Antique & Classic Cars Blog

(This story also ran as a Locals in Motion piece in the hardcopy Star Tribune Cars section. This Thunderbird with its American Graffiti connection is a worthy local classic.)

As soon as he turned 16, Randy Schneider wanted a Ford Thunderbird. A parent had to co-sign for the loan, however, and his father wouldn’t ink a note for $1300—the dealer’s price for the 1956 model Schneider so eagerly desired. Instead, dad agreed to a 1956 Ford Victoria at $500 less.

Years passed and other matters came to the fore, but Schneider held on to the dream of getting a first generation T-Bird. That dream got stoked in 1973 when Suzanne Somers glided across the silver screen in a white one in American Graffiti. Years later, the actor was on TV with Jay Leno, whose passion for automobiles is legendary. He couldn’t help asking her what became of the car.

A couple were accounted for and well known—studios always have more than one example of a feature car during filming—and one, Somers had heard, was in a Quonset hut in North Dakota. Because of his love for this car, Schneider pocketed that detail in his mind.

In the mid-’90s, Schneider was in North Dakota playing golf with some business associates. It started pouring rain and they cleared the course, looking for a cold beer and a place to relax and maybe dry off. By coincidence that quest brought them to Olie Skinningsrud’s farm. One of the men knew Olie, and he was a welcoming host. He led them into a Quonset hut on his farm and turned on the light.

Schneider couldn’t believe it. There, dry and preserved like it was just parked, was a white Thunderbird. “That’s the car from American Graffiti,” he exclaimed. Olie was surprised. He acknowledged that it was, or at least that’s what circumstances suggested. Schneider offered to buy it on the spot, but the farmer wouldn’t sell.

Four years later, Schneider was driving back from Wisconsin when he passed a group of classic Thunderbirds. He thought of Olie’s farm and the Quonset-hut movie car. He called Olie, but the farmer still wasn’t ready to part with the white T-Bird. A few months later, however, he called Schneider. “I’m ready to sell,” Olie said. “Are you ready to buy.”

Only since he was 16. Schneider didn’t bargain; he asked Olie what he wanted for it and they cut the deal. Schneider had never heard the car run. He had never seen the engine. But he tracked down a car trailer and went off with his wife Sharon to pick up his prize.

Today Randy and Sharon enjoy the car whenever weather permits. During the winter, Randy spends a lot of time trying to confirm that this is one of the cars used in American Graffiti. He’s learned that they had three white ones and a black one on the set. The black one was never used. Most of the shots show a ’56 T-Bird and Schneider’s car is a ’57. Yet depending on camera angle and how much of the car is shown, it’s easy to get away with either year. Schneider has studied the film carefully and noted several shots where it’s near impossible to tell.

Olie believes this is one of the Somers cars. The build sheet shows that it was originally sold by Holmes Tuttle Ford on Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles. Olie bought it from a man in Minot, ND, who had purchased it from Movieland Auctions, which was selling it as excess inventory for Universal Studios. Movie cars get repainted frequently to take on different looks and Schneider’s paint shop discovered 13 coats in various colors when they stripped it.

Schneider has chased every lead that’s come his way, but he hasn’t found that magical, absolute confirmation—or disqualification. Once, he got a number for someone in Universal’s vehicle records department and she was going to look for the Vehicle Identification Numbers of the cars used on the film. Yet when the call came, it wasn’t the VIN but news that the studio’s legal department didn’t want her to release the information. Stonewalled at confirmation’s doorstep.

He has called Holmes Tuttle, which still exists, but they moved years ago and the records indicating where Schneider’s car initially went are lost. He has spoken to various people on the film and they have useful tidbits and further leads. Someday he hopes to find proof that this is one of the cars used in an iconic American car film. In the meantime, he and Sharon have a beautiful car to drive, show and enjoy.

Even if movie proof never comes, the white Thunderbird fulfills a dream Schneider has had since he was first old enough to enter the driving world.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 30th, 2007 at 1:33 pm and is filed under Car parts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.