Vintage Guitars - The Mosrite Story

The Mosrite Story

The Mosrite company was started in 1952 by Semie Moseley with the financial help of a friend, Rev. Ray Boatwright, who bought Semie his first band saw in the early '50s. Semie had been obsessed by guitars as a teenager and started repairing, and later building them, because he could not find one that felt or sounded quite right.
By the time he was 19-years-old, Semie had not only built his first triple-neck guitar, he was repairing guitars for local artists like Merle Travis. These early guitars were almost completely handmade by Semie from 1952 to '58/'59, using primitive hand-tools and carving the aluminum vibratos by hand. He also went through the time consuming process of forming the pickup covers over a mold in his oven and winding the bobbins by hand.
Early models he built included a double-neck for Joe "King of the Strings" Maphis. "It was a beautiful instrument" said Gene Moles, an assembly line inspector for Mosrite guitars, a session musician from Bakersfield, and a member of Jimmy Thompson's TV band. This double-neck was one of the slightly bulkier designs, also used by Larry Collins whose double neck was finished in 1956, unlike the smoother double-necks made a little later in the 1950s for people like Brian Lonbeck.
At first, it was all custom, handmade guitars, built wherever the Moseleys could put equipment - in garages or storage sheds. Semie even set up shop in a friend's barn outside of Los Angeles, rent free. This infamous "tin shed" in Oildale, California, is still standing and is about the size of a two car garage.

The first Mosrite Ventures model prototypes were built here, as were several double-necks and more standard "Tele"-shaped single-necks, still with mainly hand-made parts as in the beginning Semie did everything himself. He would later move to a cement block building on Kern Street in Oildale and then to Bakersfield, California. The Bakersfield location would give rise to his association with the now famous honky tonk, "Bakersfield Sound", known for its country western twangers.
These were challenging times for Semie. In the winter is was bitterly cold and he would burn wood cuts and shavings from guitar remnants in a 44-gallon drum to keep warm. He had no money and wanted to start a guitar manufacturing company but could not get financed.
This is one of the Ventures prototypes from the late '50s with bound body and set neck. As you can see, the guitar is close to the final early "production" model, but with a few small exceptions. The symmetrical headstock says "Joe Maphis model by Mosrite of California" as the Ventures deal hadn't been worked out yet. This guitar also has what was to become known as the "mistake plate" around the vibrato. Semie had set the neck too shallow and needed to recess the unit into the body, necessitating a plate to hide the mistake.

Enter the Ventures
Semie had built a guitar that he lent to Nokie Edwards of the Ventures to use on some recording sessions. This was to change everything! Nokie bought a guitar from Semie and, within a year, an endorsement deal with the Ventures would make Mosrite a household name, at least in the surf/instrumental guitar world.
It was probably Nokie who made the Mosrite name famous. Nokie was the lead guitarist for the Ventures, an instrumental group, and by 1962 the entire band was playing Mosrites on songs like "Walk Don't Run" and the theme from "Hawaii 5-O". The back of one of their albums read, "Guitars courtesy of Mosrite Distributing Corporation". That was enough to start the ball rolling and soon Mosrite had substantial orders from dealers, which signaled the start of Mosrite's heyday. Initially building 20-30 guitars a month, the orders kept coming in and Mosrite was on its way to becoming a credible American guitar manufacturer.
At the peak of production in 1968, Semie, his brother Andy and their crew of 107 employees, were making about 600 guitars a month - acoustics, standard electrics, double-necks, triple-necks, and basses. They were also producing effects pedals, amplifiers, Dobros (which Mosrite bought in 1966), and Melobar slide guitars, which Semie was making for the Melobar company. The most popular Mosrites were the Ventures models and today, when guitarists talk about Mosrites, they are usually referring to the models shown on Ventures' albums.

The Mosrite Ventures Model
Semie had been working with Bob Crooks of the Standel guitar company who wanted Semie to design a guitar for him "like a Fender". This guitar eventually became the basis for the Mosrite Ventures model. Early examples of these guitars have "Joe Maphis Model", or, simply, "Mosrite" on the headstock.
Legend has it that Semie flipped over a Stratocaster and traced around it to produce the now-classic Mosrite body design. However, the shape of the Mosrite Ventures model is more elaborate, more curvaceous, and, in the opinion of many, more pleasing to the eye than an upside down Strat. In fact, Semie's innate talent for original guitar design would prove itself again and again over the years.
After working on a prototype with guitar artisan Bill Gruggett, the first "official Ventures" guitar became available in 1963. The first model had a set neck and a celluloid-bound body, with a large "The Ventures" logo on the headstock. They were available in red or sunburst only. The amplifier jack was on the side of the guitar and these are referred to as the "side jack models".

The necks were very thin and had extremely low frets known at Mosrite as "speed frets". They had a zero fret and semi-circular-type metal string guide (nut). The vibrato unit on these early models was called a "Vibramute" and had a special muting mechanism near the bridge. All Mosrite production numbers are sketchy, but it's believed approximately 200 of these guitars were built. The Ventures used this model on their January, 1965, tour.
In 1964, the amplifier jack was moved on to the pickguard and the body binding was dropped. The neck joint was changed to the bolt-on type but the screw heads were covered by a metal plate, which was subsequently changed to a more standard type bolt-on neckplate with exposed screw heads.

All of these changes suggest economy in manufacturing as the "original" design would have been very expensive to produce. The Ventures logo became smaller in mid '64 and the pickups changed to show the "Mosrite of California" logo embossed on them, but with no "R" for registered trade mark.
In the next installment of the Mosrite Story, we'll take a close look at the company during the 1960s and '70s - and have more to say about the Mosrite Ventures models.

The '60s and '70s
During the early to mid '60s, the Mosrite company began to do extremely well and started experimenting with different types of guitars, effects pedals and amps. One owner Semie Moseley's experiments included: reintroducing twin neck guitars, known as the Joe Maphis twin neck model, although it differed considerably from the original '50s Joe Maphis double-neck.
During the '60s, Mosrite built various Ventures model guitars and basses, semi-acoustic Celebrity models in three different versions , a bass model, and a "fake" semi-solid body known as a "combo." The body of the guitar was made from solid wood and had the front hollowed out and another piece of wood glued on, like a Rickenbacker guitar. These "combos" were released later as a Joe Maphis model, but without F-shaped sound holes.
Around this same time, guitarists began to use Mosrite's new Fuzzrite effects pedal designed by Semie's friend Ed Sanner and solid state amplifiers. Later, Jimi Hendrix would artistically craft his music using a Fuzzrite pedal.
By 1965, the Vibramute vibrato unit was modified to a die cast with the name Moseley embossed on it with a serial number. The mute mechanism had long since disappeared. Volume and tone knobs were changed to a "hat type" with an "M" stamped on top and are numbered from 1 to 5 and lettered with a T and V, for tone and volume, respectively.
In '66 the knobs were changed again to something very similar, but taller and without the V and T lettering embossed on them. Also around this time the string guide was changed to a 1/4 round unit.
Mosrite necks were very thin and made from two or three pieces of rock maple. Semie insisted on sanding down the frets to make them extremely small and low calling it "speed fretting". Most early Mosrites have a truss rod adjustment at the headstock, but by late '66 all models featured this trait, along with a plastic truss rod cover.
At this time, there were three different models. The original and most collectable Ventures model, the Ventures model II, like the one Johnny Ramone played with a slab body and no German carve, and the Mark V.
The slab body Mark II was a very short lived model with production figures estimated at somewhere between 140 and 180 being made in mid-1965. These had two distinct features seen only on that particular model (and a couple of crossover German carve guitars). One was the tremolo unit of folded chrome steel with the arm coming out between the D and G strings and the other was the use of thinner pickups with no pole pieces. After the slab body Mark II was dropped (apparently Semie thought it looked too cheap) the Mark V with the German carve was offered as a Mark II with the later headstock decal applied.
The German carve Mark II and Mark V are identical guitars that were offered at the same time, although the serial numbering up to around B700 seem to be Mark IIs and after that Mark Vs. These guitars had less expensive appointments although most of the hardware was identical to the higher end Ventures model.
In 1967 the Ventures distribution deal ended and the Ventures logo disappeared from all headstocks. This was the first nail in the Mosrite coffin. Although their guitars were selling well in both America and Japan, things started to go wrong and within two years Mosrite would suffer the first of many closures.
Having turned down a deal with Sears and Roebuck, Co., Semie signed a deal with the Thomas Organ Company. Then everything seemed to fall apart, with Mosrite filing for bankruptcy on Valentine's day 1969 - things were never the same again.

