Johnny Dark Movie Book

46 Of all the Johnny Dark movie cars, Hacker said, “ The Wildfire has been the one with the most frequently claimed ownership. Over the years more than a dozen Woodill Wildfire owners have reached out to me to proclaim that they own the one and only Johnny Dark movie car. Of course, these claims have been based on desire and stories passed from one owner to the next; until recently the fate of the actual movie car re- mained unknown. ” Steve Cowdin of Larkspur, Colorado, became interested in early American fiberglass automobiles in the late 1980s. He purchased his first example in 1990, a 1952 Skorpion (Crosley), one of just 55 examples built in period according to Cowdin. In 1995, he spotted a newspaper classified advertisement which read: “ WOODILL: Wildfire, complete body and post frame, needs full restoration, milestone car, $4,000, may trade. ” Cowdin said, “ The seller was Jim Giles of Calimesa, California, and he described the car and its condition in detail; we agreed on a sales price, sight unseen. I rented a car trailer and my two sons and I headed out to Giles ’ house with cash in hand. I liked what I saw of the body and chassis, loaded the car, and headed back home. That was 20 years ago and I ’ ve had the car in unrestored condition ever since. ” The Woodill Wildfire was the brainchild of B. R. “ Woody ” Woodill and was constructed with a fiberglass body at the Woodill Motor Company Inc. at 8640 E. Firestone Blvd., Downey, California. Cowdin ’ s 1953 car took form on a custom - built frame with a 102 - inch wheelbase. Front suspension was by one transverse leaf spring with upper A - arms and telescopic shock absorbers. Rear suspension was by two semi - elliptic leaf springs and telescopic shocks. Nine - inch hydraulic drum brakes were fitted at all four corners. Cowdin ’ s project Wildfire was without an engine but he has been able to source the proper Willys ” F ” Head 161 - cu.in. , straight - 6, which mates to a Willys floor - mounted shifter. For most of the 20 years Cowdin has owned his car, he was unsure of its provenance. Cowdin said, “ After I got the car home, I began to research the history of the Wildfire. I started buying all the magazines and bro- chures about the Wildfire I could find. I also tracked down the owner of the prototype Wildfire, Fred Roth, who just happened to live only 20 - miles from me. After a few years of studying, I was very confident that my Wildfire was one of the few factory - built cars. It was always in the back of my mind that my car ’ s dashboard was exactly like that of the Johnny Dark movie car, but that was never enough proof for me. Then I had the good fortune to meet Geoff Hacker several years back and he was researching much deeper into the entire Woodill Wildfire story. ”