver
well it doesn't have windows so I'm not sure how great that would be.
Hope you have thousands of extra cash for the constant gas stops :-)
17 city / 24 highway oof better than my jeep atleast
James Noble it’s still just a crown Vic, not like it has an old school hemi. Hell it gets better mileage than my little 6 cylinder.
@@jamesnoble8205 My 2000 Town Car gets 20 MPG average if driven lightly. That's better than my other dailys, LOL!
That's awesome sir, getting new sheet metal instead of tearing an original up. Loved your comment about letting one be rebuilt for the road instead of tore up jumping. Kudos to you ! ! ! 👍👍👍
Oh, dear lord the wheels are turning. There are so many possibilities for cool builds on the Panther platform. Cop cars are still reasonably cheap, not a ton of miles on most. I've got an '09 driver (ironically enough; from the Tigard Police department, a suburb of Portland) with only 85k on the clock. These things are freakin' tanks.
steven livingston mine has 200k and still going strong...
My 2004 is sitting at 210,000 miles and it cranks and runs like it has 20,000 miles. Absolutely amazing cars!
Wonder if a 70-71 Torino body would fit? Or a 69 Mercury Cyclone. That would be cool.
As a long time owner of similar vintage Mopar, I truly appreciate the approach you've done to both continue having the Duke's Charger in action for the public, and preserving the restorable shells for future use. Excellent! Thank you very much!!!
Very nice. Somewhere Roscoe is living it up knowing that a Police car and a General Lee had a kid... Hence the car you built :)
Great work restoring the Chargers. Hope you can restore many more so we can still appreciate and drive them
I love the precise ramp to ramp, so smooth!!
Ben Wolfram Yea, that’s the difference between have an actual stunt crew, as opposed to a goof with a heavy foot.
Math........
Now that is a very good idea. A vintage car is not harmed and there are thousands of crown vics out there. Great job. Hell I might build one. Here in Detroit we have plenty.
Ah, so this is where the saying " F'ing Old Rebuild Dodge" came from!
In this case Flying Old Replica Dodge!
Man, you are definitely living my dream. I’m a ford guy through and through but I always loved the show and obviously the General Lee when I was a kid growing up. Outstanding job. I just saw a General Lee in front of a store last week near where I live (Valpo, In. ) and I thought, my grandkids would love going for rides with their paw paw on weekends to get ice cream. I love the modern day safety / reliability aspect of it. If you have time, a tutorial would be appreciated nation wide. Again, outstanding job from one gearhead to another. God bless.
That is awesome! Glad you are not crashing the real deal!
This blew my mind brother. I would have never in a million years thought you could actually buy the sheet metal for a charger anywhere.i always thought once they quit building that model they retired the prints and it was illegal to reproduce. This shop sure knows there shit. Good job to them and this impressed the shit out of me.
Imagine how pissed his grandson would be when he grows up and gets given a general lee, only to find out its really just a crown vic 😂😂
It's still unique and valuable in its own right.
@@17531trice I'm glad you told that clown off
This is brilliant! And the best part no original chargers were destroyed!
this is a pretty cool idea. people are doing the same thing to the 67/72 Ford f-100,s. they cut all of the crown vic. stuff off and drop on the f-100. now that he has done this just wait for all of the people to want to get rid of crown vic,s.
lilorbie lilorbie haha like off of Hot Rod Garage?
I’m so glad you made this video. I was always the guy screaming blasphemy when I’d see videos of these cars being jumped and wrecked. I should have known anyone that has the skills and passion to build a car like this would respect the original car enough to not pointlessly destroy it. So much respect.
Now that is thinking out side of the box. Very cool.
You could sell these, dude, what cool work. I love it. Very impressive.
Thank you for keeping the Rebel Flag on that car! #TheSouth
Awesomeness!!! Love the South!
Boy, that's creative dedication and all that just for a few seconds in a show. WOW!
I own tons of p71's and I'm doing a general lee clone now. Awesome build. 👍
I asked a few people if they’ve done it and none replied, hows your project going if you started it at all?
@@bananaman2184 he is turning a 71 into a 69. There is a shop here that does them. Most of the cars are 318 tho
@@waynewilliams5802 71? Didn’t they have a completely different chassis?
