The Story of an Honest-to-God General

<-- Click here to see this page with the General Lee background instead!

Hello fellow Mopar Maniacs:

Well sometime back in '89 I got a call from Wayne Wooten (The Dodge
Charger registry).  I thought something was up because without even
saying hello Wayne asked "Do you have $x you're not using?"  My
response, "No, what do you think?"  His answer, "Well GET IT!"  He then
went on to explain that we had a chance to get the only surviving
General Lees used on the Dukes of Hazzard.  Well now I'm just about to
bounce off the walls, so I tell Wayne "I'll have to think about it. :)"
So after about half a second of deep concentration I said "OK, I'm in!"
I know I must have had a grin that stretched past both ears.  I was just
about to let out a shout and tell everyone what had just dropped out of
the blue.  Then I heard Wayne say "First of all, you can't tell
'ANYBODY' about this deal.  If you do, you're out."  Well now I'm really
about to bounce off the walls.  AAAAAArrrrrrrggggggghhhhhh!!!, just
about the best news I'd ever gotten and I couldn't tell anybody! :(
Let me stop here and give a little background on how Wayne got into this
deal.  I'll try to keep this part short.  If you want to know more,
there's a real good article in the February 1993 issue of "Mopar
Collector's Guide".  Contrary to most of my experience with magazine and
news paper articles the facts are pretty accurate.
(Disclaimer: this is an abridged version of my memory of what Wayne told
me 5 years ago so my facts may not be too accurate.)
Sometime after Wayne started TDC he got in touch with Warner Brothers to
see if he could get the records for all the Chargers they used in the
Dukes of Hazzard.  Wayne had been corresponding with WB (specifically
the head of the transportation department) for quite a while and they
were impressed with the way he ran the registry.  Well somewhere in all
this correspondence they told Wayne they had quite a few Charger parts
left from the show and if he wanted them they would donate them to the
registry and all he had to do was come out there and get them.  With
some frequent flier miles donated by his dad, Wayne (with wife - and
probably his three kids - in tow) flew out to California and was greeted
by a field full of used General Lee parts.  (mostly bumpers, hoods,
doors and fenders)  (as a side note I believe TDC still has some of
these parts left if anyone is interested)

After half filling a semi trailer with orange parts, Wayne was taken on
a tour of the studio and its back lots.  While on the tour they turned a
corner and Wayne was staring at a field full of about 15 General Lees.
(Wayne had been set up. :)
At this point, Frank (Head of transportation) told Wayne that before he
asked there was no way they could sell him one of these cars.  Wayne was
crushed to say the least!  Well to make a long story short (is it to
late yet?) just before he left, Wayne worked up the courage to ask
"There has got to be a way I can get one of these cars."  Frank, after
telling Wayne he was getting worried he wasn't going to ask, went on to
explain that it would be possible to by ALL the cars as a single lot.
After Wayne's protest that there was no way he could afford to by all 17
cars (There were 19 surviving cars.  WB kept 2, the sound stage car and
one other car.) Frank told him that he didn't have to by them all
himself.  He then went on to tell him how to go about setting up the
deal to get the cars.
With this information in hand, Wayne flew home and with a list of 17
General Lee VIN numbers he started calling members of the registry.  As
each person said yes to the deal he got the next VIN on the list.  Sight
unseen and no way of knowing the condition of any particular car.  The
only knowledge we had was that the cars were supposed to be complete and
that they all ran when they parked them after the show was canceled.



Well now that I was in on the deal it was basically supposed to go down
like this.  Wayne's Lawyer would set up a corporation to purchase the
cars.  We would by a share in the corporation for the purchase price of
the cars and once the corporation purchased the cars we would each get a
car for our share in the corporation and the corporation would then
disappear.  The main reason for doing it this way (aside from the fact
that there wasn't any other practical way to do it) was to protect
Warner Brothers.  If one of us tried to jump our General over a house
and were killed we would have trouble taking action against WB since
technically we purchased the cars from the corporation and the
corporation couldn't take action against WB since it didn't exist
anymore.  Sounds simple, doesn't it?
I don't remember when Wayne first contacted me about the deal but in
October '89 I sent the lawyer his fee ($400.00 for each car!*) for
setting up the corporation and all the other paperwork he would need to
do for the deal.  In March of '90 I received a letter from the lawyer
that the final draft of the agreement had been sent to WB.  (Did I
forget to mention that he was supposed to have it done by early
February?  No big deal?  I didn't think so either.)  Well it looked like
smooth sailing from here.  I talked to Wayne shortly after that and it
looked like the agreement had been accepted and we should have the cars
within a month.  Well, sometime in April, there seemed to be a hold up
on the cars and in late April/early May we found out from WB that there
would be a delay in the delivery of the cars. :(
It seems that just after the contract was submitted to WB legal
department for final approval some big wig at WB came up with the idea
for a 2 hour Dukes of Hazzard TV movie.  As a result there would be a
hold on the cars until a final decision on the movie had been made.  At
that point, if they decided to go ahead, they would recondition 5 or 6
of the cars for the movie and deliver the rest to us then.  (We would
still get the other cars after the movie was finished.)  The final
decision on the movie was supposed to be made within 3 to 4 weeks.
If our lawyer had gotten the proposal in on time we might have gotten
the cars before this came up. *
Well at the end of June We received word that they still hadn't made a
final decision.  WB had made the proposal to the 3 major networks and
were waiting for a decision from them.  But as soon as the decision was
made we would get all the cars not needed for the movie.
This went on for weeks and months with no decision.  Then we got word
that the movie deal was dead but still no cars.  From this point on we
got no real explanation what the delay was but we would get the cars.
I found out later that the final delays were probably caused by WB's
lawyers.* It seems they were very much against us brain dead TV viewers
getting the cars for fear of all the legal action when we killed
ourselves trying to fly orange Chargers. :(  But the transportation head
was dead set on us getting the cars and wouldn't take no for an answer.
:)
Finally in March of '91 we got word that the cars were ready to ship and
by the middle of March I took delivery on a shiny new (well maybe not
too shiny or new) General Lee.