Into the '70s
By the late '60s Mosrite was making many models including the Ventures model, the Ventures II and V, and a Ventures model bass. All of the models became "Mark" series guitars after the endorsement deal with the Ventures terminated in 1967.
Mosrite also offered the semi-solid Combo and Joe Maphis models as a six-string and a bass, the semi-acoustic Celebrity in guitar and bass and the Joe Maphis twin neck model with 6/12 stringed configurations. After the deal with the Ventures collapsed in '67 the "Mark" series was identical in construction to the Ventures guitars, except for the logo on the headstock and a serial number starting without a "V" prefix soon after the Ventures logo stopped being applied. All six string guitars were offered in twelve string.
Other interesting guitars of the mid to late '60s included three different acoustic models and four different Dobro's that included a Celebrity semi-acoustic with a resonator cone called the Californian. Moseley lost the rights to the Californian name when he lost the company in 1969.
The late '60s and early '70s were bad times for the company compared to its heydays of the early and mid '60s. Misfortune resulted in Semie losing the Mosrite name and the rights to his guitars. Always driven, Semie began to make his guitars under the "Gospel" name. In fact, in some cases Mosrites have turned up with Mosrite logos under the Gospel plate screwed to the headstock! Models that were available as Mosrites could be bought as Gospels.
Semie bought the name Mosrite back in late 1970 and started fresh with many new ideas and old favorites. Mosrites like the Bluesbender and 350 had been prototyped in the late '60s before Mosrite closed, but it wasn't until Semie opened back up in Bakersfield, California in early '71 that these models were produced.
The 1970s was an experimental era for Semie when he introduced models like the Brassrail which literally had a brass rail running down the fretboard from the nut connecting the frets together, all the way to the bridge. The brassrail idea was Semie's innovative attempt to make a guitar with superior sustain. A deluxe version was also offered and had a unique changeable electronics package that would alter the sound of the guitar, accessed through a brass plate on the back of the guitar.
The Bluesbender was similar to the Brassrail but had a bolt on neck without the rail. The models were very Les Paul in shape with a carved top and stop tailpiece. The Bluesbender is a remarkable guitar to play even today.
At this time, Semie also offered the 300 mono and 350 mono and stereo models. They had the same body shape, similar to the single cutaway Fender Telecaster, with the 300 mono a single pickup guitar and the 350 having two pickups and stereo outputs.
The Celebrity was still being made in the form of the Celebrity II and III with small numbers of Celebrity I full depth body guitars being made to order. The Combo was changed to the Joe Maphis model with no F-hole. Both guitars offered standard Mosrite hardware bought over from the '60s, except the firm now offered humbuckers on all models. The pickups were encased in the original single coil covers, but had two rows of pole pieces, one drilled right through the Mosrite of California embossing!
Also seen for the first time on production models was phase switching and very complicated electronics built into the Brassrail Deluxe.
In '73 Semie made some Acoustic Black Widows for the Acoustic guitar and amp company. Most were produced in Japan, except for the last 200 or so. The homegrown Black Widows are easy to identify as they're adorned with many Mosrite parts and very Mosrite-type necks. As the name suggests, the Black Widows were all black, except for a large red pad on the back. The Widows were offered as both six-strings and basses, but since Semie never kept detailed records, the number of Black Widows built is unknown.
As luck would have it, the 300 and 350 models sold reasonably well and Semie was able to recruit employees and begin to run a newer, yet smaller guitar company. Sales catalogues also show Celebrity guitars with flame maple tops and humbuckers and also Dobro style guitars available throughout the '70s.
Semie continued on through the '70s with innovative and brilliant designs, but people kept longing for the return of his popular Ventures model to make a comeback. Semie did make small numbers of Ventures shaped models, especially in the early '70s but was trying to make a name for himself as both a luthier and guitar designer who had more to offer the guitar world, and he did.
The 1970s were very lean years for Semie and Mosrite and he took some time off from guitar building to record and head out on gospel tours. It was a chance meeting in the early 1980s that would recharge Moseley and bring Mosrite back to the world of guitars.

Into the '80s
Mosrite at Jonas Ridge, NCAfter moving the factory from Oklahoma City in ’76 to Yuba City, California in ’77, then to Carson City, Nevada in ’79 and later to an old school building in Jonas Ridge, North Carolina in 1981, Mosrite production picked up again thanks to orders from Japan.
A chance meeting with a Japanese Mosrite enthusiast at a guitar show insured that owner of Mosrite guitars, Semie Moseley, could start making bigger production runs again, thanks to the financial input for (unofficial) Ventures model reproductions. However, after building 300 guitars of the 700 guitar order, in November 1983 the factory burned down. Semie had little insurance on the building, so production had to shut down yet again. Above is a photo of the Mosrite factory at Jonas Ridge, NC, as it stands today.
Details around this time are sketchy, but Semie continued to build Mosrites on a custom basis at a building in Morganton, North Carolina. Production was fairly small through the ‘80s until the new factory was eventually set up in an old Wal-Mart building in Boonville, Arkansas on March 9, 1991.

V88During this period in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s Semie made Venture model “reissues”, including copies of the early ’63 sidejack, set neck guitars and the new V88 and M88. The V88’s were Ventures reissues with Mosrite 1988 on the headstock and like most Mosrites throughout the ‘80s were signed by Semie either on the back of the headstock or the back of the neck – sometimes both. As was the M88 which was a Ventures model shape with no scratch plate or German carve. In 1987, Mosrite also built the 25th Anniversary Ventures model. This was a Ventures reproduction with a metallic silver body and “sunburst” black and silver scratchplate with an “M” embossed into it. Only 7 were finished of the originally planned 25 guitars.
Mosrite was back and the number of models were increasing quickly. Vibramute vibratos were back on most Ventures shaped models with a rarer Semie Moselely labeled Vibramute appearing on some guitars thoughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, as shown below.
During the 1980s, there were quite a few Ventures shaped guitars being made with and without German carves and scratch plates. The VII and VIII carve top models with no scratch plate were made around 1984 until the end of the ‘80s.

V88 VibramuteOne guitar was made in 1989 when the State of Arkansas helped Semie move to Leachville, Arkansas. But then political action by unbelievers in Arkansas failed to follow through with financing. Semie returned to Jonas Ridge, North Carolina.
In 1991 the State of Arkansas put money up for Semie to relocate Mosrite to Boonvile, Arkansas. There Semie would have been very successful, even though he had recently had a car accident that took his leg (It was reattached!), but things were looking up for the business. He had 15 employees that had built Gretsch guitars.

V88 HeadstockUnfortunately, tragedy struck again three months after the move when Semie was diagnosed with multiple myaloma cancer of the bone.
Andy Moselely, Semie’s brother, went to the factory to help out after Semie died, but Loretta (Semie’s widow) had already taken charge and informed Andy that she could keep things going by herself.
There were many “new” models in the works during the early ‘90s, including a slab body Ventures shape Mosrite with the timber and aluminum hard tailpiece aimed at a cheaper market.

Mosrite Ventures ModelAlso in full production were the ’63 sidejacks, as well as ’64 and ’64 reissues using the Ventures logos. A Nokie (Nokie Edwards – Lead Guitarist, Ventures) model was made in small numbers that has become quite collectible now due to the Ventures association and the very small production run.
The last Mosrite production run to be made was in 1993 and was made up of the 30th Anniversary Nokie models. These were set neck, fully bound Ventures re-issues based on the early ’63 sidejack models.
Semie had died in August 1992. His dreams were carried on for awhile with the help of his staff and Loretta, but in 1994 everything shut down for what was maybe – hopefully not! – the last time.
[Editor's Note: Fact or urban legend? Modern Guitars confirmed with John Rutledge, Semie's General Manager during the '50s and '60s and Noke Edwards, lead guitarist for the Ventures, the story that Semie flipped a Fender Stratocaster on to its back and outlined it to arrive at the signature Mosrite Ventures model guitar.]

by Tim Brennan and Rick Landers

The Ventures
Around mid-'60s, a marriage between "mosrite", a Rolls-Royce of electric guitars, and The Ventures, the world's greatest instrumental group, swept the whole country of Japan.The long-time dream of "electric guitar ('eleki')" kids who then were junior or senior high school boys now has come true and they are just having fun playing "The Ventures" tunes with their "mosrite". It's a genuine "mosrite" sound that "Guyatone" or "Teisco" back in those days or "Japan mosrite" could not produce.

