The Lost 'Mannix' Dodge Dart: Resurrecting a George Barris TV Icon

[00:05] It's a Dart and Mannix. I always say "Oh, it's a green convertible." if you There you go. There you go.

[00:23] >> Oh, second gear and traction. What has this got 323s probably? >> Yep. All right. All right. It goes okay.

[00:40] Garage, a very special car today, 1968 Dodge Dart GTS convertible. Now, this is Dodge Dart GTS convertible. Now, this is no ordinary Dodge Dart GTS. This was used in the TV show Mannix. It was customized by world-famous customizer

[00:55] more subtle customizations. You know, he did the Batmobile, all kind of Monster Car, all kinds of crazy stuff. But, this was meant for a detective to drive him in a Corvette or something. He's supposed to be a regular guy who was a

[01:10] detective. Hugely popular show. We'll talk about that in a minute, but it's got the 340. This is exactly as it left the TV show. It's been restored. It was abandoned. It's a great story. It belongs to Dave Kunz, a reporter ABC

[01:24] here in Los Angeles. He's the automotive reporter. Huge car guy. We've had him on before. One of my favorite Dave, come on in, my friend. Hey Jay, thanks for I always want You always wonder what happened to this show. Mannix was on

[01:37] during sort of the golden age of TV when you had Hawaii Five-O and they used helicopters for these big sweeping Everything's drones now. But, you know, the helicopter and they spent huge amounts of money, huge budgets on this

[01:49] show. And Mike Connors was the star of it. A fine Armenian guy with the That's my favorite [laughter] That's my thing about But boy, he was he was a thing about But boy, he was he was a really decent guy. Good actor, kind of a

[02:03] man's man kind of guy. But I remember he had the Piggy Fisher. It was the first show to feature an African-American female actress in a starring role. And go, "We don't want to watch a black person." And he said, "Well, then we

[02:17] don't do the show." I mean, he put his job on the line for one of his great. He came to see me a number of times at The Tonight Show. He was an older man, but he was still Mike Connors. He got the firm handshake and,

[02:29] you know, just just a great guy. I In fact, I got an autographed picture. I'll show it to you. Uh really terrific. And he he he was a >> Yeah, in fact, one of the connections for him to even get the show in the

[02:42] Paramount lot back in the '60s and he had a 1937 Bentley. And Gary Morton, who was Lucille Ball's husband, they were love that car." And they start chatting about cars. He goes, "Hey, we're doing a

[02:55] of Would you want to do something like that?" He goes, "Well, yeah, I'd be interested in that." And that's how him being cast as Joe Mannix came about. And his first car was hilarious. It was a Toronado [clears throat] like mine.

[03:08] There was no convertible, but Barris cut the roof off, painted it red. It looked like the the Batmobile. But when he would tail somebody, like, how could you >> in this car? It's the most It It was It was a two-seater. The backseat

[03:22] was taken out to make it look more sporty. Just this enormous car. So, I think that first generation of the show didn't work as well cuz he used computers and all this kind of stuff. Uh I remember he would go into a room as

[03:35] you'd see you know, reel-to-reels and tapes go on there. And then a file card would come out. The criminal is Bob Johnson. Let's didn't work. So, then they made him just a regular guy like kind of like a

[03:49] Rockford kind of just a a guy who middle-class guy who made a living uh doing detective work and and put him in a more sensible car and this was a great >> Well, they did retool the show after the first season. So, he had his it was his

[04:02] own agency. He had this really cool hacienda office. He had a secretary Peggy African-American actress Gail Fisher and they said let's have him have a cool car but maybe a little more subtle than that Toronado. This car was

[04:15] in the Chrysler studio fleet but it [snorts] was red. >> And so it was a fairly loaded up Dart GTS convertible with a well we wanted to driving around LA and everything else. Let's send it over to George Barris

[04:28] about racing green? Someone called it racing green. >> And oh and let him customize it a little bit too. So, it like you said a lot more >> this hood scoops are George. >> Yep. Yep. He did the hood scoops. He

