Hooper 1978 - Rocket powered 1978 Pontiac Transam jumps bridge

The stunt driving that climaxes with a spectacular jump in the rocket powered Pontiac Transam.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• hooper
• transam
• pontiac
• jan
• michael
• vincent
• burt
• reynolds
• rocket
• stunt
• car
• auromobile

[wendycs3]

Smoke Stacks !!

[Sceneyour]

I want to see the real landing.

[yastunt]

@FantaZ4U Thank you soooo much for your insider information - the best youtube source on Hooper ever!

[EatShiteAholes]

WTF is going on in this town?? lol.  Saw this movie like 5 times in the theater!

[FantaZ4U]

While we unloaded the Jump car, They all wanted to do it manned but were fighting with the insurance company. There was also talk about adding small wings to it so that it would fly level to satisfy the insurance company, But I never saw that done. Seems like they (the insurance company) didn't think that was of any help and had made up their mind when I left the set to go to work across the street. That jump car was absolutely heavy duty !! The crew was great, some of the actors not so great.

[FantaZ4U]

@FantaZ4U The tires were huge and rugged on the jump car. I think they were 12 lug patterns about the size of commercial truck tires. All 3 of the real TA's were trashed doing all the stunts.

[FantaZ4U]

@yastunt If Bill was the guy that built it, he did a great job! it was impressive. Built as solid as a Sherman tank under a dragster body. Most of the cars you see on the set came from a car lot. Some were actual crew vehicles. They bought the whole lot. The traffic you see in the background when the Boiler building and smokestack was blown was real traffic going down McFarland blvd. crowd control was one hell of a job but the Tuscaloosa PD did a great Job.

[FantaZ4U]

I understood they launched it by remote control and then did a short jump in a real TA to splice and make the landing scene. This was something I heard them talking about as we pushed the special car off the trailer and parked it. Later that day we had fun watching them bet on how many times they could flip a VW in the air with a certain charge, and if it would land on the roof or wheels. (ended up on the roof) I knew that campus like my back yard and was all over it. Friends were extras.

[FantaZ4U]

I was there, it was a real car ... Kinda. it was not a model although they may have used some model shots. I helped unload a huge "Car" there and there was lotsa talk about remote controlling it because of insurance. it was very oversized using a Funny car body that lifted up and the frame was extremely strong. tires were oversized. None of the real TA's had rocket motors, only a fairing that looked like one. I had to work at the restaurant across the street the day of the hwy. 78 jump.....

[yastunt]

@FantaZ4U You were on the set?!! Lucky you!! I've been trying to get reliable information on this for ages. Can you please confirm what 'stunts magazine' told me - that it was an unmanned vehicle - that insurance companies didnt allow stunt drivers to be in the car. I remember reading somewhere that Bill Fredericks built and designed this rocket car. (But of course, even if this particular vehicle was unmanned this is to take Nothing away from the numerous Real stunts that were done in Hooper.)