Part 2 of our series of our all-time favorite movie cars, we take a look one of the most popular hot-rods of all time.
Jason’s favorite: 1932 Ford 5-Window from American Graffiti
Anyone that knows Jason knows he has a love for racing cars—anything with speed and anything that he can make run smoother, more efficient and most importantly, much faster. It’s no wonder when I asked him what his favorite movie car was, I barely finished the question before he blurted out his answer, “The ‘32 Ford from American Graffiti.” When I asked why, he said, “I’ve always liked the body style of the ‘32 – the shape of them, with fenders, without fenders, it’s just a cool look.” He’s not alone. “The Milner” as it’s known, is one of the most replicated hotrods of all time.
The Real Star of American Graffiti
George Lucas’ 1973 coming-of-age film, American Graffiti, is set in 1962, and is an homage to simpler times—before the Kennedy assassination, before the US entered the Vietnam War—when cruisin’ was the favorite pastime of teens and twenty-somethings. Chances are, if you grew up in a small town in the early ‘60s, and you had a hot rod, you probably knew at least one “Milner” who always ready for a drag race. Watching the film today, movie buffs will recognize a host of Hollywood celebrities, but when the movie was made in 1973, the cast was fairly unknown, perhaps with the exception of Ron Howard, known for his role as Sheriff Andy Taylor’s son, Opie, on The Andy Griffith Show. One could argue that the real stars of the movie were the cars themselves, with ‘32 Ford coupe as its marquee.
Milner’s Coupe
In the movie, John Milner (played by Paul Le Mat,) drives the quintessential hot rod – a 1932 5-window Ford coupe. This bright yellow “rat rod” didn’t look like much to many of those passers-by in Petaluma, California, on that late-summer night in ‘62, but John Milner had a well-earned reputation among his peers for having “the fastest thing in the valley.”
The car used in the film was purchased for $1300 by Gary Kurtz, who was one of the movie’s producers. To create the now-famous hot rod, his team made several modifications, including having the original front stock fenders replaced with minimal cycle-type fenders bolted on, which would have met the legal requirements of the1960’s anti-hot rod era. It also included a Chevy small-block 327 V8, chrome sprint-car headers, and a ’57 Chevy rear end with 4:11 gear ratio.
The Milner Coupe would never win any beauty pageants, but those weren’t the contests it was competing in. Far from being considered attractive by most classic car lovers, let’s just say it has a lot of character. It’s a car only gearheads could love. And they do.
I’d like to think that the popularity of the ‘32 Ford coupe is in some part due to the likability of the John Milner character. Sure, he’s a ‘bad boy’ for his racing, but he’s also a good guy, even begrudgingly befriending Carol, the bratty young teen, played by Mackenzie Phillips. It’s understandable why this deuce coupe has become the beloved favorite of many hot rod fans throughout the years
What happened to Milner’s Deuce Coupe?
After production of the movie wrapped, Lucas Studios tried, unsuccessfully, to sell the ’32 Ford Coupe for $1500. Fortunately, they weren’t successful, and the car was later used for promotional purposes when the movie became a hit.
In this video, we learn that Steve Finch bought the coupe from Universal in 1981 for $4,500. At the time, he also owned the ’55 Chevy. He restored it to the original movie appearance, and later sold it to car collector, Rick Fugari for $25,000, who still owns the car.
Image by Tima Miroshnichenko.