Contributed by Chip Winans, Brooksville
A 16-year-old young man from Kentucky, and his uncle, built this 1932 American Graffiti John Milner 5-Window Replica Coupe. He drove it hard, back and forth to high school, and raced it at the drag strip until it quit. It sat in the garage for over four years. In 2020, Gordon and a friend did a complete restoration. They
rebuilt the car with safety and movie correctness in mind.
Ever since Chip saw the movie in 1976, it was his ultimate dream car. Since the age of 15 (about 50 years now) he’s owned over 65 muscle cars and hot rods. But this hot rod is his absolute favorite. It is equipped with a fairly radical small block Chevy 350, dual quads, aluminum Edelbrook intake, Muncie 4-speed, a Ford 9” with 373 gears, and a straight front axle.
The rod is 85% movie correct including the piston gear shift knob, the Eisenhower campaign garter belt hanging from the rearview mirror, the tickets from Holstein in the door pouch and the signed horn button from Paul LeMatt, who played John Milner in the movie. Chip gets a thrill every time he drives it, which is at least once or twice a week. It’s won a lot of trophies and receives a ton of attention.