[04:41] also removed the turn signals that were stock in the grill and replaced them >> Right. >> And then at the back he did a little >> Right. >> Took all the emblems off in fact now

[04:53] know they're Mopars they go is that a Coronet? What is that? If they >> But this was the car. There wasn't a duplicate in season 2 and part of season 3 this was the car. >> And the thing nobody had a phone in his

[05:07] >> And the thing nobody had a phone in his car a dial phone. >> Well, car phones were very exotic in the 1960s. I mean even by the late 80s a lot phone was really exotic. And if you think about the TV detectives that had a

[05:21] >> Yeah. >> Barnaby Jones >> I always like to like when phones I I was flying in the late 70s and early 80s a lot and I'd be on a plane and hear Grandma I'm on the plane. Yeah, I'm

[05:36] calling I'm calling from an airplane and they'd be screaming you know you're in the cabin just shut up will you please. But people thought it was so so exotic your credit card in. >> I had an uncle that had a car phone cuz

[05:50] business. And so, it was like a party line. You'd have to pick it up and then say, "Operator, this is mobile number" but you could listen in on everybody wasn't, you know, disclosing any important details over the phone.

[06:04] >> And it cost the coolest mag wheel of the period, the Cragar mags. These are these are nice. >> Well, there's an interesting story behind that. When Barris first did the car, it had a wheel called Raider. And

[06:16] lot of the customizers used those wheels, but they had a safety defect and the season. So, they replaced them with the Cragars. Now, people had a small television and there was no HD, so most people probably didn't notice. But these

[06:31] were from the second middle half of the second season onward with the Cragar SS. >> Okay, yeah. I like these kind of useless facts. It's just talking with your friends and the wires are like

[06:44] you remember the man? What year did Well, I think it was August 8th they >> My friend who owned this car, we would we would drive our spouses crazy. We'd you said, you know, like this as we were doing esoteric stuff about cars, you

[06:58] four-speed. >> Yeah, it's a TorqueFlite 727. I think what if someone doesn't know how to drive a stick or, you know, they want to do lots of takes. So, automatic 340, pretty healthy engine.

[07:12] >> Oh, yeah. No, that's a And it's a light car. It's It's probably 3,400 lb, 3,200 >> Yeah, what what's amazing to me is I have a couple of '60s Mustangs and it's a pretty long car considering it was the compact of the Dodge line. It's fairly

[07:28] long. So, when I'm like getting it in my garage, I got to check and, you know, car, too, cuz of the wheelbase is good. So, it's got a nice ride. You know, I one of these in 1968 even if you weren't a detective.

[07:41] compact. I mean, it looks like a full-size car now, but Uh very [snorts] nice. Had the famous 340, right? >> So the GTS came standard with a 340. You

[07:55] studio use, they thought, "Yeah, we don't need the big engine. A 340 is good enough." There was a GT, which I think had a 273, but the 340 was the big deal >> Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've got the 383. It's It's a little nose heavy.

[08:11] >> I don't come If the exit ramp says 35, you're going 36. it's quick in a straight line. >> Well, if you watch the show Mannix, you

[08:23] see a lot of fun little things that come up. For example, when Barris painted the car, he didn't think to paint under the hood cuz, you know, Dodge and Plymouth same color as the car. Well, wouldn't you know, there's an episode where a guy

[08:35] >> Right. >> opens the hood. You don't see who it is. red under the hood." And there's still some places where the paint is chipped repainted and restored, they went ahead

[08:47] been corrected. >> [laughter] >> Uh I have not. I've heard about it. Heard it's really good. >> Okay, then I should watch the show. >> Okay. But they drive a mid-60s Lincoln

[09:02] >> The suicide doors. >> Which has no trunk. Roof goes up this way, trunk goes in. But in the final episode, the bad guy switched to another car and they put the key in and you see the trunk open. And

[09:15] wife's going, "What are you doing?" I'm like, "That That is wrong. That That's trunk in a you know, yeah." >> I did that with the Rockford Files. You buddy are going to this golf resort for the weekend. And you see them open the

[09:28] golf bags out of the trunk. It's like, "Wait a minute. That's a probably fit one golf bag in the trunk, let alone two and all your other luggage. It's fun to make fun of stuff like that, but suspend disbelief, right?