@@bananaman2184 don't get me lying bone but I almost bought a 1974(69) general Lee. Paperwork for a 74 inside looked 74 outside was a AMD 69 an yes doors opened bone
@@waynewilliams5802 I gotta look into that, 68-70 chargers are hard to come by for me
I am amazed of how this turned out. It looks like a real legit Charger. It is a really cool build in my opinion.
“I used the police to escape the police”
Excellent idea and the General Lee looks great leaping through the air! Crown Vic parts are plentiful!
Cletus: Where's the dipstick?
Luke: You're under the hood, Cletus.
It was bo that said that lol
It's got a cop motor, a 281-cubic-inch plant. It's got cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks. It's a model made before high compression so it'll run good on regular ga
Wow, excellent job!
Could you build one from a modern charger police car? That would be so bad ass to have a 68,69,70 charger body on a modern hemi charger! Thanks for saving and bring back the classics.
interesting I never new it could be done
i'm amazed the wheelbase was close enough
I wonder if you could put a hemi in it
FattyandPeaches you'd have to replace the Ford parts with Mopar or GM. Fords are very picky
FattyandPeaches unfortunately Fords are a total pain.
everything is impossible, until someone finally does it
you made a fantastic job for a jump show car. when i was a kid i watched this tv serial and i loved it. nice memories :)
Incredible effort. I would definitely love to own one and know how much it would cost to make
And that, boys and girls, is why America is still the Greatest!!! Love this stuff.
how did you manage to change from a 4 door to 2 doors, well done, I not notice the back pillars of the Crown Vic ?? well done ..-- really surprised with all work, a good and clean car at the and --..
daCostamartins all the doors and pillars and THE ENTIRE BODY from the ford is gone
ok.. even so manage to give a clean look to it, I'd gladly drive it as my daily wheels --..
OP needs to start selling this as a kit, I'd buy one but the weak ford 4.6L would be getting replaced with a 5.7L hemi.
daCostamartins that would be a pretty damn reliable car too
SP392 A reasonably priced kit
It was dream come true for me to be able to see the General Lee jump at Duke fest this year
First time I've seen a Ford Crown Victorian police car turned into a Dodge Charger General Lee.
Got my 1st car in 81 and was a 68, so you can say that Chargers are special to me and have owned two of them. The first one was just a 318 car, but #2 was an RT with built 440 plus added 6 pk and was a badass Mopar. John Schneider (Bo Duke), is a friend and said that they used only 318 cars to jump with and did not smash any of the extra special one's thank God 🙏🏼. So it's awesome that they are using Crown Vics these days, and is really interesting how they do it
Wow I’m a new subscriber and I’m lovin’ the content I wish you would have filmed more of the build and not talk over it and loose the background music
Hell yeah! This is awesome as it keeps the beauty of the design and keeps one more Charger alive to stick around.
I did want to hear the engine.
May God reserve ya a warm place in heaven, bud!
Dukes of Hazard was my favorite show as a kid. You really brought back alot of nice memories. You guys are freakin awesome. Thanks for bringing back The General Lee and i will see you all at The Boars Nest im buying!!!!👍
Has a body of a Charger
Has a heart of a Crown vic.
I love the last jump and chase scene as it's an accident for the crowd waiting to happen. Oh but we didn't think it would be dangerous.
Soo..can we can call this a Dodge Charger replica?
Yep
Diego García m'
@@davidklippert5600 what
@@DiegoGarcia-wi5mz that's a view bot
This is freaking cool! So glad that your carrying on tradition but trying to save the originals.
Could make those conversions and sell them! I'll take one, how much?
Way better than destroying another Charger.
The 68 to 70 Charger is in my opinion the best looking Mopar ever.
I'm glad you didn't waste another one.
0:08 I spy a Dodge Daytona...
@Cameron Dougherty the blue car IS a late 80/early 90s Dodge Daytona...
@@wheels-n-tires1846 the front end indicates a 1989-91 Daytona ES, ES Turbo or Shelby. The color with what appears to be silver ground effects, plus the hood type and 'Shelby' door graphic at 2:03 indicates this example is specifically a 1989 Daytona Shelby.
@@jacobirvine704 thx...loved those cars but wasnt sure what year exactly...👍👍
I still have an 89” Daytona Shelby!
@@300ddsrt3 I had a shelby turbo Z great cars but Oh the torque steer! oh yeah, had a 70 charger rt se too.