Ventures Trivia
The Ventures have written over 1000 tunes, and recorded over 3000 songs altogether! If they ever decide to play all of the songs that they've ever recorded, it would take almost 5 days - without a break - to play them all.

· The Ventures have released over 250 albums including compilations! 37 of these have hit the US charts. Over 150 albums have been released in Japan.

· Walk, Don't Run was kept from hitting #1 by several different records, including the immortal Itsy Bittsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini. The Ventures became the first act in the history of the music industry to hit the top ten with two different versions of the same song when Walk Don’t Run '64 hit #8. (Neil Sedaka achieved it later with a second version of Breaking Up Is Hard To Do).

· The Ventures have been together as a group for 49 years and have never taken a year off from concerts or recording.

· In addition to recording the hit version of Hawaii Five-O, The Ventures also contributed some of the incidental music heard in the background of the TV show.

· In the early 60's, the band would record 4 to 6 albums a year. At one time, they had 5 albums in the top 100 simultaneously (1963).

· In 1993 the band received the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award from Guitar Player Magazine.

· Walk, Don't Run, had already been named one of 20 Essential Rock Albums for guitarists, by Guitar Player Magazine, in 1987.

· In 1970 and 1971, the Ventures were the #1 composers in Japan. Five of their compositions hit #1 on the Japanese charts. They usually released an instrumental version of the song, while a Japanese artist would release a vocal version.

· In 1958, The Ventures released their first single, Cookies and Coke/ The Real McCoy. Despite Don Wilson's superb imitation of Walter Brennan, the record flopped. There are only two copies of this record known to exist. It took Bob and Don four or five months to save up the money to record their next record, Walk, Don't Run.

· During the 60's, The Ventures outsold the Beatles in Japan two to one.

· For the year 1965, The Ventures had five of the top ten singles in Japan, per Billboard magazine (January 1966)

· The McCoys ( of Hang on Sloopy fame) got their name from The McCoy, a Ventures original tune on the Walk Don’t Run album, although their old name, Rick (Derringer) and the Raiders, was still on their bass drum when they recorded Sloopy.

· Artists who have publicly acknowledged their musical debt to The Ventures include John Fogerty, Jimmy Page, Stanley Clarke, Steve Miller, George Harrison, the Ramones, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, Larry Carleton, Dire Straits, Davie Allan, Aerosmith, Marshall Crenshaw, Sir Elton John and many more.

· In September, 1962, the band released their most controversial recording, Lolita Ya-Ya, the theme from the movie Lolita. It peaked at #61 in the US. Later that year, they released The 2,000 Pound Bee, the first single recording to use a fuzz-box guitar. This song was played at (Killer Bee) John Belushi's funeral.

· Primarily known for their album success, the band had 14 top 100 singles in the 60's.

· Every LP released by the Ventures from 1961-1972 sold at least 100,000 copies. Even though Liberty Records had many hit artists (including Ricky Nelson, Bobby Vee, Sandy Nelson, Johnny Rivers, the Fifth Dimension, Cher, the Hollies, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, the Chipmunks, Jan and Dean, and numerous others), the company publicized the fact that The Ventures were responsible for over 25% of their business throughout the 60's.

· The first release in the Play Guitar with the Ventures series was the first and perhaps only musical instrument instructional album to chart. Countless young guitarists learned to play by listening to this series of albums and by playing along with regular Ventures albums.

· After surpassing 40,000,000 in record sales there, the Ventures became the first foreign members of Japan's Conservatory of Music.

· The Ventures have also placed their handprints in the Hollywood Rock Walk.

· The drummer on Walk, Don't Run was Skip Moore, not Howie Johnson as many assume. Skip was given the choice of $25 or 1/4 of the money the record would make for playing on the session. He took the 25 bucks! Another early drummer, George Babbitt, retired as a 4-star Air Force general.

· Nokie Edwards real first name is Nole. He is from Lahoma, Oklahoma, hence the "Nokie". He turned professional at 11 and was on the radio at 13! That’s it . . . Nole from Okie.

· Keyboardist John Durrill, who joined the group in the late 60's, formerly played with The Five Americans. He later wrote three hits for Cher. Dark Lady went to #1 for him and Cher in 1974.

· Drummer Howie Johnson left the group after a bad auto accident made travel too painful. Howie passed away in 1989.

· Drummer Mel Taylor believed that he was the first drummer ever to play bluegrass music. He also played the Hollywood Bowl the first time Country music was played there. He did session work with Gary Paxton (Alley Oop, Cherry Pie, Monster Mash, etc.), Herb Alpert, Buck Owens and others before joining the Ventures.

· Don Wilson considers himself a "guitar flogger". He also played lead fire extinguisher on Telstar.

· Gerry McGee played on the first two Monkees albums. The opening guitar chords on the Monkees theme song are his, as is the famous intro on Last Train to Clarksville. He has also played with Bobby Darin, Delany and Bonnie, Kris Kristofferson, Elvis, the Everly Brothers, Linda Ronstadt, Ricky Nelson, Sandy Nelson, and Jerry Lee Lewis. His father, Denus, was a pioneering Cajun fiddle player. · Bob Bogle played lead guitar on Walk Don't Run, Perfidia, Lullaby of the Leaves, Blue Moon, and a number of cuts on the first several albums. He still plays some lead, especially in the studio. The first time Bob played bass guitar was live on stage!

· Bob Reisdorf, their first producer, was in such a hurry to get their first album out, that he used some Liberty Records stockroom employees in sunglasses on the first album cover. That cover was later parodied, using the actual band members, on Walk Don't Run, Vol. 2.

Vintage Guitars - The Charvel Surfcaster

The Charvel Surfcaster

The Charvel Surfcaster is a model of electric guitar designed in the early 1990s, and manufactured from 1992 to 2005 by the Charvel/Jackson guitar company. The Surfcaster has been considered a boutique style guitar that employs many retro styles from leading

manufacturers of the fifties and sixties. These design aspects make it significantly different then other models from Charvel/Jackson that focused mainly on the hard rock guitarist. The Surfcaster was picked as a "Pawn Shop Prize" by Guitar Player magazine in July 2003.
























Sound and playability
The Surfcaster sound is known for its "Jangle" or "Twang" similar to a Fender Telecaster but with more high end frequencies and overtones.

Design
Originally available only in the two lipstick pickup configuration, later models would include a humbucking pickup in the bridge position. Later solid body 3 lipstick pickup variations were also produced. A twelve string and four string bass version were also created and are highly collectible. In later years the Surfcaster was released under the Jackson brand name and production facilities changed from Japan to India. Quality & cosmetics suffered. When Charvel/Jackson was purchased by Fender in 2002 they dropped the Surfcaster because of its similarity to guitars sold under the Fender brand.

Notable Surfcaster players
Scott Ian of Anthrax
Bruce Cockburn
Tommy Victor of Prong (Cleansing era)
Belinda Butcher of My Bloody Valentine
Mark Collins (musician) of The Charlatans (UK band)

Bullit Mustang

The 2008 Bullit Mustang...

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 6 – Four decades after hitting the big screen and redefining the on-screen car chase, the Ford Mustang Bullitt returns to the streets in 2008, blending the best Mustang ever with the latest Ford Racing technology.
This modern classic delivers a balance of power and performance, thanks to special chassis and suspension tweaks as well as the 315 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque that Bullitt delivers through its 4.6-liter V-8 engine.
“The 2008 Mustang Bullitt embodies the true spirit of the 1968 movie car,” said Derrick Kuzak, group vice president, Global Product Development. “Like the original Bullitt, this car dials the driving dynamics up a notch for Mustang enthusiasts who love the performance, handling and the sweet sound of Ford power that only Mustang can deliver.”
The 2008 Bullitt arrives in dealers early next year, with a starting MSRP of $31,075 (including destination and delivery) and limited production of 7,700 units for the U.S. and Canada.
The launch of the limited edition 2008 Mustang Bullitt coincides with the 40th anniversary of the release of the Warner pos. Pictures film that gave the original car its name. In the movie, legendary actor Steve McQueen drove a Dark Highland Green 1968 Mustang GT that gained cult status among Mustang enthusiasts, thanks to a seven-minute scene that film and car buffs believe defined the modern movie car chase.

