Thank you for this video.. Cliff Shaw is my grandfather.. June is my mom's mother.. Zack is my cousin.. Alicia's son.. Who is my mother's sister. This has me in tears. I played in that 82 acres of cars until he sold everything.. Up until 2008 when he passed away. It is soo great hearing this story and all the history about this car. Pawpaw had a Polaroid photo of one of the orange General Lee's with grandma in a glass cabinet I'd always look at when I was a child.. I actually remember when zack was getting the gifts in the mail years ago!! Again thank you for this history.. You definitely know how to make a grown man cry with tears of happiness!!

This is one of the greatest movie car finds of all time. So glad Travis could come and share the story.

3 years later we still watch this video, thank you.

The very act of walking through a junkyard, private, public, and seeing history is unbelievable. This guy found an iconic vehicle and restored it to it's former glory. If someone restored the Titanic no one would say 'Hey, you destroyed an icon'. Instead they would marvel at the ability to do so. I am in awe. I spent EVERY Friday night watching this show as a kid. When the banjo started I was stuck in front of the TV until Boss Hogg lost again. When I heard 'Them Dukes, Them Dukes' at the end I couldn't wait until next week. Sure beat texting and Instagram!

There's a point where you rebuild it, and there's a point where you clean it up but leave it as-is. The car was far beyond the as-is option. It's only hope on earth was to rebuild it using as much from the original as possible. It's perfect. Your restoration is a part of its history now. Congratulations. Outstanding job.

Damn I went to Convington , Ga. and all I got was a Rolls Royce and a pack of smokes at the PILOT gas station......... lol Great story! HUGE Dukes fan!

I flew a car once myself. There was a hill in Kansas where if you drive it from east to west and at the right speed it drops off fast and your stomach came up as you felt weightless for a few moments. It was neat. My dad did this once in a while to surprise or reward us. I got the bright idea to do the same with my cousins. The problem being I had never done it before and I did not know how fast to drive to get that effect. So of course faster is better. We roared up the hill and over the top. This was a 63 Pontiac Tempest with the 4 wheel independent suspension(No rear axle as the transmission was there instead). I have never forgotten the sensation, of feeling the body of the car lifting off the wheels and the thuds of all four wheels as they hit the downward limit and were lifted off the ground as well. For one endless second that seem to last forever we hung there, All I can remember thinking through my shock and surprise was don't turn the steering wheel or we would end up wrecked in the ditch. Then we crashed to earth and I was busy trying to maintain control and slow down. One cousin was rubbing his head from flying up and hitting the roof( no one wore seat belts back then).

Very cool story. I also used to watch the Dukes of Hazard growing up. I'm so glad that the car was saved from sitting rotting in the Georgia woods. As long as it has all the right parts, and the original engine, and some of the original chassis, then it still can be called the first General Lee. Thank you.

“This is where I say something clever and you roll the music” yeah that is clever.

What an amazing find!

I've watched this a few times now over the past 3 years. I don't understand why anyone would get mad at restoring as close as possible as it was from before it was painted green. I mean you saved it from rusting out and did it justice. I think most DOH fans will agree you did a good thing. So glad you found it and saved it from rusting away.

I was hooked on the Dukes of Hazzard when I was young, so this is an interesting story, especially the scrap yard with a buried Nuclear locomotive, all this stuff just fascinates me

This car was sitting in a forest rotting away, he spent a lot of time, money, and a lot of effort saving it and people are mad?? Thats pathetic.

Hopefully the orange car I'm buying in Georgia wasn't jumped by Ed.

No matter what anyone says, you gave life to history again. And sharing the story keeps it alive for those who still remember those halcyon days. You did indeed restore one of the Mona Lisas of automobile, television, and Southern history. Thank you so very much.

As a fan of The Dukes of Hazzard, I am blown out of the water by the restoration of the General Lee. The Dukes of Hazzard is still legendary forevermore. We need to bring back The Dukes of Hazzard & really get the merchandise rolling!!!!!!!!!

I like the way this guy tells stories.

Travis is truly an encyclopedia of movie car knowledge. I know the feeling of searching for a car like this and finally seeing it in person, there is nothing like it.

It was a mangled mess sitting and deteriorating in the woods. Few would even consider doing anything with it aside from pulling the drive train and then scrapping the rest. You did the best thing possible, made it a driving car with tons of appeal to fans all over the world! GREAT Job, no reason for anyone to hate on you, thats insane!

The Dukes of Hazzard hit UK TV when I was 11 adn I was hooked. I love this side of American cars and this was so good to watch, so well put together, Amazing!

If someone painted all over the Mona Lisa, someone would have to fix it. And that someone is you. I love this quote!

