Eleanor (automobile)

1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1 "Eleanor"/1967 Shelby Cobra GT500 "Eleanor" Original 1973 Mustang Mach 1 Eleanor from the original 1974 film Gone in 60 Seconds 1967 Mustang Shelby Cobra GT500 Eleanor from the 2000 Gone in Sixty Seconds

Manufacturer	Ford Motor Company/Unique Performance/Classic Recreations LLC.
Production	1971-1973/2000-2009 (Eleanor, in the 1974 film Gone in 60 Seconds, played a 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1; However, in the remake Gone in Sixty Seconds in 2000, Eleanor played a 1967 Shelby Cobra GT500)
Class	Pony car/Muscle car
Body style	2-door fastback
Engine	351 Cleveland

'Eleanor' is the trademarked name given to a 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1 for its role in the 1974 film Gone in 60 Seconds. "Eleanor" is the only Ford Mustang in history to receive Star title credit in a movie. However in the 2000 Gone in 60 Seconds movie, the new Eleanor is a 1967 Shelby GT500.

Creation

California based automobile scrap-dealer H.B. "Toby" Halicki created, wrote and directed the film. As a businessman with interests in property, he also trademarked the terms "Gone in 60 Seconds" and "Eleanor".

Two "Eleanors" were created for use in the movie: one was modified and driven, and one was used in the "beauty shots".

The modified car required 250 hours labor by businessman and film creator H. B. Halicki before it was ready for the cameras. It was fitted with a NASCAR roll cage, the transmission was chained in. An adjustable camera was mounted in the back seat to record from the “driver's point of view”. Other safety modifications included a heavy duty double strength Simpson shoulder harness and seat belt and deadbolt door locks.

Filming

The car survived despite two serious incidents during filming. The first occurred when another driver overshot his mark, clipped "Eleanor" in the rear and sent it careening into a steel light pole standard in excess of 100 mph, and caved the left front fender in. After two hours of repairs, filming resumed. The second occurred after an impressive 128-foot jump in which the car soars over 30 feet. “Eleanor” survived, despite the rough landing. Halicki was injured in both incidents.

Eleanor's locations in the film

Eleanor was first placed at Los Angeles International Airport by the crew, so that Ronald Halicki can try and steal her.

Eleanor was earlier "stolen" from 18504 Mariposa which was Vacek's address at the time.

Much of the crowd at the gas station where Harold Smith is pulled over after the night-time Torrance chase were part of a real biker gang, who verbally abused the police officers "arresting" the actor and demanding they leave him alone. Being an independent production, the film used real civilians who happened to be wherever they were filming. It was the police officers' bad luck that at the gas station there was a real biker gang filling up.

Eleanor was later placed in a warehouse of 48 exotic cars, all "stolen" in the movie.

When Pumpkin tells Maindrian that they have to give Eleanor back because the car is not insured, Maindrian reads the owner's address from a newspaper – 18511 Mariposa, Gardena. This was in fact director/star H.B. Halicki's own real home address at the time.

According to people on the set, Halicki missed a mark and caused "Eleanor" to hit a real telephone pole at 100 mph. The first thing that Halicki was quoted as saying when he regained consciousness was "Did we get coverage?"

Halicki compacted ten vertebrae performing the "big jump" in the Mustang at the end of the movie, which reached 30 feet high and cleared 128 feet. Fortunately the injury was not very serious, although according to director of photography Jack Vacek, Halicki never walked the same again.

After filming

After the filming of the movie, "Eleanor" has been on display in theater lobbies, car shows, fairs, auto races, and shopping centers, and has been featured on television news shows across the country. The car was included in the "Greatest Cars of the Movies" event at the Petersen Automobile Museum, "California Classic Car Rally" on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and "Cars Are the Stars," among others.

"Eleanor" was also featured in The Junkman and Deadline Auto Theft; a modified Shelby Mustang 1967 GT500 also named "Eleanor" was used in the Gone in 60 Seconds remake.

Toys, models, and die-cast replicas of "Eleanor" have been produced, notably by Racing Champions ERTL & Playing Mantis Johnny Lightning.

2000 film revival

After his death producing Gone in 60 Seconds 2 in 1989, and recent marriage to Denice Halicki, there were a number of legal challenges to the Halicki estate. After seven trials, in 1994 the court released Halicki's films and the associated copyrights to Halicki Films, owned by Denice Halicki.

In 1995, Halicki Films entered into a contract with Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer for the film Gone in 60 Seconds. Filming began in 1999, with Denice as Executive Producer. The movie premiered on June 5, 2000.

The popularity of the second film revived the popularity of "Eleanor." A number of car shops started to produce "Eleanor" tagged replicas (the car was now a 1967 Shelby GT500 "Eleanor"), and Denice again had to resort to legal action to protect the copyright. In 2008, Denice won a case against Carroll Shelby, who had been selling replicas as “continuation models” of his original Shelby cars. The only official licensed "Eleanor" maker was Classic Recreations LLC in Yukon, Oklahoma, USA.

As of October 2009, however, Classic Recreations has ceased manufacturing Eleanor Mustangs after entering into a licensing arrangement with Carroll Shelby to produce the GT500CR, a new continuation of his original Shelby cars. Because of this recent discontinuation, there is currently no known company that manufactures these cars. This has been a big upset to many Eleanor fans since.

The popularity of the car has seen a business in Melbourne, Australia start a wedding car service offering a clone of the famous "Eleanor" Mustang. Known as Eleanor Mustangs the business is currently the only one offering the Eleanor Mustang in Australia.

Legacy

Whilst the Mach 1 from the original was described as ugly, the GT500 from the remake was listed by Hot Rod magazine as one of 100 most influential vehicles in the history of hot rodding for its February 2009 issue, citing how it brought non-car people's attention into cars as well as the numerous replicas built, this example was ranked 19th.

Technical details

Measurements

Eleanor was powered by a 351 Cleveland engine, which was secretly modified by Halicki. Features included:

• Four-barrel carburetor
• Cruisomatic transmission
• H-D-7 in wheels
• Goodyear rally GT tires
• Double white wall tires
• 24-volt electrical system
• Fire extinguisher
• First-aid kit
• Electrical kill switches
• Individual locking rear brakes
• Fish plating of the undercarriage 3” x 3/8” steel
• Removable bullet plating

License plate numbers

California

• 869 FLA
• 613 HSO (which is supposed to be Eleanor's real plate number in the movie)
• 614 HSO
• 359 JRA
• 820 FUA
• LYN 274 (Eleanor's plate in the 2000 remake)

New York

• RMH 100
• DMC 2623

References

• Joel Shelby Autosports Savannah, Georgia www.joelshelby.com