watching "Duel"

[eldubb440]

and the car was pretty much new with 5100 miles and the radiator hose was questionable

 

[Kern Dog]

I remember seeing that and wondered if old cars really were unreliable or if it was bullshit...

 

[68BabyBlue]

I remember seeing that and wondered if old cars really were unreliable or if it was bullshit...

Based on my dad's experience with new A bodies, most were really reliable. But we did get one really bad one that was probably built on a Monday. Torqueflite failed under warranty, rust through in two years, horrible paint, stuff coming loose all the time.

 

[Spare Parts]

Duel trivia,Greblieps is Spielberg spelt backwards.

 

[wahya]

and the car was pretty much new with 5100 miles and the radiator hose was questionable

It could have been 105100,or even 205100.

 

[Kern Dog]

Not within 1 model year, man.

 

[patrick66]

It could have been 105100,or even 205100.

A one-year-old Valiant? Nope.

Back in 1987, I owned a 1967 Dart GT hardtop. 225 auto, PS, no air, and nice '70 Rallyes I put on the car. It had 203K miles on it, when the wimpy 7-1/4" rear let go. Swapped axle assemblies from my '67 four-door Dart 270 parts car, and drove it another two years before I sold it. That was one of the very best cars I've ever owned, of any age.

 

[YY1]

Back then you DID need to pay attention to your water level on a much more frequent basis.

If there was no overflow jug, then even worse.

Especially when driving in the mountains.....in the desert...

 

[icetech]

In case anyone has never seen it.. i LOVE this movie..

 

[Budnicks]

Dennis Weaver acted like a total wuss in that flick...

sort of out of character for most of his roles
in westerns & police TV stuff

 

[wahya]

Dennis Weaver acted like a total wuss in that flick...

sort of out of character for most of his roles
in westerns & police TV stuff

In Gunsmoke as well.

 

[YY1]

That's called "being a good actor".

 

[#41]

I'm going to visit some of the Duel film locations in April. I have done this for Dirty Mary Crazy Larry, Vanishing Point, and Bullitt... and they were memorable trips. DMCL was the best because many of the locations still look similar to back in the day (Grocery store, Farmington general store, and Bill's Pool Hall).

I don't think the Duel trip will have quite the same appeal, but I'm still looking forward to it. The "Diner" where he gets beat down is still there and is now an upscale French Restaurant.

 

[Cranky]

I've watched that movie too many times.....and it's been awhile since watching it!!

 

[DeltaV]

 

[Spare Parts]

A rare production photo

 

[CudaChick1968]

Dennis Weaver's character encompasses everything no real woman wants. If p*ssywhipped had a face, it would be his.

I've seen it wayyyy too many times but will make a confession. I like the alternative script that never happened.

His wife ran off with that brute at the party and was already long gone when he phoned her from the diner. Now utterly consumed by jealousy, Dennis paid so little attention to the road that he missed a turn and plummeted over the edge, screaming like a girl into a raging inferno of high test.

The truck driver uneventfully finished his route. The last scene shows him comfy in bed reaching for a new book to lull him to sleep. He studies the cover for a moment, lies back onto the pillows and opens it. The camera pans in to focus on the title ...

Christine.

 

[CudaChick1968]

Oh yeah, almost forgot. If you run across a biker movie called Torque, watch it (if you can). Filmed in the same area as Duel, the biker gang passes a familiar old tanker truck and then a red four door Valiant.

 

[Cranky]

uh oh..... engine shitting the bed

must be a 318, a slanty would never give up that easy......my bad

A /6 usually wouldn't rpm high enough to **** the bed but I saw several in wrecking yards with holes in the side of the block. And I've had more than my fair share of them and tried to blow up my last one but it was out of breath at 4800. Tried to blow up a poly teen too in the early 70's and it wouldn't either. Didn't have a tach on it though but put a brick on the gas pedal while in neutral. Was about to stick in a mild 383 in the car and after about 30 seconds I got to thinking 'what if it blows and damages the car' so the brick came off.

225, exhaust on the drivers side.

Yup, then turned under the pan and just in front of the trans to the passenger side.....

Not just a diesel, but "some kind of souped up diesel"!

I've been surprised more than a few times how fast an 18 wheeler can get up to speed when empty.

I drove a four door Valiant until I got married. I needed seven GTXs, and the Peterbilt to compensate for that.

View attachment 1420553View attachment 1420551

My first car was a 4dr 66 Belvedere II but it was more or less a hand me down. What helped it look ok was the yellow paint and black vinyl top. Hope that truck got a bath sometime shortly after that pic was taken....

Based on my dad's experience with new A bodies, most were really reliable. But we did get one really bad one that was probably built on a Monday. Torqueflite failed under warranty, rust through in two years, horrible paint, stuff coming loose all the time.

Oh man, my dad bought a 69 New Yorker that was close to being a total lemon. The only thing that didn't fail was the 440! That sucker ran damn good! I can still list all of other stuff that failed or didn't work right but I don't feel like spending a 1/2 hour typing it all lol

Not within 1 model year, man.

Lots of people out there that put 100k miles or more on their cars in a year....I put 40k miles on my car in a years time just going back and forth to my job and was about 75% of the miles. Was filling up the tank twice a week and sometimes more. Wasn't using my car during the work day either.

 

[YY1]

"Back in the day" it was fairly common to (try to) blow up slant six engines before installing a v8 in the car that came with it.

I've known at least 2 that had to be drained of oil and run at high RPM in a pasture for a prolonged period of time because just high RPM for a long time wouldn't do it.