(Also commonly referred to as Jason Bagwell's car)
In January 1985 the decision was made to end production of "The Dukes of Hazzard" TV Series. The transportation crew had cars in various states of repair and they basically just stopped what they were working on, packed up their personal belongings, and locked the place up as they left. There were piles of parts scattered around the garage... there were nicer complete General Lees that were ready to be put to use, General Lees that needed repair from use... and there was a small handful of Chargers that were fresh off the street, and were on hand if another car was needed to be built, or to serve as a parts car.
According to Rich Sephton, who was a mechanic during the last few seasons of the TV Series, Warner Brothers told them to get rid of the remaining 8 or 9 cars that had not been converted into General Lees. The car seen here was the last Non-General Lee Charger to leave the lot. Rich decided to take the car home with him. Some years later, Wayne Keenum of Texas bought the car and Rich delivered it to him. Along with the car, he included a real front push bar built by A.J. Thrasher, a set of used General Lee stunt car wheels (two 14 inch & two 15 inch since a lot of the 2nd unit stunt cars ran them that way - better handling according to the drivers), and some of the tan dye that they used for the interior.
The next piece is an insert from an email that Jason Bagwell sent me:
"Fast forward to 1997. I saw this car listed in Auto Trader stating it had Denver Pyle's autograph, and it was the nicest General Lee that he (Denver Pyle) ever saw. Jessie Colter's autograph adorned the trunk lid as well. I bought the car and began my journey to make it into my version of a LEE. Rich actually bought the paint and shipped it from California here to Georgia for me (gave it more character and credibility...to me). Soon it was sporting 1975 Vette Flame Red code 70. I had all the graphics painted on, freshened up the interior, gave the whole mechanical system a once over and there I had my baby. I had a lot of fun with it, parades, magazines, newspapers, Atlanta news a couple of times, and even filmed with Cooter for the Travel Channel. I met all the stars, obtained their autographs, and just plain had the time of my life."
-Jason Bagwell
He then goes on to say that he had to sell the car due to some medical issues along with the bills that come with it. He regrets selling the car and swore that he never would, but sometimes "you gotta do what you gotta do". Jason sold the car to Jim Hendricks, then it wound up being sold to John Farley. The authentic push bar is still on the car, but the real stunt wheels were removed and sold to Travis Bell, who got Rich Sephton to give him a certificate/statement saying that they were used on the show. He in turn sold them to Brandon Wright who still has them. John Farley has totally rebuilt the car now with a new engine/transmission and freshened everything up. He went back with the same Corvette Flame Red paint, and did an absolutely beautiful job.
While this car was never used in The Dukes of Hazzard, it does have a lot of credibility and a very interesting story that ties it to the original TV series... so to me, that makes it worth mentioning here on the page.
Below are pictures of Jason with the car along with stuntman Corey Eubanks in front of the original Holiday Inn at Conyers, GA, which is where the cast and crew stayed while filming the Georgia episodes in 1978.