If he didn’t persevere to buy this car it would have never been found or seen again! 👍

I met Travis on a cruise October 2022. He was wearing a VinWiki Tshirt and told me about the car in an elevator. I was amazed I was in the presence of this man. Great DJ too.

You absolutely did the right thing, what your heart decided 👍🏽 beautiful job. As a huge fan myself, I thank you for doing what you did. It's drivable and restored!! Not rusting away everyday

You pulled history from the grave and brought it to life. No objection here 👍

Restoring an old car is always an adventure in itself. Restoring a general lee? You've now taken part in a small piece of history.

Life is funny. So much randomness, timing, and the not so well thought out- brings us some of our best moments. I have found if we are just out there trying to make something happen, being tenacious, it often does. Great story, and well told.

Got to be 1 of the greatest car story's ever.

Tell me how can someone “destroy” a car by restoring it to its former glory, after it spent decades outside rotting away? Would it have been better to let it deteriorate into nothing?

Quite a few parts to restore Lee-1, came from 2 donor Chargers, came from my local salvage yard here in Oxford Maine. Nice to see Lee-1 saved & restored!

How a true gentleman does business! He was able to respectfully gain the trust of a man who has no interest in selling that piece of history! Bravo Good Sir!

In 2006 I met Travis while on a six week across America road trip from Australia. It was while visiting Covington Georgia (We’re Hazzard fans) We were all staying at the same motel the cast and crew stayed in ‘78. He had just found the original General Lee. He just happened to have the Lee’s bumper (green and orange) to show us. Thanks Travis for such a great memory mate! Such an awesome guy! I even still have those wanted poster/cards Travis handed out. 😬

Cliff passed away several years ago. I recently visited w 1 of his sons Cliff III. they still sell motor/Transmission cores. Im from Sautee Ga.

I used to work for an A-list actor, and I was on movie sets all during the late 1990's to 2008. I became friendly with a man who owned one of the General Lee money cars. In TV and Movie production the money cars are pristine restorations, used for close-ups and gentle driving. There are also stunt cars and jumpers. When Dukes of H was being made they used hundreds, maybe as many as 300 '69 Dodge Chargers for jumpers, but only had a few '69 Charger money cars. The jumpers had crummy paint jobs and dyed interiors, but looked flying through the air from 30 feet away. The Producers had calls out to salvage yards and car lots all over the U.S. looking for '69 Chargers. Most were junked and crushed after being practially destroyed by the jumps--they didn't want to sell them because of liability issues. Interestingly enough my friend was divorced while he owned his Gen Lee money car, which he left at his ex's house until he recovered financially enough to get another house. His wife SOLD his Gen Lee car for cash and told him she had no idea what happened to it. He filed a police report but the trail went dead. He checked for-sale ads, and prowled swap meets for years, always towing his empty trailer in the hopes he'd find his Gen Lee again. Twelve years after the wife sold it, in 1997, he found it at Pomona. The guy who had it had repainted it correctly, and put a correct new interior in it, and was showing it as a genuine Gen Lee car, which it certainly was. He'd never registered it. So my friend asked if he could look the car over, without telling the guy anything. VIN was the same as on his documants. He called the cops. Cops came. Checked the old police report. Checked the documents, Checked the Gen Lee VIN and told my friend, "Load her up". That's how he got his Gen Lee back. The wife was not charged with a crime. True story.

Awesome stuff. Just watched that episode where the duke boys repo the rolls. Had no idea that car, the Richard Petty wreck was the actual general lee. Let alone the very first one. Good story and glad the car is still around. Big Part of American tv and iconic. That show was huge part of my childhood as it was for many children. I was born in 72, we grew up with these characters and our bicycles, then go carts were the general lee. .

Great job on the restoration. This thing would've rotted away to nothing had he not found it. Now it is pretty much a museum piece for generations to enjoy.

my dad worked on that show when I was a kid, I was lucky to get a ride in one with a stunt man as little kid.

I’m so glad somebody gave Lee One new life! I’m so glad you rescued this car! Great work guys!

Fascinating story, I was absolutely enthralled the entire time

You did American culture and car culture a huge favor , thank you sir ❤🙂

Great story. One of my earliest car memories was when I was in 1st or 2nd grade my mom let me pick a Dukes model General Lee from K-Mart. The next day I pretended to be sick because I was so excited to put it together. Mom saw right through it and told me I could stay home, but I couldn't touch the model kit if I didn't go to school. That was the longest day off school ever.

