1997 Dukes of Hazzard Reunion Movie: "Reunion in Hazzard"

The 1997 Dukes of Hazzard: "Reunion in Hazzard" movie was filmed from December 1996 through the first part of January 1997 and originally aired on CBS April 25, 1997.  Warner Brothers Transportation Dept. still had one original General Lee from the TV Series (WGL 02).  In the early 1990's the car was repainted and the new "01" was very skinny and a far cry from what was originally on the cars.  This was the only car used with this style "01", so it is very easy to spot on the movie.  Two more cars were needed for the production.  At this time, I am not exactly sure where the other two cars came from... if they were former tv/movie Chargers or if they were just purchased locally.

  For the production, the TV Series General Lee (WGL 02) was renamed "GL 1".  The other cars were named "GL 2" and "GL 3".  All three cars were 1969 model Chargers.  GL 1 and GL 2 were powered by 383s while GL 3 was powered by a 318.  Being a low budget film, all three cars played multiple roles as 1st unit close up cars as well as 2nd unit stunt driven cars throughout the production.  If I had to put a title on it, GL 3 would have been considered the close-up "Hero" car... just because it was the nicest of the bunch and was often featured with the actors.  GL 1 was used a lot in close up scenes too, but not as much as GL 3.  GL 2 was a little rough around the edges and was mostly used for driving scenes and stunt scenes.  The only damage received to any the cars was when the bad guy's Ford smashed into the passenger side of GL 2 while going down the dirt road.  The footage of when the car flipped over, and all jumps, were recycled footage from the TV series.  

The 2000 Dukes of Hazzard: "Hazzard in Hollywood" movie was filmed in December 1999 and originally aired on May 19, 2000.  All three Chargers survived the first Reunion movie and were used again on the second Reunion movie.  This time, the writers and producers decided to jump a General Lee.  Damaged during the 1997 Reunion, GL 2 was repaired and converted to a full time 2nd unit fully caged jump car.  GL 2 was only used once in the second Reunion, and that was for the jump.  GL 1 and GL 3 were used quite a bit but took a back seat to John Schneider's personal General Lee, which was used for most all close up shots.  I am not sure if John's personal car ever received a number or if it was just left alone and known as "John's car".  

This car was once known as "WGL02" on the original Dukes of Hazzard TV Series. This car, along with the sound stage car, were not included in the sale of 17 cars to The Dodge Charger Registry in 1991.  Warner Brother kept this car and towards the end of 1991, the car was converted into a rough looking "beater" Charger for the movie "Forever Young".  

In 1996, the decision was made to produce a 2hr made-for-tv movie which was called Dukes of Hazzard: "Reunion in Hazzard".  This car was built back to it's former General Lee paint scheme and was then labeled as "GL1" for the production.  Since the WB crew no longer had another General Lee to use as a templet, the graphics were a little different than the TV series graphics.  

​GL1 was used for many close up scenes as well as many of the driving scenes. The car finished the production without damage.

In 1999, the decision was made to make a second reunion movie titled Dukes of Hazzard: "Hazzard in Hollywood".  GL1 was used again for many different close up and driving scenes.  The car actually performed a very soft jump towards the end of the movie when they are driving through all of the movie sets.  If the car received any damage from the jump, it wasn't much at all.

GL1, GL2, and GL3 went back to the WB transportation dept. after filming wrapped in early 2000.  The cars sat until 2004 when work began for the new Dukes of Hazzard movie.

During the Reunion Movie, this car was titled as "GL 2". This car is a 1969 383 Charger. GL 2 would have been considered the Stunt car. This car was rough around the edges and bondo’ed up, but it still played some very significant roles in each movie. I would consider this car the underdog of the movie. GL 2 and GL 3 were always hard to pick out on the movie. They both had the same decals, interiors, steering wheels, roll bars… except one thing. The crew forgot to install the two front chrome bumperettes on this car (GL2). So now, as long as you had a clear shot of the front of the car, and you knew what decals were on the doors, you could pick out the cars with ease.

