Robert Mitchum’s “1950” Ford. Photo from shoeboxford.net

Robert Mitchum’s Thunder Road captured the southern view of the “Bootleggers vs. Revenooers” war. Mitchum wrote, directed, starred and produced the film, based on a real story, often using real moonshiners as extras. The story revolves around Mitchum, a Korean war veteran that returns home and goes back to the family business.

Many of the cars in the film were real bootlegger’s cars that the studio bought for filming. Photo from shoeboxford.net

To get the job done, Mitchum drove two different Ford coupes in the movie. The one we have placed in the top 5 of the 15 greatest hot rods from the movies is the souped-up 1950 Ford two-door sedan. The film’s dialogue refers to the car as a 1950 model.

The ’50 Ford is actually a 1951 Ford Deluxe that was modified with a 1949 hood and tail lights, a 1950 grille and front bumper, and the 1951 tail light trim was removed to make it look more like a 1950 version.

A different look at filming interior scenes. Photo from hannibal8

Despite those additions, the 1951 dash remained in the car, which is a dead give-away to Ford fans. A 1951 dash is very different from a 1949/1950 Ford Deluxe dash. The 1951 hubcaps, chrome trim, license plate light, steering wheel, and V8 fender emblems also indicate the Ford was later than 1950 production.

There is a famous scene shot from the exterior of the car, where oil is sprayed on the road to wreck the chasing revenuer’s cars. The rear bumper and trunk in the scene appear to be from a 1950 model. This scene could have been shot with another car.

Spraying oil to wreck the government agents. Photo from shoeboxford.net

As for the engine, it is widely reported that a 1957 Ford Thunderbird 312ci with three-Holley 2-barrel 2100 model carbs. This was surely enough power to escape those pesky government agents.

Three-Holley 2-barrel 2100 model carbs made up one of the early versions of a six-pack. Photo from shoeboxford.net

As for the other cars in the movie, legend has it that all of the bootlegger cars in the film had actually been used as moonshine running cars in the Asheville, North Carolina area. Apparently the moonshiners sold their cars to the movie company and reinvested that money in newer, faster cars.