[09:41] one the other night where guys driving a '62 Nova. It's a period piece, and he beep beep, the doors [laughter] locked. You know, you know, I thought, >> Or the infamous use of the the distinctive sound of a Chrysler starter

[09:55] dubbed over every car. I even saw it used over a Volkswagen Beetle one time. >> But in Mannix, they kept having him start this car, and it sounded like a >> And it I always made me laugh cuz he would always uh screech the wheels on

[10:10] yeah yeah yeah. WELL, HOW WHAT KIND OF DIRT IS THAT? >> BUT enough about that. Let's get back to the car. He had the wood grain, the like wood grain. >> I don't know how that got in this car

[10:24] and it had a standard wheel. This made its way onto the car at some point over guy in Virginia who owned it and knew a lot about the car. I think I I think I stopped returning my emails, a guy named Bill. But I think it's a cool wheel, but

[10:38] if you want it to be authentic to Mannix, but yeah, that's that's what's >> Now, the story I heard, you can correct me here. It was abandoned or it was just somebody found it, and checked the VIN, and it turned out to be the car from the

[10:52] cars, you know, they're done with them, they've beat them up, and this thing it. And so, it was sold off to another studio employee, and you know, she was And it was used as a daily driver, and then it might have changed hands one

[11:05] more time. A guy in the early '80s is hiking up in a state park somewhere in the middle of California, and he sees this really dilapidated Dart is the green paint's coming off, and it's red. He notices the grill, the

[11:19] notices the spoiler, and he thought, "I think that's the car from Mannix." hey, anyone who owns that car? Oh, yeah, it's Bob, you know. And he finally gets a hold of Bob. "I'm going to restore it someday uh for my daughter." and so this

[11:33] guy was able to work a deal and trade him for another car. He drags it home, just kind of got it running but I it was authenticated as the car that was used >> And they really didn't have a bunch of duplicates. They just had the car, did

[11:47] >> No, they had one car. Now in 1969, they went ahead and continued it and they had a '69 Dart GTS. You can tell the difference because the marker lights are little bit and they had Barris duplicate the customization for that one. So they

[12:02] overlapped a little bit in season 3 but yeah, this was like the car. They >> Now is it disc brakes in the front? >> Well, it does now. It originally had drums. I have a brochure of 1968. You couldn't even get disc brakes on a Dart.

[12:16] Even the GTS, even a 383. So they were they were upgraded to disc along the >> Yeah, that's a good idea. That's a good idea. I've done that to mine. I I put Wilwood brakes I put them on my '58 Chrysler cuz that thing was

[12:30] you know, just trying to stop, you know, really makes a difference. Couple of scenes where you'd see Mannix, he's like tailing someone and he goes, "I I I better hide." So he he'd pull over and he'd put the top up, you know,

[12:43] car." And I think Mike Connors, you know, they and he'd be wearing a tweed jacket. Couple of scenes, he'd have the top up roasting to death in the open sun but most of the time you saw the car with

[12:57] >> Well, it still looks great. It's a wonderful restoration and for George Barris, very tastefully done. I mean, I love George. He's a real character but everything was so over the top. Munster mobile and just all the the Monkeys car

[13:10] and all that kind of stuff. So this is just this is perfect cuz it you think this was stock. I remember there was some sort of hood scoop on these GTSs. A that was supposed to look like air intakes but they were phony. So Barris

[13:25] opened up the front of these for, you know, cooling air. I don't know how much >> Interestingly, you know, when when they did the car, part of the theme was, you know, Mannix, you know, he's mentioned he was a man's man, uh Mike Connors and

[13:38] Joe Mannix. >> Um he was a race driver as a hobby. You going to enter that big race this week." And he'd be in an open wheel race car. the Yeah, yeah. >> And so I think they said, "Well, he's a

[13:50] he's a racer, so let's give it a racy race car kind of look." So that's why >> Right, right, right. Yeah. Yeah, those are all the same. And they race in short >> Well, the with a kerchief around the neck, you know.