Bullitt Chassis Delivers a Balance of Performance and Comfort
Ford engineers modified the 2008 Mustang Bullitt’s chassis and suspension to fine-tune handling and ensure the extra horsepower and torque from the 4.6-liter V-8 is put to good use. The live rear axle uses a unique 3.73:1 gear that helps launch the Bullitt with vigor.

Stock Mustang GT shocks and struts were swapped out for new units that allowed engineers to dial in a more aggressive driving dynamic while still maintaining the outstanding ride and balance of the base Mustang GT. A tower-to-tower pace designed specifically for the Bullitt lends additional torsional and lateral stiffness to the chassis for improved cornering and holds a unique serial number for each Bullitt.
“The 2008 Mustang Bullitt delivers balanced performance,” said Paul Randle, chief engineer. “Comfort is not compromised for performance. Performance is on demand. You can easily take Bullitt from the track to the street and back onto the track with confidence.”
The pakes also have been improved versus the base Mustang GT’s. More aggressive front pads were developed specifically for Bullitt and improve fade resistance and pedal feel.
The 2008 Mustang Bullitt wears unique cast-aluminum Euroflange wheels, offering a modern twist on the original movie car. The Dark Argent Gray spokes feature a satin finish, while a pight-machined lip completes the look. Calipers are colored to match the wheel. The wheels are wrapped in the same P235/50ZR 18 BF Goodrich g-Force T/A KDWS tires used on Mustangs at the Ford Racing High Performance Driving School at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah.
Powered by Ford Racing
Bullitt packs firepower under the hood. The 4.6-liter, 3-valve V-8 delivers 315 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 325 pound-feet of torque at 4,250 rpm.
Engine calipation is designed to increase throttle response for a snappier acceleration feel. The redline has been boosted by 250 rpm to 6,500, with top-end speed bumped to 151 miles-per-hour. Gears are selected via a Tremac 5-speed manual transmission, and the shifter is topped with a polished aluminum shift ball designed specifically for the 2008 Bullitt.
The car features the first use of an open-element air filter in a factory-produced, fuel-injected Mustang. Inspired by Ford Racing, the intake is tucked neatly behind the driver side headlamp, mounted in an air box that was tooled up specifically for the Mustang. The hood liner was extensively modified to provide a full seal to the air box, ensuring that the engine is fed a steady diet of cooler air.
“Colder air reduces intake losses,” said Randle. “The new cold-air intake has shown a reduction in rise over ambient temperature from 50 degrees down to 17 degrees Fahrenheit. That equates to more horsepower and more torque in all driving conditions.”
Engine performance is further enhanced through the use of an innovative adaptive spark ignition system, new for the 2008 Mustang.
The system can sense, within a few seconds, what type of fuel is being injected into the motor and adjusts the spark to provide maximum torque at any given speed – and as much as
10 pounds-feet more between 1,000 and 4,000 rpm.
Bullitt can run on either premium or regular fuel. Ford recommends premium fuel for optimum performance, but the adaptive spark ignition will adjust the spark to burn regular fuel without damaging the engine.
“With all the improvements we’ve made to the engine and the taller 3.73-to-1 rear gear, the Bullitt will plant you firmly in the driver’s seat when you stand on the throttle. We’ve seen zero to 60 times drop by up to three tenths of a second,” said Randle. “There’s also plenty of power on tap at any speed. The car definitely feels lighter on its feet, and it is.”
The custom-designed exhaust system continues Mustang’s traditional use of a true dual-exhaust system with a new H-pipe specifically developed for Bullitt. The all-new mufflers, featuring larger 3.5-inch chrome tips (versus the 3-inch tips on the standard Mustang GT) are tuned to minimize backpressure, maximize horsepower and provide the Bullitt with its powerful exhaust note. “We wanted to get the exhaust note as close to the original movie car as possible, so we based it on a digitally mastered DVD,” said Randle. “We wanted something that would rumble your heart, literally buzz you – and the Bullitt team delivered.”

Capturing the Bullitt’s Undercover Look
The original 1968 Mustang’s stealth-like appearance wasn’t necessarily intentional. In typical Hollywood fashion, the movie crew removed all exterior badges and logos from the car – including the iconic pony badge on the grille.
The 2008 Mustang Bullitt calls back the original movie car in painstaking detail – right down to the dark green paint and lack of exterior badges, scoops and spoilers.
The only visible identification is the word “Bullitt” dropped into a gun-sight graphic in the center of the faux gas cap on the decklid.
“The 2008 Mustang Bullitt, like the movie car, is a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” said Doug Gaffka, chief designer. “Mustang is – and always has been – such an icon that it’s recognizable without the badges. But Bullitt’s clean exterior doesn’t give away the Ford Racing-inspired power and performance lurking under its skin.”
The new Bullitt wears a close match to the movie car’s 1968 Highland Green paint, officially called Dark Highland Green. This distinctive color has only graced one other Mustang, the 2001 Mustang Bullitt. Gaffka assures Bullitt enthusiasts that the color will remain an exclusive Mustang Bullitt color. Non-purists can opt for only one other color – black.
The Mustang Bullitt uses the standard Mustang GT’s front fascia. A new black-mesh grille is devoid of the standard chrome pony and is accented by a satin aluminum strip that represents the chrome grille surround on the 1968 car. The rear fascia also is shared with the standard Mustang GT and houses Bullitt’s unique dual exhaust tips. Dark Argent Gray painted pake calipers closely match the wheel spokes, while staying true to the original.

Bullitt Interior Delivers Comfort with a Purpose
The interior is pure Mustang Bullitt, understated and dressed in Charcoal Black leather and Satin metallic trim. The centerpiece of the interior is the hand-machined, aluminum swirl dash panel appliqué.
“The machined appliqué differentiates the Bullitt from any other Mustang in the line-up,” said Gaffka. “It’s also perfect for the Bullitt. The graphic presentation pings back the feel of the ‘60s while still staying true to the Mustang’s modern interior design.”
Satin aluminum bezels circle the air vents and gauges, complementing a satin aluminum shift ball that replaces the standard leather-wrapped shifter on the Mustang GT. The pedals wear race-inspired aluminum covers that further reinforce Bullitt’s performance intentions.
The interior is graphically clean. The only identifying marks visible inside Bullitt are the logo and gun-sight graphic mounted in the center of the leather-wrapped steering wheel and the word “Bullitt” embossed into the metal sill plates. The Dark Charcoal leather seats pick up the diamond perforation inserts from the base Mustang GT. The seats are patterned after those in the Shelby GT500 providing added lumbar and bolster support. The seats are constructed using the new soy-based foam developed by Ford and introduced on the 2008 Mustang. The soy foam, made up of 24 percent renewable content, is produced through a process that requires less energy and emits less CO2.

The Bullitt 2008 PackageThe Bullitt package enhances the Mustang GT Premium package with the following:
-3.73:1 Limited Slip Rear Axle
-Ford Racing Power Pack (cold air induction system)
-High Performance Calipation
-Performance Friction Carbon Metallic® front pake pads
-Ford Racing Strut Tower pace
-Sport –tuned suspension (shocks/springs/stabilizer bar)
-Modified “H” Pipe
-Dark Grey pake Calipers
-18-inch Euro-Flange Bullitt Wheels with Charcoal Satin Finish
-3.5-inch Packed Exhaust Tips
-Distinct Upper Grille
-Bullitt emblem on faux fuel cap
-Black interior with upgraded steering wheel
-Charcoal Black sport leather seats
-Unique IP finish (hand-machined aluminum swirl)
-Satin Aluminum interior accents (ball shifter/sill plate/pedal covers)
-Standard content also includes:
-4.6-liter 3-valve V-8 engine
-5-speed manual transmission
-Auxiliary audio input jack
-One-touch up-down power windows
-Power mirrors and door locks
-Keyless entry
-Air conditioning
-Tilt steering wheel
-Speed control
-Rear window defroster
-Four-wheel power disc pakes
-Anti-lock paking System (ABS) with Traction Control
-Seat-mounted side air bags
-LATCH
-Personal Safety System®
-SecuriLock®
-Tire Pressure Monitoring System
-Shaker 500 Audio System with six-disc CD player, MP3 and eight speakers
-Available options include:
-HID headlamps
-Shaker 1000 Audio System six-disc CD player, MP3 and 10 speakers
-SIRIUS satellite radio
-Ambient Lighting
-Active Anti-Theft System
-Wheel locking kits

