Photo: Michael Houghtaling via rottingclassics/instagram
Does an orange 1969 Dodge Charger with welded doors ring any bells? Of course it does, we're talking about General Lee, the "Dukes of Hazzard" star that kept the audience glued to TV sets between 1979 and 1985. It's estimated that all the jumping that kept the series' fire burning led to the destruction of over 300 Chargers, with frames bending on landing being a normal occurrence.
Some of those wrecked vehicles, which were even AMC Ambassadors dressed up as Chargers or 1968, 1970 and 1971 units made to look like the 1969 car, saw their surviving parts being used to keep the ball rolling, but plenty of them ended up in the crusher. And when the dropping audience eventually saw the show getting axed, 18 General Lees remained on the CBS Lot. Except for a single unit, these were sold to private collectors. As for the said vehicle, it was later discovered in a junkyard and restored to former glory.
Meanwhile, people who found old Charger shells started turning them into stunt cars, placing these on various chassis and jumping the hell out of them. And it looks like we're dealing with a pair of such cars right now, as these currently sit at the mercy of the elements in a junkyard in Georgia. So, just to be clear, these "jump cars" don't come from the original lot.
As you'll notice in the first Instagram post below, one of the two stunt cars that serve as attractions of the said junkyard, was even placed in jump position next to what is probably a replica of Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane's police cruiser.
Well, this is where the controversy begins. Stuntman Raymond Kohn and the "Northeast Ohio Dukes", who take part in various reenactment stunts that lead to the destruction of such stunt cars, are obviously proud of what they do. They claim that such vehicles are what's left after many collectors have passed them along, since they're impossible to save, as they come with no VINs or titles, miss their exterior accessories, as well as their interiors and have fallen in the hands of rust.
However, there are many fans who talk about the potential value of such Chargers, even as rusty bare shells.
Nevertheless, if we take a look at the YouTube clip below it, which shows the said stuntman missing a ramp during an event that took place in 2012, with his jump car driving straight into the back of the said police car, it still seems like a dent in the Dodge Charger population.
More importantly, the second YouTube clip below, which dates back to another 2012 event, shows that you can jump a General Lee replica without having to destroy it (you can skip the 2:44 timestamp for the air time adventure).
Update:A user claiming to be the said stuntman took to the comments section below and the details of this approach show one way you can use to add details to a story.
We'll look past the disbelief revolving around the Dukes of Hazzard crew also using AMC Ambassadors made to look like Chargers, as that makes for an opinion. Nevertheless, we are told that the Dodge didn't crash into the police car due to the driver missing the ramp. Instead, the whole thing is said to have been a test run: "the terrain was all pea gravel and the car wouldn't maneuver, slipping on the pea gravel,"
As for the jump that took place at the 2017 Detroit Autorama, which is mentioned in the comment, you'll find this in the third YouTube clip below.
In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist. Full profile
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