[14:02] motor. This was sort of their 289 Ford motor. This is just the compact motor for Chrysler. Um I haven't had to do a whole lot to it. When I first got the car, it had sat

[14:16] for about a year and a half. Uh that's not a stock Hey, if you go on the For everything that's not correct about the car. So I don't think that's stock. It did come with power brakes originally, I believe. It's a stock engine.

[14:28] to it. Now, it sat for about a year and a half. So I've had to get it dialed in bit. And it had a sticky lifter, which kind of comes and goes. But every time I tune-up and that frees it up a >> master originally?

[14:42] >> Yeah, '68, I think that started in '67. So dual master originally. Power steering, so it did have that. No air conditioning. Now Now my friend who he lived in a pretty warm part of Southern California. So he had a

[14:55] >> a bigger radiator put in. And he had a beautiful automatic transmission fluid everything else. And he had an electric fuel pump put in to solve a vapor lock issue. Other than that, it's it's stock '68 340.

[15:08] as turn signals? >> No, but they work as There's a scene in on to signal, you know, he's like doing a rendezvous and you see him flip the >> That was funny. >> Well, then they took them signals out

[15:22] signals. So, I guess when they sold it, they had to put some signals. So, they relocated some later year signals in. customization. >> No, it looks good. Looks good. Here we

[15:35] >> No, it looks good. Looks good. Here we go. Oh, it's rough again. found, you know, when they build cars for a TV show or a movie, quality. So, because these were bondo and the spoiler was bondo and it was all

[15:50] coming apart. So, they found a guy who actually worked for Barris to do the body work and paint. And he redid these in metal. He redid the spoiler in metal. lent your cars out to movies." I go, "No."

[16:02] had a Citroën Maserati one. the SM, right? >> right there. So, it was beautiful. And said And they said, "We'll pay for anything." And they

[16:15] I had a lawyer draw it up. Anything at all. Cars get scratched, it will be >> Okay. >> Gives it to the movie crew. First thing the director does, take a sawzall, cuts out the dash to fit a

[16:27] >> And my buddy shows up, "What are you Don't worry about it." "Well, you You can't fix that. >> We'll just go to the Citroën dealer and get a new dashboard, right?

[16:39] the movie I mean, that's what they And they paid for everything. They gave them >> They said, "Well, we said we paid for it. What's the problem?" >> That's the problem. That's why studio cars, you know, tended to lead a hard

[16:52] cheap when they were So, whoever bought this car after it was done with Mannix, money for it because it was probably You know, Mike Connors when he was interviewed for a reunion with this car, he was

[17:05] "Man," he goes, "we really beat the heck out of those cars." He goes, "They they led a hard life." >> Yeah, that's funny. That's funny. Did he think what he did after Mannix. >> So, I looked it up. He He really didn't

[17:17] Interestingly, do you remember the show Diagnosis: Murder? Oh, yeah. Dick Van Dyke. He showed up on that show for a few episodes as Mannix. >> Like, obviously older, like a friend of the Dick Van Dyke character. So, he did

[17:30] enjoyed his retirement. He probably made enough money and >> Yeah, that those were the days when you made big money in TV. whole eight years on >> and it was expensive to do,

[17:42] and it was that was when Technicolor they were trying to pull people out of movie theaters and back into TVs again. With mid-60s big giant color TV sets, you know, with the with the three primaries, the blues and you could

[17:56] >> And remember the shows would say, you know, Mannix in color and living color. >> In living color. >> Not dead color. In living color. The you know what? He was a really humble guy. He had the same wife, you know, his

[18:09] his whole life. He lived in the same house in Encino. And I think he enjoyed time for the show to go away, he just sort of went out to the golf >> Yeah, no, he's a very nice man. He brought me a model of the Tornado and he

[18:22] it was it was great fun cuz >> Well, if you notice, he signed this car, that's his stunt double, a guy named Dick Ziker. >> Um Van had him sign that. So, he signed it here. He also signed it there.