AFTER 30 YEARS,THE REAL TRUTH BEHIND THE "BULLITT" CHASE
If there were only one movie in which we could participate, it would be "Bullitt". It's the ultimate car-guy's flick with a cool lead character, lots of attitude, magnificent location, and, of course, hot musclecars in the most realistic, high-speed, fender-banging, gravity-defying chase ever filmed. Even after 30 years, it's the car chase most remembered, admired, and copied. Other movies have had more flips, crashes, explosions, and all-around destruction, but "Bullitt" was a milestone, serving notice to Hollywood that reality was a quality audiences would enjoy. "Bullitt' did more than excite audiences. It changed the way Hollywood looked at cops at a time when policemen were being called pigs. It paved the way for more movies to be shot entirely on location and outside of the Hollywood mentality. It was a cutting-edge film that premiered in a turbulent year that shaped a socially conscious generation's values, music, and lifestyles.The car chase in "Bullitt" worked so well because there was little in the film to draw attention away from it. There was only one profane word and no nudity. The plot was confusing to the point of being incomprehensible, but that mystery kept the audience guessing until the click of Bill Hickmann's seatbelt. With its innovative use of small remote cameras mounted inside the cars during the chase,"Bullitt" was the forerunner of the concept of virtual reality. The audience was seated behind Frank Bullitt as his Mustang pursued the bad guys down the hills of San Franciscos North Beach. The "Bullitt" saga started with movie agent John Flaxman who had the rights to a Robert Pike novel called "Mute Witness". Flaxman asked Alan Trustman, who wrote "The Thomas Crown Affair," to develop a screenplay from the book with Steve McQueen in mind as the lead. "Mute Witness" originally followed a 65-year-old New York cop, but Trustman reshaped the protagonist into Frank Bullitt, a youthful, renegade, but honest detective. "The book lacked visual, dramatic tension, so I built in three chases, each with its own danger, uncertainty, and surprise," says Trustman. He also fashioned a strong female companion, who was so tangled in the plot that she was killed in the final scene.In addition to foot chases at a hospital and the airport, Trustman says he developed a car chase, a claim disputed to this day. "Much of it was specified in the first draft, "adds Trustman, "like placing the camera low on the front bumper of the following car, the car smashing into the building, the hub caps coming off."Flaxman sold the rights to independent producer Phil d'Antoni, who in turn pitched the screenplay to Solar Productions, a company formed by McQueen and Robert Releya. "Bullitt" was to be the first movie in a lucrative six-picture deal between Solar and Warner Bros. Solar hired British director Peter Yates, whose earlier film 'Robbery," opened with a thrilling chase scene involving police cars to direct BULLITT.Yates and Trustman did not get along. "The first script was quite terrible," remembers Yates. 'Peter was not comfortable with strong women," counters Trustman. "He kept asking for rewrites to weaken the female character." Trustman was fired before production started and replaced with Harry Kleiner. Before leaving, however, Trustman learned that Solar was going to film the movie entirely on location in San Francisco. "I told them that, if you drive a light car like a Ford Mustang downhill fast," he says. "it will take off at the intersections and fly through the air." Trustman says he tried the stunt himself during a 1954 summer break from Harvard law school, launching a new Ford Fairlane off the streets.McQueen and Yates have different versions of the chase's inception. In numerous interviews at the time, including talks with Motor Trend, McQueen stressed that the chase was his idea and he instructed the writer to include it in the script. Writing for TV Guide in 1973, Yates said, "The chase didn't exist in the script," and noted that, after numerous rewrites, d'Antoni suggested "there had to be a car chase somewhere in "Bullitt" because of McQueen's driving ability. Even today, Yates maintains that the car chase was never in any Trustman script, but Flaxman confirms that the chase was in the first draft he read.Regardless of who conceived the idea, there's little question that a car chase plan was put into action well before the crew went to San Francisco in February 1968. William Fraker was hired as the cinematographer, and he remembers an early meeting with Yates to discuss the scene. "We decided at that point there would be no camera tricks," says Fraker.Indeed, reality and gritty authenticity were the keys that made "Bullitt" stand out from other police dramas that usually had the look and feel of sanitized TV series. Pat Hustis, the builder and driver of the high-speed camera car, said McQueen told him, "I want the audience to know what it's like to do this."McQueen and his company convinced San Francisco's mayor to open up the city, allowing them use of the police station, hospital, airport, and of course, the streets. In exchange, Solar hired extras from poverty areas at full union scale. Warner Bros. didn't appreciate the effort and ordered Solar back home during the first month of production, suggesting that the rest of the movie, including the car chase, could be duplicated on a Burbank back lot. McQueen refused, and the six-picture deal suddenly became a one picture deal.The choice of cars had more to do with corporate marketing than dramatic inspiration. Ford and Warner Bros. cooperated on movies, so a Mustang and Fairlane were selected. Both were taken to Max Balchowski to be modified, but he said the Fairlane would not survive any serious stunt work. He suggested a Dodge Charger. Balchowski prepared both vehicles and their backups. All the suspension parts were Magnafluxed to check for weakness, and Balchowski reinforced all the lower control arms. For the Charger, he twisted the front torsion bars up for a little extra ground clearance, added Koni shocks and swapped in NASCAR-stiff rear springs. 'The Mustang had its shock towers reinforced and bridged. Heavy-duty front coils were installed, along with a thicker anti-roll bar and Koni shocks. The Mustangs 390-cubic-inch/325-horse engine received milled heads and ignition and carburetor upgrades, but could never really keep pace with the stock 440-cubic-inch/375-horsepower Dodge. All the cars were reshod with Firestone tires, and the Mustang received American Racing Torq-Thrust wheels.There was not just one "Bullitt" Mustang; two were ordered for use by the film crew for close-up and action scenes. However, the two Mustangs were not identical when first purchased. Only one had the GT equipment group, so both car's badging and grilles were removed to achieve a similar appearance between the two. Sharp eyes can notice the GT rear valance with its exhaust cutouts on one of the Mustangs in some scenes.Stunt legend Carey Lofton - who had worked on "Redline 7000," the road race in 'Viva Las Vegas," "Grand Prix", and the great fiery crash in "On the Beach" - was hired to stage the chase. Lofton also designed the legendary car chase in "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.""All the stunt men thought we were crazy," remembers Yates. "They wanted ramps for flips, crashes, and explosions. One stuntman asked me, 'What can you do with hills?' "Steve and I both had a great respect for cars," adds Yates, who club raced in England and was team manager for Stirling Moss. "I admired the skills needed for driving. I didn't want a crash derby."Lofton scouted the locations and came up with a plan, while Yates, McQueen and Fraker continued to develop other ideas as the film was shot. One plan took the chase over the Golden Gate Bridge, a trip the city denied. "Without the Golden Gate Bridge, it made us take advantage of the hills," says Fraker.

Bill Hickman, perhaps Hollywood's finest stunt driver, was chosen to drive the Charger. Hickman was a close friend of James Dean and pulled Dean out of his twisted Porsche the afternoon he died in the infamous head-on crash. Hickman and McQueen tested their cars at Cotati Raceway north of San Francisco a few days before shooting the chase scenes began. Action from Cotati can be found on the promotion short that accompanies "Bullitt" on the anniversary home video and the DVD, and you can see McQueen attempting smoking-tire, 180degree spins. One of the scenes in the final script called for the Charger to spin around and come back toward the Mustang The two cars just miss and the Mustang has to flip a U-tum to catch up again. Apparently a suitable location could never be found since there was no evidence in the Warner Bros. photo archives that such a scene was ever filmed.The 12-minute chase took two weeks to film--one sixth of the entire shooting schedule. McQueen definitely wanted to handle all the Mustang sturrt driving. Some accounts say it was pressure from his family and the studio that got him out of the car for the most difficult scenes. Eventually, it was McQueen's inability to pull off the stunts that forced Lofton to replace him with Bud Ekins, McQueens longtime friend who performed the famous motorcycle jump in "The Great Escape."McQueen was overly sensitive about stunt doubles, especially when it involved motorcycles and cars. The Hollywood publicity machine and McQueen stressed that he did all of his own stunt work in the chase and during the dangerous airport runway scene. In reality, three drives - McQueen, Ekins, and Lofton drove the Mustang in the chase scene and Loren Janes, McQueen's longtime stunt double, was undemeath those airliner wheels an the runway."The success of the car chase still had a lot to do with Steve even though he didn't do the dangerous stuff," says first assistant director Tim Zinneman.Indeed, McQueen's enormous contributions to the movie should have been enough to satisfy his ego without fabricating more stories about his involvement. He suggested Bullitt's turtleneck-and-open-jacket look He never overplayed the role, making sure Bullitt had the same expression whether he was driving 100 mph or romancing Jacqueline Bisset. Even when he arrived early in San Francisco to research his role, McQueen was thinking about the chase.

