Breaker, Breaker: Smokey and the Bandit Automobilia
If you were a male growing up in the 1970s, like me you were no doubt a fan of the Smokey and the Bandit movies (or at least the first one). The good old boy flick starring Burt Reynolds arrived in theaters in May 1977 – the same time the first Star Wars movie was released. Talk about competition! If you were going to get a souvenir from the movie, the black ’77 Pontiac Trans Am is the thing to have. In the absence of that, how about a CB radio and scanner autographed by ole Burt himself (or so we’re told)? It’s available here on Julien’s Auctions and the current bid is $1,000.
For most of the time Burt was using the CB in his hot car, he was talking to his buddy Cletus (Jerry Reed) or Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason). We’re not told that this is the actual prop in the car, but it could have been one used on the set and the signature is said to be from Bandit himself. But these were communicators made by Pace that you could buy at Radio Shack or other retailers. And we don’t know if this pair still works.
What the seller tells us is that these devices are the same make and model as used in the movie. Maybe they came from the set or were gifted to Burt after the fact. So, you shouldn’t assume that the radio and scanner came out of the Trans Am after filming was completed. And remember there were two sequels (one in 1980/fair movie and the other in 1983/awful movie). Would you be willing to spend up to $2,000 to add these to your Smokey collection? BTW, thanks for the tip, Aussie Dave!
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Comments
The 23 channel Pace CB-166 and the Pace 10-4U are indeed the CB & scanner used in the Trans Am in the movie. Snowmans truck as well as the “choke n puke” scenes also used Pace radios. I believe Pathcom (who owned Pace) may have provided sponsorship for the movie. And yes, people replicating a 1977 Trans Am from the movie, often will pay stupid money for an otherwise mediocre CB radio.
Highly unlikely it was from a bandit car in the movie, one would think the future owner wouldn’t have allowed that to be excluded.
Heard some cool stories from back in the 80s from a buddy who drove rig from Canada into California, and he got hooked into a few speedy convoys. Said it was a real blast. And a sight to see, all those shiny big rigs moving along.
I knew an owner operator who was running U.S. Route 40
West at night. …He said he was going 105 mph when over the C.B. came a voice asking him to move over. …He looked in his rear-view mirror to see another tractor trailer coming up the left lane. … He asked the other owner operator how fast he was going …….126 mph. ….I can not imagine a tractor trailer going that fast. Wow !
I was in one briefly going through Louisiana on I-10 at around midnight one night in ’99 when I was heading to CO from a trip to FL. I was in a Saab 900 convertible cruising at around 80 with the top down in the warm summer night air and they started passing me like I was standing still. After the last one of maybe ten or so passed I decided to see what they were doing and stepped on it, and they were at 100 plus. That’s when I found out Saab convertibles get very unstable at over 100 with the top down.. it started to feel like it was about to take off, so I backed off and they disappeared into the night.
Many moons ago, I was running a R model Mack day cab pulling a 28ft. dump trailer on I-80 east of Omaha somewhere, struggling along at 55mph, when in my mirror, truck in the left lane coming up fast. I hear on the CB radio, “don’t move” and this freakin’ Monfort truck passed me, had to be doing 100.
Breaker, breaker, how about it, anyone copy this weak mogebile? Normally I don’t care for deviations from the norm, but by golly, Russ, you hit a major nerve with this one. I could prattle on for hours, and it would have been right around this time of day too. The CB radio literally saved our lives. You’d see someone weaving or slowing down, you knew they were tired, but couldn’t stop, start “ratchet jawing”, and pert you right up. It got you past dawn, the worst time. Oh, we covered every topic, solved them all, then, a hearty thanks to whoever you ran with, and parted ways. They were doing the same thing you were. It was a camaraderie I felt proud to be a part of.
Then the movies came out. Overnight, everyone had to have a CB radio. There were literally dozens and dozens, Radio Shack was a good one, I used a JC Penny for years( whispering, they all had the same guts!) Cobra, Midland, Royce, and all the knockoffs, it was tough to get a word in edgewise. We’d always “take it to the secret channel”, 21 on an old 23, or 33 on a 40. We knew where every cop was, road conditions, even got several jobs from talking with other drivers. Then there was the downside. “CB Rambos”, we called them. Big talkers behind the mike and the less than mentionable, selling the oldest activity known to man, praying on lonely drivers. I was a company driver, never a need for truckstops except for a thermos of coffee( free) and a bag of jellybeans. Never had a scanner, that was more for police bands, and the big boys all ran “turbochargers”, or linear amps. They would “bleed over” for miles. It really was an important part of my job, in fact, a CB radio was almost more important than good tires. The real pros( me) had a setup with a vice grip antenna and a “power port” plug, you simply had to “have ears on”.