General Lee, part 3

 Originally the best price we could get to have the cars shipped
from California was $1,275.00 apiece but with all that extra time we
found someone cheaper.  It's strange but it's hard to find someone
willing to haul a truckload of cars that don't run.)
CONDITION OF THE GENERAL: (Well now, were should I start?)
Well let's begin with what kind of car my General started life as before
it decided to become a TV star.  From the VIN "XP29H8B" and code plate
my General began life as a '68 Charger, 383 HP, 727 auto, 8.75 3.55:1
sure grip, Power front disc, PS & AC.  It was originally dark turquoise
with a white interior and white vinyl top.

Now on to what it looked like when it came off the truck.  It was a sad
sight.  (Well I'll admit it looked beautiful to me but I'm trying to
give an objective description of its condition.)  Over six years in the
California sun hadn't been kind to the paint.  It was oxidized, stained
in places, cracked in others with miscellaneous dents and scratches. The
hood was so badly oxidized that I would have sworn that it was a
completely different shade of orange than the rest of the car.

(Before you get too worried, the paint cleaned up pretty nice. With some cleaner, polish, wax and elbow grease, the oxidation and most of the stains came clean and the hood does match! )

Some miscellaneous exterior things: The "push bar" is not only welded to
the frame but also to the front bumper.  The center section of the grill
is from a '69 but it still has the '68 headlight doors.  The '68
taillight panel was cut to fit the '69 lenses and patch panels were
riveted above them.  It has 1 '68 front fender and 1 '69.  It has 1 '68
door and 1 '69.  Both rear quarters have been replaced at least once.
There are no backup lights (The '68 backup lights were part of the
taillight assembly).  The side marker lights have been filled in.  The
flag is very badly cracked with some big rust spots in the middle. And
although the flag and 01 are part of the paint job, the GENERAL LEE
lettering is decals.
Under the hood:  At first glance there is some bracing welded in front
of the radiator that seems to have been used to mount an electric
cooling fan at one time.  The radiator is missing and the air cleaner is
missing.  The engine is covered with rat droppings and other debris and
the rats have chewed the wiring.  A closer look reveals that the drivers
side motor mount is destroyed and the mount bracket is resting on the
dipstick tube.  The engine is being held on this side by a heavy chain
bolted to the AC compressor and welded to the K-frame.



The right mount is intact but the mount "pedestal" is leaning about 30
degrees towards the right fender and the mount bracket is loosely held
to the block by one long bolt because the engine has shifted 2" forward
and it doesn't line up with the mounting points.



The oil pan is crushed.  (You don't think this car left the ground do
you?)  All the wiring under the hood except what was needed to run the
engine had been "CUT" at the connectors and removed.  (They couldn't
just unplug the connectors?!?!?!?)  The wire for the neutral starting
switch is grounded to the fire-wall.
Wheels etc.:  It has three 14" wheels and one 15" (A mix-up somewhere
along the line.  The rest of the cars either had all 14" rims or 14s in
the front and 15s in the rear.) and the tread on the rear wheels was
melted so bad that it looked like they'd been in a fire. (burnouts!)
The front discs with the 4 piston calipers are still intact.  The 8.75
sure grip is still there with the correct gears but the axles seem kinda
loose.  A closer look reveals that the adjusting ring is completely
unscrewed.  Deeper examination reveals that the thrust spacer is welded
to the end of the axle and the spacer from the other side is missing all
together!