One evening, he went motorcycle riding with Don Gordon, who played his partner Delgedi. "Steve took a jump off one of the hills," remembers Gordon. "When he came back, he said this would be a great spot to see cars flying off the hill.""Steve was very dear," adds his former production partner, Robert Releya. "He always said that this movie was a westem in which he would strap on a car like a gun belt." The cat-and-mouse game between the cars after leaving the car wash was the first priority and help set up the rivalry. Again, no tricks were used. The wonderful shot of the Mustang appearing in the Charger's rearview mirror was Fraker's idea and it took a number of attempts to get timing and focus down. A pressure building jazz score from Lalo Schiffrin (he also composed the driving 'Mission Impossible" and "Mannix" themes) accompanied the cars on the prowl. But music isn't needed after Hickman crosses traffic and boils the tires up up a hill. In fact, virtually none of the traditional Hollywood tricks was used to emphasize the speed, danger, or intensity of the chase -no fake shots of a 100-mph speedometer, screaming passengers, or crashes through garbage cans: nothing to take the audience away from the cars.The early scenes of the chase show the cars building speed through the hills and taking turns at tire-screeching velocities. It took numerous attempts to get the right action at some locations as the crew worked with McQueen. Automotive journalist Nina Padgett, who conducted many interviews with Lofton, says McQueen knew he was having problems after watching the rushes (raw footage of the previous day's fihning) each morning. Finally, McQueen blew a turn once too often, and, according to Ekins, Lofton yelled, "Get him out of the car. Ekins, go to makeup and get your hair bleached." None of the crew members recalls the moment so dramatically, but Bud Ekins was eventually called on to handle the trick assignments. It's easy to tell when Ekins is in the Mustang. The watch is different on Ekins' right arm from McQueen's. Also, the rearview mirror is turned away when Ekins drives, otherwise it reflects McQueen's face. Ironically, mistakes, such as McQueen locking the tires and backing up in tirehopping anger (one of the only "speeded-up" scenes), play an important part in the reality of the chase. "That's what happens when you drive a car fast," explains Yates. "It was part of spirit of the chase. The near misses are what make it great."Hickman had his share of problems, too. He lost control of a four-wheel drift around a hard right comer and crashed into a '56 Ford, knocking out a remote camera mounted in front. You can tell it wasn't exactly planned, but footage from that camera was used in the movie. 'They told him to do it," proclaims Ekins.'We may have told Bill to hit the car," recalls Yates, "but we didn't tell him to take out the camera." The actual crash in all its glass-breaking, metal-crunching glory can be seen in the production short that accomparries the anniversary video and DVD edition. Ekins was in the Mustang when it made its aerial charge at the Dodge. The action was filmed from within both cars, giving the audience a pit-of-the-stomach roller-coaster ride unseen before m any movie theater.Pressure to finish the shooting schedule with a dramatic car chase was intense. McQueen had a horrid reputation for challenging directors, but he worked extremely well with Yates and the crew. This teamwork was never more apparent than when McQueen had an idea for Ekins. "He decides in the middle of the day to have me lie down on a motorcycle while the two cars come at me," says the stuntman. "I called a friend who had a motorcycle shop and asked him to send over a BSA 750 and a set of leathers."Despite the impulsive nature of scene, the continuity was magnificent. From the in-car shots of McQueen spinning brodies in the dirt to Hickman's smirk reaction as he sees the dust clouds in his mirror, the scene flows effortlessly.While the motorcycle scene was nearly flawless, other parts of the chase did have continuity problems in the final screen version. By one count, the Charger lost eight hubcaps. And, of course, that feisty VW kept showing up as film editor Frank Keller took full advantage of the great action and eight camera angles from the one take of the downhill scene. While these minor flaws generated criticism, they didn't keep Keller from winning an Academy Award for editing the film.

The chase continued on the outskirts of the city toward the airport. Speeds well over 100 mph required a special camera car built by Pat Hustis. McQueen handled much of the Mustangs high speed driving, but Ekins worked the bumping scenes with the Charger. Stunt driver Hustis got close enough at speed for Cinematographer William Fraker to record some dramatic shots, including the shotgun blast that was just inches away from the camera lens. For the final crash and explosion, a dummy gas station was constructed. Lofton set up a tow-and-release stunt in which the Charger was hitched to the Mustang. Balchowski dialed in as much front suspension caster as possible to keep the Charger in line as Lofton drove the Mustang, towing the Charger alongside. When the time was right, Lofton pulled a cable release and the Charger was sent into the station while explosives were set off. The Charger went behind the gas pumps but the special effects team ignited the charges anyway. Keller's editing saved the scene, and hardly anyone notices the tow bar sticking out of the Mustang's side (unless you're quick with the VCR's pause button). Lofton finished up with a few spins through the dirt, including a perfect spindle-breaking stop in a ditch just inches away from Fraker's camera.

After Keller and Yates finished editing the chase, John Kean went to work recording and mixing in the sound of the revving engines and squealing tires. Kean and Bud Ekins took the cars to Willow Springs Raceway near Los Angeles for the recording. Some critics complain that the Mustang upshifts so many times it sounds as if it has a six-speed transmission, but most of the sounds fit the scenes perfectly, including the tires barking during gear changes and the rpm shifts during speed changes. Kean was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on the film. "Bullitt" opened at New Yorks Radio City Music Hall Oct. 17, 1968, then was released nationwide in December, just days before Apollo VIII first circled the moon. It was a huge hit for Warner Bros. and solidified McQueen as a major Hollywood star."Looking back 30 years, "Bullitt" is a very important piece of film," says Assistant Director Walter Hill, who later directed action hits "Hard Times," "The Warriors," and "48 Hours." "It showed what could be done and how the possibilities of action cinema were greater than ever perceived. We were all part of a film that set the standards much higher."

By Mike Magda/Motortrend December 1998(www.motortrend.com)