[18:35] There's George Barris's signature. When my buddy bought this car in 2009, Mike around. So, he was able to take it to both of them and show it to them and take pictures. So, yeah, it's uh >> That's like Shelby. The rare cars are

[18:47] >> That's right. The one that has the the signature on the dash delete, right? That's the rare one. >> Well, cool. Can we take it for a ride? >> I want to see how much faster it is or than a my 383.

[18:59] than your 383. >> Probably not, but let's give it a shot. But at least it'll be out in the open air.

[19:12] Oh, I hear the fuel pump. Very exotic. >> [laughter] >> believe the parking brake's on. You should be good to go. There we go. Yeah. difference. >> Does your 383 have power steering?

[19:28] >> Does your 383 have power steering? >> Uh no.

[19:52] >> It it it's weirdly programmed. If you wanted to get it into first, you got to starting from a dead stop. That's second.

[20:04] shift kit. >> You know, I've got a '66 Coronet Hemi with this transmission. And I couldn't get it to shift. I would Hemi. >> Okay.

[20:17] "What's the problem?" I said, "Well, I get it up and it gets to like 4,600 and I I take my foot off the gas and then it's Oh, just keep your it. I'm at 60 61 62 6,600 AND THEN

[20:33] THEN IT I WENT OH, THE thing is shifting at close to 7,000. >> Is it stock that way? >> It was stock that way. The '66 that was little more refined. >> Right, right.

[20:46] >> But drum brakes, no power steering, no power brakes. Just a death car. at the National Auto Museum that Bill Harrah 426 Hemi with air conditioning. It's the only one ever built.

[20:58] >> Yeah, cuz he had enough pull at Chrysler they built him a an air conditioned they built him a an air conditioned Hemi. Yeah. >> There you go. >> This is built in Pennsylvania.

[21:13] >> It's a railroad watch. It's built by RGM. It's pretty cool. pocket watch? Wasn't that the old way? >> but then they went to a wrist watch later, but it's got the the pocket watch face in the wrist watch with with see

[21:27] each number. >> right. You know Jonathan Ward, right? >> He's he's a real watch guy. So, what he did is sort of doing his customs, he would always make sure to have gauges that look like watches, you know.

[21:40] I like watches. So nice to buy something. I don't have it. >> It's practical. week. >> I'll never forget when I was kind of

[21:53] self-winding watches and they built this holder for your watches that would do you went to go wear it that it was accurate. You don't have to reset it. >> I remember when my dad used to travel

[22:06] for work back in the '70s and he was a Western Region Manager for US Borax and part of his territory was Hawaii and he bought a Seiko watch in Hawaii cuz for some reason you could get them cheaper there and it had an alarm.

[22:19] thing. You know, it was a little little analog >> We are at the Borax mine up there in Central California.

[22:31] >> to go up there every year for Death Valley Days in town of Boron. Yep. >> That was the the household division so that was Boraxo hand soap, Borateem >> And they had the world's biggest truck there. The truck was so big you they had

[22:45] >> the tires were like the biggest tires Goodyear ever made or something like that. Yep.

[23:01] very nice to drive. >> It's a really pleasant car. I mean, even if it wasn't the Manix connection, it's a cool little cruiser, you know? >> You know, that Chrysler slant six was one of the best motors of all time.

[23:13] Just bulletproof. Last forever, go 200,000 mi, do a ring job, and you're >> My My driver's training car in high slant six. >> Yeah, that's funny. Yeah.

[23:26] during our driving lessons. >> Yeah, but no, they were great. Yeah. schools back then. They would donate all the driver's ed cars, and then they had a discount program for teachers. So, you'd notice, if you look at a picture

[23:41] or '70s, half the cars were some kind of Chryslers cuz they gave the teachers a >> Bernard, our shop manager, uh he was in the high school that had the uh There was a competition

[23:54] where they get automotive students, and they disable a car some way. >> All of it and who's the first one to get it running, to analyze it. >> And then you went into the Chrysler program training program, and you

[24:07] years that I covered with the auto club, and they'd get auto shop students, and they'd bug a bunch of cars, and they had to, you know, fix everything that was wrong with them, you know? Burned out tail light, engine won't start.

