OK, here's a post full of rambling

I bought the F100 driven by Samuel L Jackson in the movie "Black Snake Moan". Yes, it's really, truly, and certainly that truck. I say this because I've found two others listed over the past year for sale claiming to be this truck and they clearly aren't and the people selling them have obviously not seen the movie. And yes, I got it on ebay, and yes I probably paid too much, an dyes it probably cost too much to get it here from W VA to MN.

Every now and then I poke around the interwebs seeking out 1968 Ford vehicles. I had a '68 Torino GT convertible when I graduated high school in '76, and my family had a '68 Country Sedan wagon we drove on vacations for 10 years or so. So, I go poking around.

I stumbled on this F100 "Celebrity driven" on ebay. Didn't much care about the truck specifically, just looking for something interesting, and it was rather easy to verify it really was the truck just looking at stills from the movie on line and watching the various trailers. So, on a total whim I bought the thing, and had it shipped from West Virginia to northern Minnesota!

So if anyone else claims to have it, they're wrong

I have no beef with the truck itself, or the seller, or the transaction. Got exactly what I expected, but there are a lot of quirks, etc.

First of all, the VIN says it was built December '67. But it appears to have a '69 grille. But then, I could find plenty of Ford catalog and promo photos that also show '68 trucks with what look like '69 grilles, so who knows. I'm no expert.

The VIN also says it should have a 360 in it, but it has a 302 (the seller did state it was a 302). So, my questions would be why, and was this motor in it in the movie? I don't think so. The steering column/wheel has also been changed, and it's NOT the one that was in it when they shot the movie 10 years ago. The power steering mechanicals, hoses, etc all appear new.
Is there a logical reason why someone would put in a smaller motor?

The instrument cluster is a complete mess. There are random switches installed that I still can't figure out what they are for. There's a push button mounted to the right of the speedo that I suspect was for the horn, since there's no horn ring etc on the wheel. But it does nothing. I've got to take some time and take a closer look at wiring.

The neutral safety switch is hanging by wires under the dash. I assume it wouldn't fit on the different steering column. I've got it bypassed for now. The very polite man from the Ukraine who delivered it told me about the "secret switch" you had to side to just the right position to start it.

There's a floor mounted shifter for the auto trans. Simply a shift lever mounted between two metal brackets. No console, no indicator, nothing, just a raw lever. I still need to verify that this was in the truck in the movie. Haven't found a scene that includes it. But I doubt it, I'm sure it was part of the engine swap.

It has brown velour power seats (that don't work). I assume they were added. I can't imagine the truck came with them LOL. The VIN does NOT have a color code on it (it's blank in that spot) but it appears the truck was blue then covered over with red oxide primer.

The blinkers don't work, but the tail lights and headlights are fine. There's an aftermarket AM/FM cassette in the dash, mounted to a flat piece of sheet metal screwed into the radio opening -- upside down! The ash tray has a piece of metal bracket strap screwed on it for a handle.

Anyway, just thought I'd jump in here. My lasts posts were about our '59 F100 probably a year or so ago.

My plan for this truck is to leave it as much as possible the way it was in the movie. So no fixing up, no restoring, but I will do what mechanically is necessary to make it safe on the road. But the weird seats, etc all stay in. All the maps, Bible, other papers etc that were on the dash in the movie were all still in the truck, as well as some paperwork from the movie production company.

Up here in my little town of 600 people, having a "Hollywood truck" is a pretty big deal. LOL.

I'm also surprised at the number of people I've talked to who actually saw the movie (I had never heard of it). Everyone is like "Yeah, that's the one where he has her chained to the radiator" (of his house not the truck).

I did whip up a quick sloppy little webpage showing the truck in the movie, and the truck now, showing clearly it's the same truck! it's at:

bsmtruck

Just thought this was an interesting, quirky truck to have. I told my Wife if I can find two more cheap vehicles from movies I'd have enough to open my museum "Tim's Museum of Crappy Hollywood Cars" Believe me, in this tiny town that would be a big deal!

Tim in Bovey

 

That's a pretty cool find. I would have to agree that it is the same truck. The duct tape even has the same fold in it. The only thing that does look different is the mirrors. The movie truck mirrors look thicker and the center of the back doesn't match.

 

I don't have a better screen grab of the truck showing the mirrors (yet) but I can promise you they are exactly the same, right down to the "Union and Proud" sticker on the back of the drivers mirror. Different angles in the photos make them look a bit different, but they are the same for sure.

Tim in Bovey

 

Nice find! I doubt anyone went out of their way to swap in a smaller engine, it's probably what they had around when the other one wore out. I have a friend out in Ventura, CA who has the blue Volkswagen from 'Any Wednesday' (think that's the movie title). It's in very good shape but doubt he's looking to sell it.

 

I just went to check it out to see if it was listed on IMCDB, and I see that it not only is, but you've already been there!

 

Cool! Much of the movie was filmed in Memphis.