(As
an aside, let me mention that I was lucky I got one of the cars with a
sure grip.  They had welded the spider gears on the cars with open
differentials.)  Talk about your limited slip! ;)
On to the interior: The interior is spray "painted" tan.  Again, all the
non-critical wiring under the dash has been cut.  The ignition, gauges,
and headlight wiring survive. (although the headlight wiring was cut
from under the hood.) There is about an inch of dust covering the
inside, plus rats nests and rat droppings.  None of the windows work.
The left rear will almost roll up but not quit. (just needed adjusting)
The right rear won't work at all. (A closer look reveals that someone
"TRIED" to modify a left hand winding mechanism to work in the right
side!)  The glass in the drivers door is intact but there is no winding
mechanism to roll it up and it is covered in tan paint because the door
panel is missing.  The winding mechanism in the passenger door is intact
but the glass is broken inside the door in about a billion little beads.
Speaking of doors, before anyone asks, NO the doors weren't welded shut,
that was just TV make-believe.  In fact if you listen carefully watching
the show you will occasionally here the door close when someone is
getting in or out of the car off screen. Can you say "continuity error"?
:)
The rearview mirror and sun visors are missing.  The fact that they were
removed before the interior was painted tan, plus the fact that there
are holes in the rear floor that look like mounting points lead me to
believe that this car was used for interior camera shots at one time.
So much for the condition of the car when I got it.  Now on to what I've
done to it.  The first thing I decided when I got the car was that I
wanted to keep it as close as possible to the way it came.  I haven't
done anything cosmetic accept for cleaning it and a little general rust
fighting.  Mechanically I've done what I've needed to make the car safe
and street legal so I can drive it.
I started by straightening the mount pedestal with a wedge and a VBFH
and then lining up the engine and putting it back on the mounts where it
belongs.  After shifting the engine back far enough to line up with the
right mount (about 2") it still wasn't back far enough to line up the
left mount, so I cut one of the ears off the new mount and attached it
with a big bolt and spacer.  It seems to work OK and I'm not worried
about it's strength since the hold down chain is on that side.
I then replaced all the gaskets and hoses; however, I didn't pull the
heads.  After pulling the intake the inside of the motor was spotless so
I figured I'd take a chance.  Rebuilt the carburetor.  I new that the
old Holley would leak after sitting for 7 years.  (Strange carburetor by
the way.  Single pump, mechanical secondary!?!?)

Next I did the rear end.  I manually cut new threads into the adjusting
ring.  (They had gotten chewed up from being run unscrewed.) And had a
machinist turn me a thrust spacer to replace the missing one.  I left
the other one welded to the end of the axle.
And to make a too long story not short enough, I rebuilt the brakes (the
local parts place ordered the kits for the four piston calipers for only
$35), wired the lights and windshield wipers and fixed the windows.
Now on to starting the car and some embarrassing moments. :)
Disconnected the fuel line from the carb and cranked the engine to flush
out the lines with fresh gas. (everything seemed to be OK) Hooked up the
fuel line and primed the carb.  Primed the oil pump and hooked the
ignition back up and then fired it up.  STARTED FIRST CRANK!  Ran for 5
minutes and died. :( Diaphragm in the fuel pump. (I should have known
better!)  Got a new fuel pump and fired it up.  Ran for couple of
minutes then coolant began pouring out of left head.  Corroded freeze
plug.  (Forgot to check.  Should have known better!!) Replaced with
nice, easy to install rubber type plug.  Fired it up.  Ran for 15
minutes, coolant now pouring out of water pump.  Pump seal is shot.
(Should have known better!!!) Got new water pump.  Fired it up.  Runs
with no problems. (Well, almost.)
Well now for my most embarrassing moment. :)  The car starts easy and
idles smooth. (Amazing since the carb has no choke.) It runs smooth when
cruising.  Will burn the tires off the line and chirp them going from
1-2 and 2-3.  Everything seems fine except from 1000 rpm up to about
1500 rpm the engine shakes something terrible.  It took me forever to
figure out what the problem was.  It was the smooth idle that threw me
off.  Can anyone guess what embarrassingly stupid mistake I made?  
CROSSED SPARK PLUG WIRES!
I had the #3 and #5 plug wires reversed causing #3 to fire 180 degrees
too late and #5 180 degrees too soon.  I swear, I triple checked that
before I first started it.  Really. :)
Everyone, repeat after me:  one, eight, four, three, six, five, seven,
two.
As to my explanation of why it would idle smooth on only 6 cylinders?  I
don't have one.
As to how it was able to chirp the tires on the 2-3 shift I have a
guess.  The torque converter (as I later found out) was just about shot.
With all the extra slipping that the converter was doing it was
effectively giving the car a very low gear ratio.  I have since had the
converter replaced and on all 8 cylinders I can only occasionally get
the tires to chirp on the 2-3 shift.
Keith