"Turns out she was my step sister." *VINWIKI INTRO PLAYS*

I use to get babysat at my aunt's and uncles house and we would watch this show all the time ! About 4 years ago before my uncles passing, we had a family supper. I had not seen them for years cause they had moved to another city... When I saw him he said Danny, look what I found in our moving boxes... It was a little toy car General Lee he had bought me years ago... I still have it to this day ! And RIP to my uncle. I really miss those days. 😞

You did this car and history justice! You made sure it didn't rust away into never never land. I love your ending, that look, says it all. Awesome.

Thank you for taking a crumbling piece of tv history and returning it to as close to what it once was as humanly possible. You showed the car and the crew that built it so much respect and honored there time and effort by bringing it back to what they made it to be in the first place. Its honestly sad to know that a lot of the cars we loved from tv shows have rotted away in the exact same way lee 1 did after the shows were done with them. We need more people like you that honestly love the shows to try and preserve more of the TV cars we love so much...

Brings the original Rusty LEE one on pawn stars Rick Harrison: *LET ME CALL IN A BUDDY TO VERIFY IF ITS REAL*

Thanks for restoring the car. The haters are just jealous.

I can’t believe that dude that bought got rid of the battle flag on the roof.

I’m pretty sure I lived by that guy at the time. Somebody on the southside of Indianapolis had a General Lee at their house. I drive nearby one day - and a stoplight is green but there is a late 1970’s Hazzard County police car in the middle of the intersection with its lights on. A few seconds later… The General Lee goes flying by and the police car follows it in chase. It was awesome!

I remember when these guys found this and posted pics of it in the woods. For a moment I was 8 years old again. Even with the car in bad shape my excitement level was off the charts.

A very close friend of in Hartwell GA has 2 of these General Lee Chargers that he got from the Dukes of Hazzard producers when they moved filming from GA to CA. One is 100% original while the other has been restored. He said that only one was "documented" but both were used in filming of the show. No telling what they're worth, but he knows. He is a hard core Mopar collector.

Grandson: "Wow, I had lost total interest in the Dukes of Hazzard and that old rusty green car. But thanks to that nice man sending me all these toys and model cars of the General Lee, my passion has been rekindled, I am definitely gonna keep it now and fix it." Hell of a gamble paid off.

On the edge of my chair. This is THE greatest car story ever. Being a DoH huge fan as a kid, this is just awesome.

You didn't kill history, you save history from dieing.!

Nice to see Lee 1 rolling again! I loved The Dukes of Hazzard when I was a kid, tuned in every week! Kudos on finding and restoring Lee 1!

Man the story worth more than the car and the car is priceless to me. Love the Duke's of hazzard.. it definitely is still the Lee 1.. they would of done the same back in the day on the film if they rebuilt rather than buy another one.. so truly appreciate you sharing.

“Yelled at me like I was a child...” I love THE DUKES OF HAZARD...always have and always will.

No hard feelings to Hollywood history. The spirit of the Lee lives on.

You did the right thing getting the 001 General Lee back on the road!

You know something? There are not many guys like you any more. I so enjoyed listening to you, thanks.

Growing up there were really only two shows that mattered most to me as a kid... The Incredible Hulk, and The Dukes of Hazzard. What a great story.

One of the all time best stories on here. Amazing how many times this deal could have fallen apart and what it took to make it happen. Like all tough sales persistence is key Also, florida guy sounds like he has more money than sense.

What a story!!! I grew up on the Dukes, it's part of my DNA. Happy to know the first General Lee was saved!

The punch line at the end of the 2-time Master's Golf Champion Bubba Watson (a real-life guy named Bubba, from Florida) buying the car is perfect. A guy who has excess cash buying something so cool to share with people.

This was the best that could be done. The original was beyond salvage, it would only be a display piece. Once it was repainted for the show, it was no longer the original anyway. Glad to finally here the true story of how it was found and returned to driving condition.

I went to school with this mans daughter! He brought this car to show and tell while we were in elementary school! Good old southwest elementary!

Excellent! So many iconic tv vehicles that shaped my childhood, General Lee, Bandit, Munster's Dragsters, Batmobiles, Adam's Family Hearse, Uncle It's little car......

I realized while watching this that these stories are over, finding the #1 movie car from an epic series or movie is something we may never see again. The epic cars have been found and restored, the Dolorean form BTTF, Lee1, etc I can't think of a new movie car that would have that impact... I gained an appreciation of this video as I was watching it as I realized this I don't think we will have these types of videos many more times.

"3 of ems prolly dead" that's pure gold lol

How amazing, that this significant show from my childhood, still has so much interest. What a find.

Great job restoring the car..Thanks for saving it.

