General Lee jump car will be kept so people can see it: owner

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A bright orange replica of the General Lee that was wrecked during a 163-foot jump in front of the Moncton Coliseum last Friday has been purchased by a Moncton businessman who plans to put it on display.

“I bought it because I didn’t want him to take it back to Ohio,” Dave  Vandenbrand said in an interview at his Moncton office Monday. “Now it’s sitting in my yard where people can see it. Is it for sale? Absolutely not. I’m not fixing it. It will stay the way it is and I’m not sure what we will do with it.”

Vandenbrand is a self-employed entrepreneur who lives in Sackville and operates electrical and manufacturing companies based in Moncton. He is working toward a new business in Sackville that will be called the Hillbilly Haven Ranch. That business is still in development, but he believes the bright orange replica of the General Lee will become part of the decor in the new store in Sackville.

“It’s not going to be hidden and forgotten, because it has historical value,” he said Monday.

The General Lee replica became a star of this year’s Radical Speed Sport car show Friday as stuntman Roy Kohn of Ohio flew it 163 feet over the Coliseum parking lot. The car hit the ramp at approximately 65 feet and flew through smoke bombs before slamming into the pavement. A crowd of approximately 2,000 people watched and cheered from behind a barricade fence as the stunt was live-streamed on social media. Kohn said he had done more than 20 jumps in similar cars and this one set a new record. It was also his first trip to Canada.

The car was extensively damaged when it slammed down to the pavement.  Kohn said he had the wind knocked out of him but was in good spirits as he met with fans along the fence for autographis and pictures. Social media was flooded with images and videos of the jump, and thousands of people went to see the car and meet Kohn during the Speed Sport show on Friday and Saturday. Kohn was planning to take it back to Ohio, but Vandenbrand made him an offer that he was able to accept.

Vandenbrand declined to say how much he paid for the car, but he had to increase his initial offer because someone else offered to buy it from Kohn.

For now, he said, the car will stay at his house in Sackville but he wants to make it available for people to see it. He said he would take it to car shows or special events for display.

Vandenbrand wasn’t at the Coliseum for the jump, but was determined to purchase the car because he and his fiancee are both big fans of the original General Lee, a 1969 Dodge Charger that was the star car of the Dukes of Hazzard TV show, which ran from 1979 to 1985. The jump car, however, is actually actually a 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis, which was rebuilt with replica body panels from Auto Metal Direct to make it look like a ’69 Charger.

Car show drew large crowds

Joe Savoie, owner of the Radical Speed Sport show, said the event drew large crowds Friday through Sunday as it celebrated its 50th anniversary. He said there were many new cars and trucks that had never been displayed before. The show’s Hub City Six award is for first-time Canadian cars at the show. This year’s winners were: Rick Gaudet, 1947 Ford; Dan Anderson, 1963 Ford F-100; Jason Steeves, 1927 Chevy Coupe; Stephane Delisle, 1930 Ford Model A; Robert Downing, 1955 Chev; Louis Briand, 1932 Ford Hi Boy. The Turner Style Award went to Jaqueline Pickrem and the Robertson Award went to Dan Anderson and 1963 Ford F100.