Bullit - A story
Nearly all car enthusiasts remember the first time they saw the action drama Bullitt, starring Steve McQueen. Whether seen in a movie theater or on the small domestic screen, the images of a Mustang fastback roaring through the streets of San Francisco in hot pursuit of a black Dodge Charger remain in our minds (and stomachs!) for hours after the final credits roll.Bullitt was released by Warner Brothers/Seven Arts in the fall of 1968, and it set a standard for realism that was a highwater mark in filmmaking for years. The chase scene was not sped up to give the false impression of speed. And there were no speedometer shots to "prove" that it was a highspeed pursuit. Instead, director Peter Yates and cinematographer William Fraker used their considerable combined experience, along with the latest technology of the era, to put the realism of the chase right in our faces.The objective was to make Bullitt as real as possible. Real doctors and nurses were used, for example, in the hospital scenes, which were filmed in a real hospital. None of it was done on a Southern California back lot. Frank Bullitt's hot pursuit of bad guy - character Johnny Ross at the San Francisco International Airport was filmed amidst the scream of jet engines and wild- eyed passengers on departing aircraft, with real Pan American Boeing 707s out on the runs and tarmacs. Bullitt took the cinema where it had never been before.Through the years, there have been numerous rumors, legends, and erroneous articles written about Bullitt. One article claimed the surviving Mustang allegedly belonged to a police detective on the East Coast who didn't want its location known. Certainly we would all like to believe that one. Not enough of the rumors and stories have been true, unfortunately. So we're going to tell you, based on current information from reliable sources connected to Bullitt, what we know to be true. The most common question asked by enthusiasts is "Why a Mustang?" In spite of what we may like to think (for instance, that it was Steve McQueen's choice to use a Mustang), it is fact that Ford Motor Company has had a longstanding relationship with Hollywood. Nearly all of the "focus" cars in Bullitt were Fords. The Sunshine Cab driven by actor Robert Duvall was a '67 Ford Custom. Actor Robert Vaughn's limousine was a black Lincoln Continental. Most of the police cars were Fords of the era. Is it any wonder they put the bad guys in a Dodge? The Dodge Chargers (two of them) were purchased by the production company from a Los Angeles dealer. Dealer inventory stickers are visible on the rearview mirror during a Bullitt promotional trailer that originally ap-peared in theaters after the movie. In the Bullitt trailer, McQueen and stunt driver Bill Hickman are seen thrashing the cars around a racetrack. There has been much rumor and speculation over the years as to why the Mustang had no emblems. There may be some truth in "because McQueen wanted it that way" or "not to give Ford any free advertising" or "because the car looked better that way. But one important fact has been overlooked in most of these rumors - Warner Brothers needed to make the two Mustangs appear as identical as possible.Why? Because if you examine Bullitt closely, you will see that the Mustang varies throughout the film quite a bit. One had the GT Equipment Group and one did not. This would have meant that the emblems, grilles, gas caps, exhaust tips, and other important details would have been different on both cars. This being the case, many cos-metic modifications were necessary to achieve continuity throughout the film. Both Mustangs were void of their emblems. If you look closely, one had a rear GT valance and one did not. Neither had a Mustang grille. Both had wire-mesh grilles that would never be found on a Ford parts shelf.Veteran auto racer/car builder Max Balchowski modified the two Mustangs and Chargers for filming. While the Dodge Charger remained in virtually stock condition, the Mustangs, due to their marginal unibody underpinnings, had to be structurally reinforced to survive the huge jumps and other hard use during the chase scene. Although we can see boxed-steel framing underneath the Mustangs, this framing was actually installed to support camera and lighting equipment for the interior shots.Most of the modifications to the Mustangs involved strengthening the front end so the shock towers wouldn't fail when the car made those hard downhill landings. Balchowski experimented with various springs and shocks until he found a combination that would keep the Mustang from bottoming out too much. He also fabricated a shocktower brace that would reinforce the engine bay. Balchowski also had to do some tuning to the Mustang's 390ci High Performance engine to help it keep up with the Dodge's 440ci Magnum. Apparently, according to reliable sources, the stock Dodge would run away and hide from the Mustang. Balchowski used a few tried and proven racing tweaks on the carb and ignition, closing the performance gap between the two cars involved in the chase. Believe it or not, the chase scene took two weeks to shoot. Balchowski was on hand to keep the cars running and to do any last-minute modifications that were needed. In one hard downhill landing, the Mustang's oil pan was torn open and its contents spewed in a cloud of smoke (watch carefully during the chase and you can see this happen). Balchowski knew how tight the shooting schedule was, so he welded the pan while it was still bolted to the engine.As to the actual driving, there is often debate about that, too. Many of us have been led to believe over the years that Steve McQueen did all of his own stunt driving. However, there's more to it than that. McQueen did some of the stunt driving, but most of the toughest sequences were handled by professional stunt drivers.Bud Ekins, a veteran motorcycle racer, who did the fence jumps in The Great Escape, did the downhill jumps in Bullitt. He is also the unfortunate soul, who lays down a motorcycle later on in the chase when the Charger crosses the center line and runs him off the road. Another veteran stunt driver, the late Carey Loftin, did some of the other tricky parts. One quick way to tell who is driving the Mustang is to check the rearview mirror on the inside shots. When McQueen appears in the mirror, that's a good indication. However, when the mirror is turned slightly away, and all you can see is part of the camera support, it is likely a stunt driver.There is no question as to who is driving the Charger. The actor behind the wheel with the hornrimmed glasses isn't an actor at all, but a man named Bill Hickman. Hickman was at the top of the stunt driving profession at the time and could aim that big Dodge exactly where the director wanted him to. Hickman had small speaking parts in two later films that he also did the stunt driving for - The French Connection and The Seven Ups. At one point in the Bullitt chase, Hickman actually lost control of the Charger and smashed into a camera position. After the collision, the Charger's left front fender is damaged from the impact. Untold wheel covers from the Charger were also lost in the filming.Everyone always asks where the Bullitt Mustangs are now. No one had any idea that these innocent Highland Green fastbacks would be the Loch Ness Monsters of the automotive world. There are more urban legends surrounding their fate than the Lindburgh baby. The simple answer is not so simple. It depends on who you talk with. At one time, it was believed that one of the Mustangs was damaged at the end of the chase and was scrapped, while the other one was allegedly sold.Over the years, articles on the Bullitt saga have typically concluded, through sketchy second- or third-hand infor-mation, that a secretary or messenger at Warner Brothers purchased the less-damaged backup car believed to be the GT. Yet McQueen himself tried to find this car a few years later and was unsuccessful. One would think that with the success of Bullitt, an employee driving the star car to work everyday would surely have been noticed. But no one today can remember who that mysterious person was. This is certainly interesting to us.A few enthusiasts with '68 Mustang fastbacks have thrown on Highland Green paint and American Racing Torq-Thrusts to create their own rolling tributes to the coolest police lieu-tenant of the '60s. Max Balchowski has even helped out a few of those Bullitt buffs with advice on proper modifications. A few have probably changed hands as "the real car" to unsuspecting buyers, though we haven't seen any in our travels.But according to Robert Relyea, executive producer of Bullitt and a number of other McQueen films, all four cars - two Mustangs and two Chargers - were scrapped after the filming was complete. The reason for this was simple - liability. Obviously, one of the Chargers was destroyed in the crash and explosion that followed the chase. The remaining three cars were too great a liability risk for Warner Brothers and Solar Productions (McQueen's company). The cars were written off to budget, rather than take the financial risk. In short, it is likely none of the cars exists today.Despite what we do know about the Bullitt Mustangs, there is always the possibility that someone pulled one or both of them from the wrecking yard and put at least one of them back together. In a 1973 issue of Road & Track magazine, there is a classified advertisement for a "documented" Mustang from Bullitt with a New Jersey telephone number. The thing is, if one of the cars actually survived, where is it now? Why didn't McQueen buy it? Maybe the present owner is saving it for the Mustang museum. Yeah - that's it.

©By David Kunz (published in Mustang & Fords Nov. 99)

THE BULLITT MUSTANG IS NO LONGER LOST!
This page is based on an article I wrote for the April, 1990, issue of Mustang Illustrated. I was elated to finally locate the surviving Mustang Steve McQueen drove in the movie "Bullitt." Imagine how disappointed I've been over the last decade to still see other magazines reporting that the cars are assumed to have been destroyed. Even though I've got paperwork proof and the car's history of owners going back to Warner Bros. studios, other automotive journalists have never acknowledged my discovery. Oh well, I guess it'll just be between you and me. -- Brad Bowling

The Man Himself
The car was a 1968 Mustang 390 GT. The last thing in the world you'd take the green fastback for is a serious collector's item. Gifted with hindsight, it's difficult for us modern-day enthusiasts to consider owning the surviving Bullitt Mustang and thinking of it simply as transportation but, strangely enough, that's exactly how it has been treated by its three owners to this day.
Somehow, a great deal of controversy and misinformation has grown up around that car over the years. Several books and magazines have incorrectly reported the stories and facts behind this legendary vehicle and most of them have speculated that it was driven to death, then sent off to be crushed, simply because it had not been located. There has been a long-running debate concerning the number of Mustangs purchased for the movie, what engines they came with and how many were actually used for the strenuous jumping and crashing scenes.
Legends seem to spin off their own myths -- that is certainly true in this case -- but we were able to cut through the muddled facts and dead ends to bring you the real story, as told by the first owner of the car and the man who now owns it (that's right, kiddies, it's been found).
THE LEGEND BEGINS