What a great story, great find, and great "ending" to a new beginning. I grew up watching the Dukes of Hazzard, and have been in love with Chargers ever since (owned a few before they were "cool"). This project is amazing, and thanks for sharing the story!!

I'm beyond tickled pink that the old General Lee was restored. I love this! Thank you so much for sharing!

He found a national treasure that day

I got to meet one of the stuntmen from the show before he passed, what a cool guy, I always loved to hear his stories from his time as a stuntman. He did a stunt for the show where he ran across the hood of a vehicle running without a driver, jump in and stop it. The secret to running on a moving car is to stay on your toes. :)

Incredible peice of history !!! Even better story!!! God Bless ❤❤❤

It's sad to see people with classic cars just sitting and rotting and their yard and then when someone comes around actually wanting the rebuild it they don't sell it just so it can rot a few more years

Huge Bubba Watson fan here and I remember when the story came out that he had purchased "a" General Lee, knowing that there were so many used on the show over the years--but had no idea it was "the" real first car. Easily one of your best episodes, Ed & VinWiki!

Man, the guy he bought the car from sounds like such a sweetheart. I feel like he should have stayed the night and tried to buy the car on monday to respect him and his beliefs, and probably just given him the $500 he asked.

Having worked in a shop that restored old Hemi cars, I can tell you the value of a collector car drops dramatically once you swap metal, motor or drivetrain. The second a car would pull in our shop we would search behind the seats for the build sheets and go over each number to make sure everything matched. So I get why they were pissed and also why you didn't understand why they were pissed. Any body shop worth their salt should have at least warned you against doing that. I was part of a restoration of the #1 1970 Cuda. It had been burned in a fire and had extensive damage to the entire car from the intense heat. I laid in the trunk of that car for a good part of a week holding a dolly so we could shrink and stretch the rear quarter panels back into shape. A firefighter had actually stood on top of the car and collapsed the top in too far to be able to bring it back, so we did replace it, but everything else stayed original. It was a nightmare, but well worth it. If you'd like to take a look at the car the way it sits now (or at least in 2011) go here... www.motorauthority.com/news/1062590_1970-plymouth-hemi-cuda-for-sale-3200000

Thank you for saving this car that would have eventually rotted to the ground. This car is everyone's childhood. I applaud you and everyone who had thier hands on saving this car. Again thank you.

the first general lee was in a junkyard 30 miles from where i grew up & lived since 82 & sold for $400? omfg 😵😫😵😫😵😫

That was an amazing story. I thank you for sharing your amazing find and experience with us. I especially loved the ending. Great words of wisdom.

Just to help you feel better you didn't destroy it you restored it do it you restore it you are a you are a preserver of history street thank you and I'm glad it went to the guy that I went to and I'm glad it went to the guy that it went to Keep up the good work man

*Brings the first General Lee back to life" "You destroyed the car" Sound logic....

That last little twinkle in your eye was gold. "They could have bought it for the same amount of money... if they'd have found it" *eat shit grin*

I’m a car guy. I also grew up watching Dukes of Hazard. Thanks for the magnificent story. You made me smile. Kudos to you.

14:00 "three of thems probably dead" Best quote ever

This guy is a "good ol boy" in my opinion.... He deserved the first General Lee .....glad he got it too

My dad and I watched this show every Friday night in New Zealand when I was a kid....we loved it. This is just awesome

Very awesome story. My favorite show growing up and this brought a smile to my face. Thank you for sharing the story and bringing an iconic classic back too life.

Thanks for putting your hands on the General Lee, she lives on, and she looks beautiful .

Of all the vinwiki videos I have seen this one by far has been the most awesome got me right in the feelings I’m a huge Dodge Charger fan and this is an amazing accomplishment thank you Travis for not taking no for an answer

That was an awesome story. Thanks for putting it out there, for the KZfaq watchers to appreciate. I definitely did, because I was born in '78 & grew up watching the show & that car fly.🇺🇸👍

Awesome story!! I was only three years old but I loved the Dukes!!! My favorite show. I'm so glad this car is alive again!!! Someday I will find one.

Thank you for your time😊😊😊😊. Great masterpiece. Great memories. Thanks for rescuing the General Lee🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰.

"People don't like The Dukes of Hazzard" bullshit. look how much of a positive reaction this got just about a dude that found Lee 1 lol

Awesome story my friend..I was 9 years old when the Dukes first came on and I'm still a huge fan at 51 years old..I think you did an absolute fantastic job bringing the 1st General Lee back from the dead...Bravo sir Bravo!

That was an awesome story .. so happy you found the General Lee .. I grew up watching that show ❣️

You have GOT to be kidding!!!! Outstanding find, and even better story!!! You are a very luck guy!!! Good for you!