[24:25] down. >> It won't go into first unless you're at think it's whatever shift kit is in there. >> I'm in second now. >> Yeah, so if you if you

[24:37] It It hangs up in second for a long time. Unfortunately, my friend who passed away, I can't ask him, you know, what of just research. >> Well, track's nice and true.

[24:50] >> Yeah, he had the torsion bars redone, he had the springs done. He measured every corner to make sure it had the exact right rake and ride height. convertibles cuz modern convertibles you

[25:02] get the high sill and sometimes they have a built-in roll bar and you feel cart. >> Well, the current Corvette convertible, You put the top down and it's like, "Well, it's barely a convertible." I

[25:14] not >> No, I've got that big 2 + 2 Pontiac. >> Yeah, it's like a toboggan. You're just [laughter] you're just out in you're out going down the hill on this giant thing. [laughter]

[25:28] >> Well, Chrysler had an arrangement with Paramount Studios. So, if you look at a and '70s, there was a lot of Chrysler vehicles. That's how this came about. had Fords. >> Yep.

[25:41] Chevy. >> Right. Well, that was the Quinn Martin thing. They all drove Fords. You know, Cannon, Francisco. >> But they'd always it's a black sedan.

[25:54] was. >> Yeah, it's funny in the >> Yeah, it's funny in the You've got to catch first gear if you

[26:08] >> Little second gear traction. >> What is this? Got 323s probably? >> Yep. Oh, it They never called this car a Dart and Maddox. They'd always say, "Oh, it's a

[26:22] very even though it's the sort of car he was provided by Chrysler. They just >> That might also be cause of international distribution cuz the Dart >> Ah, okay. >> It was a Daimler Dart.

[26:35] >> Well, after after two seasons with a Dart, Maddox moved to an E-body Barracuda convertible. And then in '72, there was no more same convertible and they just put the '72 headlights and grill on it. So, they

[26:49] '72 headlights and grill on it. So, they created a car that wasn't there. The first week I had it, I took it to a car show in Topanga. Took it up Topanga

[27:02] amazed at how well it handled. >> Yeah. They only made like less than 250 68 GTS convertibles. >> With a 440 or the 340 rather. Yeah. Yeah.

[27:19] >> They also put a 440 in this. >> Wasn't that only at like a Copo program >> well yeah, but you could do it. >> Right.

[27:33] >> Yeah, I got to say, you know, the comfort, the ride quality is pretty comfort, the ride quality is pretty good. >> Well, you know, there's that. >> safety cars.

[27:47] car you know, the the bad guy tampers with the brakes and or something going down and he he's trying the shift e-brake doesn't work. What is he going to And he they really gave that car a

[28:01] thrashing and it was Connors behind the wheel. You could tell it wasn't a stunt wheel. You could tell it wasn't a stunt double. Yeah, we've had some bad weather lately, but this is great. See, that's why

[28:16] Mannix, he's in California, it's always sunny, he drives a convertible. Mannix, you know, Chrysler had all the cars. So, the detective would have like a Belvedere with dog dish hubcaps. And then Peggy, the secretary, drove a

[28:32] import. >> Yeah, that was a Yeah, that was a That >> But then then they when they switched to Chevrolet in the last season, Mannix had a Camaro and Peggy drove a Vega.

[28:53] it, you know. >> Yeah. >> Yeah, it's a little cold-blooded. >> Cuz TorqueFlite, this is the first transmission it could shift faster than a guy.

[29:07] >> Well, because when the Hemi came out, the Hemi automatic was faster in the And people that said >> Impossible. How could it >> Well, as I always say, you know, the thing I find about fascinating about

[29:21] this era it is the halfway point in the development of >> true. Yeah. >> If you think in 1910 is about when cars >> This is the half This is halfway to where we are now.