This is the original letterof verification from Warner Bros.to the first owner.Click to view.
Steve McQueen was a hot property in Hollywood in 1968. He had just completed "The Thomas Crown Affair" with Faye Dunaway and he was enjoying the kind of star status leverage every actor works for. Because he wanted more control over the production of his movies, he signed a six-picture contract between his company, Solar Productions, Inc., and Warner Bros. Inc.
The first product of that collaboration was "Bullitt," based on the novel Mute Witness by Robert L. Pike. For the film (in which he plays an unconventional police detective), McQueen envisioned the most violent, realistic and dangerous chase scene ever attempted. It is a tribute to McQueen's persuasiveness and credibility that the city of San Francisco agreed to the mayhem he proposed creating on its streets. (It's easy to picture the meeting in which negotiations took place: "Okay, Mr. McQueen, you'd like to race two cars through our city at 100 miles an hour -- could we interest you in burning down some of our buildings?")
Whether the choice of the Mustang was McQueen's idea or not is unclear; all we do now for certain is that two of them were bought for the movie, both were Highland Green fastbacks sporting GT packages and 390/4V motors. Likewise, two new Dodge Chargers were purchased, reportedly with 426-cid motors, for the bad guys to drive.
"The man's name is Frank Bullitt. The last thing in the world you'd take Frank Bullitt for was a cop."
One Mustang was modified with extra welding, bracing and engine work to handle all of the heavy abuse -- the jumping and crashing -- while the other was used mostly during the high-speed scenes. Several pieces were removed from the cars, including the driving lights, running pony grille emblem, Mustang lettering and even the GT badges. Stock wheels were pulled in favor of sportier custom-made rims from American Racing.
The modified fastback (the jump car) also received a rollbar-mounted camera so that thrill-seeking moviegoers could get a taste of what it was like to fly through the air above San Francisco's hilly pavement. Not only did that Mustang get trashed performing the jump scenes, but it was also the car responsible for the fiery destruction of the Charger at the end of the chase. Special towing equipment was mounted to the passenger side of the Mustang and two dummies were placed in the Charger so that, through clever editing, it would look like the Mustang ran the Charger off the road into the gas station where it blew up.
Because the main Mustang was so damaged by the time shooting ended, it is highly unlikely anyone at Warner even considered selling it. Most of the people behind the movie recall that it was sent to a junkyard where it was eventually crushed.
But what about the second car?
THE FIRST OWNER
Here's the original registration card(with first owner's personal info blotted out)for the remaining Bullitt Mustang.Click to view.
An employee of Warner Bros., named Robert M. Ross bought the car after production was finished. When we contacted Ross to interview him for this story, he politely but firmly told us, "It will be a long time before I talk to anyone about the Bullitt car after the last time." Ross went on to explain that a previous interviewer had misquoted him and "printed pure b.s." about the car. Upon presenting him with the news that we had located the Mustang, he offered us some information but was still understandably reluctant to agree to a longer interview.
Bill Norton is a longtime friend of Ross' who now owns Valley Ford Mustang in North Hollywood. He is one of the few people who can claim to have driven the Mustang when it was new. "The car was not at all beat up like you might imagine," Norton recalls, "it was very nice because it had not been abused like the Mustang that did all of the jumping."
"It was a fun car to drive," he told us, "very powerful but also very squirrely, especially one rainy night on the Ventura Freeway when Bob and I were going home from a party. It was also really noisy because it didn't have any soundproofing -- apparently the movie people had used that car to make the 'live' recordings (that were later dubbed into the soundtrack)."
Ross only kept the fastback for a year or so, according to Norton, before he put it up for sale in Hemmings Motor News. "It was sold to a cop back east who wanted it shipped to him," Norton recalls. "I remember that it was sent by train because that was the cheapest way to transport a car back then and the guy was a little on the thrifty side."
It seems that Norton got more from the Bullitt car than just his driving impressions: in a cardboard box at Valley Ford Mustang sit the GT driving lights that were removed before filming. Apparently, they went to Ross along with the car but did not wind up with the second owner.
THE SECOND OWNER
No one seems to have a name for the second Bullitt car owner. Bob Ross did not supply it during our brief conversation; Bill Norton couldn't remember it and no other previously printed material mentions it. Ross thought that he might have been a detective (like Frank Bullitt, perhaps) but didn't mention the city or state, only that it was somewhere on the East Coast. Near as we can figure, the Bullitt car stayed with that owner for approximately two years before the third and current owner found it for sale in the newspaper.
THE THIRD OWNER
In 1977, Steve McQueen attemptedto buy the Bullitt Mustang back fromits current owner.Click to view.
In 1972, a 24-year-old man got the bargain of a lifetime when he happened upon the Bullitt car, with documentation, for what he says was "an unbelievably low price." Because he is now a successful businessman and has no intention of selling the car or considering any offers, we had to promise him total anonymity in exchange for his cooperation -- we'll just call him "Joe."
Why do we believe this is the bona fide product? Well, Joe sent us several pages of documentation, including copies of the first owner's card (registered by Bob Ross on Dec. 14, 1968, license plate VVE 590) and the latest (registered by "Joe" in his home state on March 7, 1978, license plate 850 IPZ). Both cards give the vehicle identification number as 8R02S125559, which matches the number from the Warner Bros. letter.
Joe told us that he had not actually seen the car in almost six years because it is stored in a relative's garage on the East Coast, several states away from where he now lives. He was surprised to hear that his car had been the source of such speculation. He is not a hardcore Mustang enthusiast and tells us that his initial interest in the car was a combination of the low asking price and the fact that Steve McQueen had driven it.
Joe's anecdotes about driving the car back up Bill Norton's stories about it being a real handful to drive and noisy at any speed. In fact, during a rainstorm, Joe did some Frank Bullitt-style driving when he lost control of the fastback and slid 360 degrees around, resulting in some minor body damage.
According to Joe, he has made no changes to the car but it was equipped with an aftermarket shifter and non-stock steering wheel when he bought it 18 years ago and that's exactly how it sits now, with approximately 40,000 miles on the odometer. "Otherwise," he told us, "the engine compartment, interior and paint all look original."
Despite the fact that he doesn't get to drive it much any more, he insists that it will never be for sale. Steve McQueen himself tried to buy it back in 1977 but Joe had already promised that it would not leave the family, flattered though he was by the offer.
What are Joe's plans for the car? Does he foresee a restoration? Steve McQueen's request not to restore the car matches Joe's own feelings about keeping it in original movie condition. Joe says that the fastback is protected from the elements and should be well-preserved for years to come.
NOT A HAPPY ENDING FOR ALL
Three years after attempting to buy back the Bullitt Mustang, Steve McQueen died of cancer and his collection of cars, motorcycles and antique toys was sold off.
BULLITT TRIVIA
*For his role as Frank Bullitt, Steve McQueen was voted World Film Favorite by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.*Because "Bullitt" production cost much more than the budget allowed, Warner ended the six-picture agreement with Solar.*Many studio-owned cars were used in the film to interact with the Mustang and Charger and it is possible to see some of them over and over if you know what to look for. The most obvious repeats are: a yellow cab, a white '68 Firebird hardtop, a green Volkswagen Beetle, a four-door Cadillac and numerous Mustangs. Besides supplying realistic street scenery, company-owned vehicles were placed alongside the road to "catch" the Mustang or Charger in case they lost control.*Through the miracle of movie-making, the Charger loses a total of eight hubcaps during the chase scene.*Steve McQueen's letter attempting to buy back the Mustang is dated Dec. 14, 1977, one month after McQueen and his second wife Ali MacGraw divorced.

Follow in Frank Bullits Footsteps...
Google Map data - map created for Bullitt Nationals 2006, courtesy Greg Autry/Michael Gullery (see http://www.imboc.com/) for info on the Bullitt NationalsMap part 2 and 3 at the bottom of this page

1. Frank's Apartment, Clay and Taylor (C-10)
The apartment building looks the same, lower unit has been converted into a garage

1a. Corner market across street still there.
This is the grocery store were Bullitt buys the frozen food and bangs open the newspaper stand.

4. Cesar Chavez St.(formerly Army St.), just east of US101 (H-10)
This is where the chase scene begins. Unfortunately the car wash is long gone and a self-storage facility has gone up in its place. Hardly recognizable. Some ramps have been added to the freeway interchange as well. This is where McQueen pulls out and heads under the freeway with the Charger in tow. Go west on Cesar Chavez and it'll look familiar. 5. Cesar Chavez and York (H-10)
McQueen U-turns here and heads up a narrow hill (York). Gas station on triangular lot still there.The lower picture shows the continuation of York, where the Charger goes after losing the Mustang.