Johnny Dark Restoration Book - The Black Woodill Wildfire

33 • Also, this was one of first times a helicopter was used to shoot race scenes - shooting back against the mountain going down the hills. • Woodill Wildfire: This was really 6 cylinder engine out of the Willys according to Chuck Tatum. The Woodill people who built it were Willys dealers - confirming the heritage. When filming got to high alti- tudes, the Wildfire wouldn't run. This was 6000 feet, and the car had no power. Chuck's partner who was Andy Botto who was co - driver of car in movie. Studio's mechanics could not fix it. Chuck volun- teered his partner - Andy Botto. George Sherman was director, and after this was successfully fixed, George always asked how the "star car" doing (implying all other cars were ordinary). Woodill never sent anyone with car. Botto kept car running thru picture, and he got a generous tip at end of picture for his help. Drivetrain – Further Confirmation: In 1986, research was conducted to determine the engine / drivetrain of the Johnny Dark Wildfire. Two letters are presented below. The first letter was from an appraisal and research firm that reviewed available information at the time and did not find confirmation that a Jaguar XK120 chassis/drivetrain was used.