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Many consider the Tom Cruise film Days of Thunder to be one of the greatest car-themed movies ever made. It sure impressed moviegoers back when it hit theaters in 1990, racking up $157.9 million in ticket sales, making it a surprise financial success. But what many don’t realize is movie cars are often used, abused, then dumped out the back door of production studios, sometimes after sitting and rotting for years. Still, it’s tough to see these cars from Days of Thunder left to molder in the woods.
Learn where the most famous movie and TV cars of all time are now.
Thankfully a YouTube channel called Coors Bandit went on a rescue mission to yank these racecars out of the wilderness, bring them back to civilization, and restore both. The whole thing started with a tip from a friend, as these things often do.
It turns out the friend of a friend just knew of one movie car sitting in the woods up the road from him in Florida. A lot of people would just give up at that point, deciding the whole thing just wasn’t meant to be. But this YouTuber put on his detective cap and got to work, ferreting out who owns the property where the racecar was sitting.
After some gumshoe work, he finally figured out who the owner was and contacted him through snail mail since all he could get was a name and address, nothing for social media or email. In a way it’s appropriate 90s film cars would be recovered in such an old school way.
But it panned out and the owner called the Coors Bandit back and they made a deal on the phone. The thing about doing that sort of thing is you’re agreeing to buy a car you’ve never laid eyes on and there’s a certain amount of risk in that.
The roll of the dice paid off. Sure, the original car he made a deal on was rough but not too bad. And he was able to score a bonus ride later.
What would you do with these movie cars in their current condition?
Images via Coors Bandit/YouTube
For the Days of Thunder Fan
- Days of Thunder on Blu-ray — revisit the film that made NASCAR mainstream
- NASCAR Diecast Collectibles — movie cars in miniature form
- Classic Car Restoration Tool Kit — because every barn find deserves a second chance
- Vintage Racing Helmet — for the driver who takes their track days seriously
- Paint Restoration Compound — bring neglected finishes back from the dead
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