[29:34] >> Well, my my taste in cars starts at about the late 1950s cuz I'd want to be able to drive them anywhere, you know, across the country or whatever. And I but you know, they just seem like a lot of

[29:46] >> Why did you guys call me? They said, "Oh, we're driving an antique car across the United States from New Jersey and to Florida." And they were ending said, "What kind of antique car you driving?" They said, "'68 Cadillac." I

[30:01] HAVE HAD ONE." >> [laughter] wouldn't make it, you know. >> This car was in Encinitas, and the we're going to ship it up on a flatbed." I go, "I was just going to hop on the

[30:15] "What, it's like a 100 miles? You're going to drive it?" They go, "Well, of course. Why wouldn't I, you know? I I've got Hagerty. If I break down, I'll I'll you know." "Oh, no, no, we don't want anything to go wrong. We'll we'll ship

[30:27] it to you." "Okay." "We have this car The first car we insured a '25 Cadillac, but it doesn't run anymore. Would you like it?" I said, "Yeah,

[30:42] what's the matter with it?" Oh, the starter generator was broken. That's And they I just signed a liability form. And they I just signed a liability form. They were so free.

[30:56] >> It's probably a perfect motor for this cuz the 383 is a little heavier and the >> Well, I think they they wanted handling, too, you know. Well, these cars are pretty light. The thing that keeps them light is the

[31:11] complete absence of any safety equipment of any kind. Well, no door guard beam in >> Yeah, you got a padded dashboard, though. I mean, your head will bounce >> Like I said, you hit your head on the dash, they hose it

[31:24] off and sell it to somebody else. >> But in '67, the Mustang, you know, they had that sporty steering wheel. They got a big toilet They called it a toilet off it when you you know, got in the crash.

[31:46] >> Yeah, I think they called the 340 the giant killer cuz it sort of had big package. >> You know, if I didn't know about it, I would think this is a 383. >> Well, you know, when Mannix was driving

[31:58] around in his Dart, you'd wait for the car phone to ring and it would be and they'd dub it in later. Mannix. Oh, hi Peggy. Oh, great. Thank you. We're on the way. And he'd go blasting off.

[32:11] phone then. >> No, he had a cigarette in one hand and >> No, he had a cigarette in one hand and the phone in the other, you know. ended, Mike Connors did commercials for Clorets gum. Right. And it'd be a it'd

[32:26] set, he'd be kissing some actress, say, "I'm Mike Connors and when I do a scene keep my breath fresh." >> Yeah, yeah. The most blatant bad ad I ever saw, I think it was Gus Grissom, the astronaut.

[32:41] >> When I'm on the moon, I'm also cleaning my pool. And they showed the moon, and they showed his pool with with these skimmer things on. >> Yeah, the automatic thing. >> Yeah, yeah.

[32:58] >> No oil light comes on. It's great. Yeah, when Van bought this car, he lived in an area called Wildomar. It's just pretty warm climate in the summer. So, stay cool. So, he had the big radiator put in. I still have the stock one. He

[33:12] had that transmission cooler put in. He had the electric fuel pump put in just when it's >> problem with with mice. >> Yeah. >> Because I I'd be driving at 100° day,

[33:26] >> Vapor lock. >> And I open the hood, and the wave of It's oh my god. >> Yeah. We went to the Holiday Motor Excursion. Yeah, I went there with my wife, and we

[33:40] drove there with the top up, you know. We got about a block away. I got to put the top down. I got to arrive with the top down. So, I crank the heater up, roll in >> that motor excursion.

[33:52] >> You know, a low pressure, just show up with anything.

[34:12] A perfect day, huh? >> Oh, great convertible weather. >> My mother used to work around the corner from Dick Landy,

[34:25] and I'd walk down to her to get a ride home after school. And if I was lucky, they were dynamiting an engine. You could hear it from three blocks away. But I was friends with Valerie Bertinelli's brother, David.

[34:37] >> And the reason that dad was a plant manager at the GM Van Nuys plant. >> So, if it hadn't been for that, Valerie Bertinelli might not have become

[34:58] shows and old cars and you're the perfect guy. glad that Van decided I should have this car and I think of it as his car. I'm >> Well, thanks for saving a piece of history, Dave. Thank you so much.

[35:12] Okay and check out his Instagram. He's got a lot of cool car stuff. got a lot of cool car stuff. See you guys next week.