Then,,,the cell phone,,,again, as fast as it came up, the CB faded away, and yard sales will have boxes of CBs. External speaker was a must, because the trucks were so loud, and it was the after market microphone that really made it work. Didn’t hear a lot of ladies, although we knew they were listening “on the side”.
Today, one could I suppose compare the computer and internet to the CB, a stark similarity when big talkers “hide behind the screen”. But the CB was for a more simple, civilized time, and just the fact you were talking to someone, usually meant they were cool. I sorely miss those days, but feel gratification in knowing, by golly, you can’t have that kind of fun at a job today, TEN DASH FOUR,,,yer turn.
Oh, one more important thing, don’t EVER say “good buddy”. That term immediately showed you were new to the game, and generally referred to men that enjoy the company of other men,,( ahem).
like ARNOLD PALMER?
Id be interested in this. I live so close to I-85 and I-285 would be fun to do a roof antennae and listen to the truckers haha
I only have one comment: surely you jest! An old CB radio for 4 figures?
I have a 70s cb. Radio in the basement that’s a Cobra with upper and lower side band 40+ channels I’ll sell for that bid
I’m thinking about putting another one in my upcoming FJ40 (or FJCruiser.. I haven’t decided yet). I had a Cobra in my ’80 4×4 Toyota pickup and mounted dual 1/4 wave antennas on the front ot the cap and would chat with truckers on the east coast when I was out at night.. it was a total blast. A lot of the older guys still use them for traffic safety and just talking back and forth. There’s just something so cool about picking up a mike and saying “Break one nine.. anybody got their ears on?”.
Back in 75-76 I had a job in sales for a steel company. My territory was NJ, PA, MD & DE, and spent 5 days a week covering those states in my Nova company car. That CB saved my butt plenty of times, from speed traps and traffic jams. It also helped pass the time and I got to talk with some fascinating people.
This is the Steel Man signing off.
& ‘iceman’ here.
They R/were a lill complicated for some (antenna tune, use of buttons, etc). I say ‘are’ cuz they’re still in use. Those along w/a newer one GMRs or micro mobile are 1 of bout 7 pieces of equip required by off-rd clubs to join on trail rides in many places.
If this were for sale in Fla I’d bank onit being Mr Reynolds. I cross bid w/him ona ’85 station wagon he won right near death in early Sept of ’18. May B it is, may B not (& I never pay extra for provenance. Just doesnt matter for me).
Absolutely loved the movie (1st one), made me want a bandit Trans Am.
In the early 80’s, Just after I left school.(over here) CB’s were bigger than Ben Hur. use to play “chaseies” whereby you would remain stationary and others would find you by your signal strength.
Problem was, I worked for the distributor of Uniden and Hatardi Pierce Simpson. I had a Uniden AX-144. One of my tricks when being chased, was (I had a gutter mount attena), I’d just bend it down to lessen my transmission strength. Oh I had a linear amplifier too, standard CB puts out 5w’s at the attena, my amp boosted that to 100w’s, fried many other people’s CB if they were close. Liner amps were/are illegal in Aus, sold mine to a cop, lol.
Currently own 2 sundowner 40 channel’s with cell call. Had them for many decades.
Forgot to mention, CB’s are the best radar detectors ever, thanks to truckies.
Still use them for that, and cell call was great when we moved states, (2 cars).
I have a story, a sad story, trucking wasn’t all glitz and glamour, like Hollywood portrayed. My ex-gf, also a truck driver, but did more OTR stuff. Late one night, coming across the green stamp( toll road) in Ohio, came up fast on a driver obviously falling asleep. She passed him, grabbed the mike and talked to the driver. Apparently, he was trying to get back to Minnesota for his anniversary. They talked for quite a while, my gf said, she had to go to the bathroom, and said to pull in the rest area, she’d be right out. Well, he said, that’s okay, and thanked her for the company, and said he can make it from here. So she was in the rest area about 15 minutes, gets back out on the slab, drove for about an hour, all traffic stopped. Grabs the mike, “what’s going on westbound”? “Big truck crash, driver fell asleep and was killed. When she got up to the crash,,,,it was the guy she was running with. She pulled over and puked. That story gives me chills.