I just looked through the book on the art of William Stout, and there's a lot to learn in there. He worked with the best and most famous people you've ever heard of, Henson, Spielberg, Lucas, Disney

the first merch that Lucas had made, was commissioning Stout to do the art for Burger King glasses! 

Lucas also commissioned Stout to do the poster work for the re-release of American Graffiti 

Bob Falfa's (Harrison Ford) screen-matched 1955 Chevy license plate from George Lucas' American Graffiti, at auction, with Prop Store Auctions

https://propstoreauction.com/lot-details/index/catalog/397/lot/137987

The actor that played the gang leader in American Graffiti, was Bo Hopkins, Korean War vet in the 101st Airborne

Bo led a troubled life as a youngster, with numerous instances of truancy, minor crimes, and a stay in a reform school. He dropped out of school just before his 17th birthday and joined the United States Army, where he was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division. He was based at Fort Jackson, Fort Gordon, and Fort Pope, before being shipped off to Korea, where he served for nine months. After his military service, Hopkins became interested in pursuing an acting career, although his wife disapproved of it and she soon left him, taking their daughter with her. 

After appearing in some area plays, he received a scholarship to study acting and stage production at the Pioneer Playhouse in Kentucky, where he soon moved. From Kentucky, he made his way to New York City to act in more stage plays. After New York, he moved to Hollywood where he earned a living parking cars while studying at the Actors Studio

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_Hopkins

one of my favorite songs... Chuck Berry really nailed it with this song

 

Designed by MAD Magazine illustrator Mort Drucker, the promo poster for the movie American Graffiti

 https://propstoreauction.com/lot-details/index/catalog/319/lot/89215?url=%2Fauctions%2Fcatalog%2Fid%2F319%3Fpage%3D6%26items%3D100

Trivia about the American Graffiti cars, the Merc and Milner's duece

The intake on Milner's hot rod was a Man-A-Fre, it had 4 Rochester 2 barrel carbs, and direct port injection which was nicknamed the Afterburner

The Afterburner feature was a precursor to today’s direct-port nitrous oxide injection.

a Man-A-Fre kit was the aluminum plate that locates the four carburetors directly over the intake ports to achieve perfect fuel distribution and maximum performance.
The lack of traditional manifold passages kept the height of the entire setup very low. Even with the four carburetors mounted and air cleaners attached, everything fit under the hood

this one was made with 1958 carbs, mounted to the intake in 67, and in 1969 the owner was drafted but pulled this off his Corvette and put it in a duffle bag so it would be around when he got back from Nam, but he didn't use it for racing. It stayed in the duffle bag for 47 years before getting sold on Ebay


the 51 Mercury custom. In the movie it belonged to Bo Hopkins and the Pharoahs, who led Richard Dreyfuss to the adventure with the cop car.
Eddie Van Halen eventually bought the Mercury from a Universal Studios back lot and later sold it to Brian Setzer of The Stray Cats.
Eventually it belonged to a young collector in New York, who committed suicide over a failed love affair. His father refused to sell the car, and at last report it was rusting away in a junkyard.

https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2016/05/11/american-graffiti-deuce-coupe#
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/meet-man-fre-guru-makes-carburetor-injector-systems-look-like-new/

By the way, I'd love to blog more like this, about cooler cars, hot rod parts, etc, but it's far more time consuming to make one post with this type of stuff than 10 of the light humor, photos and amusing stuff. If posting was my full time paycheck job? It would be all about this sort of stuff, and without photos from library collections about old trains, showcases of painters art, etc. 

American Graffiti appreciation

As promised in June, the American Graffiti Impala was restored by Ray Evernham with Axalta West paints

I posted about this happening back in June http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2016/06/sold-at-auction-last-fall-profiles-in.html

the American Graffiti cars

https://www.facebook.com/groups/stiffspeed/

sold at auction last fall (Profiles in History auction) the Impala from American Graffiti is now owned by Ray Evernham, and getting a thorough once over before being displayed at SEMA this fall

Ray Evernham has partnered with Axalta Coating Systems, a leading global manufacturer of liquid and powder coatings, to bring this piece of movie history and Americana back to life. The car will go through a tedious forensic preservation and be unveiled in Axalta’s booth (Center hall just below Ford, right front corner pocket of the main floor) at the 2016 SEMA.

After being used in the film, Mike Famalette, only 17 at the time, purchased the car directly from Lucas Films for $285 in 1972. Famalette held onto the car from that time until the auction last fall

The only element Evernham is replacing is the engine, which was destroyed long before he purchased the car. As seen in American Graffiti, the ’58 Impala was equipped with a four-barrel 348, and three-speed manual transmission. Evernham found a 1960 327 Chevy.

With partner Axalta Coating Systems, Evernham will replace the exact paint and pinstripes on the vehicle.  “The paint scheme still represents the most recognizable aspect of this iconic car. Axalta’s goal with this restoration is to precisely match the original colors to preserve the vehicle’s heritage and protect this unique piece of history for years to come.” Harry Christman, North American Cromax® Brand Manager for Axalta. Axalta was able to recreate the exact paint blend, so we’ll return this car to the condition that moviegoers have seen for years.”

Evernham said the complexity of the restoration is daunting, and the time required will far exceed any project his team that has built award-winning, best-in-class cars for SEMA, Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance and the Pinehurst d’Elegance.

“We are applying modern engineering with Bobby Alloway to return this car to the original movie condition,” Evernham said.

Thanks to Debby Robinson at Victory Management Group PR!  http://www.vmg1.com/

only onscreen for mere moments, here is an American Graffiti movie car

Found on https://www.facebook.com/groups/traditionalcustoms/  via https://www.facebook.com/groups/798838050138540/

Happy Days hot rod

above image found on http://finkenstein.tumblr.com

and one from the set of American Graffiti

all found on http://stiffspeed.tumblr.com

American Graffiti race scene as a GIF

found on http://urban-hunter.tumblr.com

Howtobuildatimemachine tumblr, check out the good stuff they post

That is one bad muddy main street

For more good stuff http://howtobuildatimemachine.tumblr.com

Voodoo Timm is still posting the cool stuff, it's been a while since I've looked through and Timm's never disappoints

lots more to see at http://voodootimm.tumblr.com

The American Graffitti website, by the makers of the best clone... this site covers everything about the movie

for all the publicity stills, magazine articles, and car shows with Milner's Duece: http://www.themilnercoupe.com/