[movies] I don't know about you, but when I was a kid, watching The Dukes of Hazzard, I always used to dream of once having a car like that myself. I would dream of rounding up my friends and then taking the General Lee for a spin in the forest and find hills that we could make sweet jumps over. And I would know that one day, when I would have the money, I'd go and buy myself a General! Then years later you see the movie version of the TV-show and realise that all you have for transport is still just a bike, and the only jumps you make is when another one of those hairy spiders lands in your hair when you walk in the garden. Not so for American brothers Bob and James Smith. They also loved to watch the show when they were young, and instead of just dreaming about it, they acted upon that dream, starting up their own business restoring General Lee's from all over the world.
Owning your own General Lee is possible. Just give the Smith Bros. a bag of money (and if you have one lying around, an old Charger) and they will work their magic. I mailed with Bob Smith, one of the two brothers owning Smith Bros Restorations, and asked him about the how and why of their business.
Q: How did you decide to start building these full size restorations of the General Lee?
A: My brother and I have always had a love for cars, and always knew that we would one day be involved in restoration, racing, or stunts.
Q: Were you a fan of the Dukes of Hazzard television series when you were a kid, or was it only the car that got you interested?
A: We would sit as a family and watch The Dukes Of Hazzard during the 1980's, and wish that we could work for WB behind the scenes, working on the cars.
Q: Did you maybe already make miniature versions of the General Lee around that time?
A: We made a couple of models, but were always trying to make something a little bigger, something we could drive.
Q: How difficult is it for you to make a restoration of the General Lee? How much work is involved for you to turn an old car into a brand new restoration.
A: There's a lot of work in restoration, but it is very rewarding to see a car pulled from a state of neglect, made new and driving as it once did.
Q: So, when did you start out?
A: We started out restoring other kinds of cars before we started a General Lee project. We started collecting Chargers and parts in 2000, and built our first General in 2002.
Q: If one of the readers would like to have one of these General Lee's, how much would it cost for them to acquire one?
A: The price as quoted on our website is $32,500.00, which includes the car itself. If a customer has a car already, we give a custom price based upon what they need for their car.
Q: I read on your website that a stuntman from the TV-series have bought their very own General Lee from you. How did they react when you delivered their very own General Lee to them?
A: The former Dukes Of Hazzard stuntman that you referred to, actually wanted an original General Lee from the series. We were able to find two 'just barely' surviving cars. A General Lee clone project usually takes 3-5 months depending on options, the original General that we restored took well over a year.
Q: Do you also ride in a General Lee yourself? If so, do you use it for every day driving or is it more a car to cruise with during the weekend? Do you ever make jumps with it?
A: We haven't had time to restore the authentic General Lee that we own, and we cannot keep a clone for any length of time, so we don't get to drive a General Lee around much. However, we have just started on a General that will be set up for stunts and filming which will not be for sale. And no, we haven't made any jumps!
Q: Since you seem to be the leading General Lee restorers around, have you in any way been involved with the new movie version of Dukes of Hazzard?
A: Well, we have been in contact with the transportation people on the new movie, but sadly never really got involved.
You can the website of the Smith Bros by clicking here.
These question is useful, and i believe we will succeed.
Posted by: Bottle Openers | June 01, 2010 at 08:05 AM