Forgotten movie cars: the Chevrolet Bel Air from "Return to Macon County"
8.7 seconds! That's the astonishing time the sun-yellow Bel Air on its skinny, low-traction bias-ply tires ran on the quarter mile – hand-timed in front of the camera. A mysterious toggle switch under the dashboard made it possible. What exactly Harley McKay (Don Johnson) activated with it, however, remains his secret. A bang and a burst of sparks from the exhaust must be enough to make viewers believe that Lizzy is now partying under the hood.
In the summer of 1958, driver Bo (Nick Nolte) and mechanic Harley make their way from Georgia to California to take part in the "Grand National Championship" in drag racing. Of course, the trip across the USA goes anything but smoothly. After the crazy waitress Junelle gets on board, they get into a fight with a group of thugs and a vengeful small-town policeman during the course of the trip.
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The whole thing is certainly not Oscar-worthy, which is what Amercian International Pictures stands for with its name. And apart from the cars and the great rock'n'roll soundtrack, everything in the film – from the hairstyles to the clothes to the cans on the supermarket shelves – corresponds to the year it was made, 1975. Nevertheless, the nonsense is entertaining. One of the two movie Chevys has survived in surprisingly good condition. It is waiting for better times in a barn in Kentucky.
What the yellow hardtop coupé actually has under the hood? Unfortunately, only an ordinary small-block V8. But at least it's the hottest that was available in the Bel Air in 1957: the 283 with Rochester fuel injection and 283 SAE horsepower, for the film also force-fed by a Paxton supercharger and spruced up with a portion of chrome. Coupled to a manual three-speed gearbox, the Chevy should be able to cover the quarter mile in a good 14 seconds. Oh well.
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