Many rumors spread about the car in the barn scene at the very beginning of the movie; “Romeo’s Car”. The biggest rumor of the whole movie was about this scene. Many people liked to believe - “this is exactly how the original TV series General Lee (WGL 2, GL 1, GL#002) was found on the WB lot… so the producers left it in as-found condition and used it for the shot”. In fact, Romeo’s (the rooster) car was indeed GL 2. This can clearly be seen with the more narrow “01” and the missing bumperettes. So GL 2 is the very first General Lee seen since the end of the TV show in 1985. GL 2 is also the car seen being hauled by Cooter’s tow truck. When the car is in the garage and they pop the hood to find a hen and a bunch of feathers, that is this car too. This is when you can see the engine bay details. When the General Lee is getting rammed by the black Ford on the back roads, that is also this car. The whole passenger side of the car was repaired either during or after the '97 movie.

GL 2 Characteristics during the 1997 Reunion:
-Narrow, but thicker “01”
-Standard steering wheel with horn ring
-Front tag bracket is painted orange and black in some scenes
-Chrome Bumperettes missing from the front bumper
-Key cylinder in passenger side door is missing
-Big Block
-“M/T” Mickey Thompson finned valve covers
-Deep Dish bowl style air cleaner
-Black engine bay with bottom of hood painted orange
-Orange painted upper grille/latch tray

After the 1997 Reunion the car was repaired from being rammed in the side by the Ford. The car was also prepared for only one scene in the 2000 Reunion movie. Many interior components were removed and a full cage was installed in the car. Only the bare necessities were left. The cage consisted of a double loop behind the driver and an "X" brace that went from the roof, through the rear seat, and into the trunk compartment. A single bar went down either side of the right and left A-pillars and down to the floor. A single horizontal bar attached the A-pillar bars and ran right in front of the dash frame. From the dash horizontal bar, a chain looped under the steering column to support it. Massive plates were welded to the floor to support the roll cage. Gussets, made of 1/4 inch steel, were welded at the intersection of the bars. The stunt driver's safety harness was attached to the base of the "X" brace with chains.

Craig Baxley Jr., a young stunt driver, preformed the jump on December 1, 1999 in a residential area on the streets of LA. He was only 24 years old at the time. This would be his first jump on film. He said the car barely ran and came down hard on the tail. According to him, the car flew 127ft.

GL 2 Characteristics during the 2000 Reunion:
-Narrow, but thicker “01”
-Chrome Bumperettes missing from the front bumper
-Double Loop Roll Bar

During the Reunion Movie, this car was titled as "GL 3". It is a 1969 318 Charger. GL 3 would be considered the #1 “Hero” or “Close Up” car. This car was the nicest of the three cars and was used for almost all of the interior shots. GL 3 was mostly used for close-up driving scenes. John Schneider drove this car a lot during filming. This car also had the cleanest engine and bay. In the fast action scene where the Dukes and Cooter are fixing the General Lee in the garage, that is this car. If you watch carefully you can see a lot of the parts that were used on the engine.

GL 3 Characteristics during the 1997 Reunion:
-Narrow, but thicker “01”
-Standard '68 steering wheel with horn ring
-Small Block
-Chrome Moroso valve covers
-Black engine bay with bottom of hood painted orange
-Orange painted upper grille/latch tray
-Clean white washer jug on right apron

The car's appearance didn't change from 1997-2000. This time, the two nicer cars from '97 took a back seat to John Schneider's General Lee. The car was still a "Close-Up/Hero" car for the 2000 Reunion.

GL 3 Characteristics during the 2000 Reunion:
-Narrow, but thicker “01”
-Standard '68 steering wheel with horn ring
-Front tag bracket is painted orange
-Small Block
-Chrome Moroso valve covers
-Black engine bay with bottom of hood painted orange
-Orange painted upper grille/latch tray
-Clean white washer jug on right apron