For a couple of years, Fast Film Fridays has looked back at everything from cheap 1950s hot-rod flicks to modern racing movies with enormous budgets. A gearhead can usually find something worth watching, even in a bad movie. Unfortunately, ‘Joe Dirt’ is really testing that theory.
The 2001 comedy is two hours of low-brow, scatological humour, and David Spade’s mullet-wearing loser getting the hot blonde. The story may be pathetic, but the car wrangler really knew his stuff! So forget the crappy movie and look at the cool cars of ‘Joe Dirt‘ instead.
1967 Plymouth Belvedere / GTX Clone
Joe’s bright-orange convertible is presented in the movie as his prized 426 Hemi, although the screen car appears to be a regular 1967 Plymouth Belvedere dressed to resemble a GTX. That still makes it a great-looking B-body. A real ’67 GTX could be ordered with Chrysler’s mighty 426 Hemi, rated at 425 hp, or the 375-hp 440 Super Commando. Only 680 GTX convertibles were built that year, with just 14 receiving the Hemi, which explains why Hollywood was unlikely to sacrifice a genuine one.
1979 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
The silver Trans Am belongs to Robby, Joe’s obnoxious romantic rival played by Kid Rock. It is a 1979 10th Anniversary Trans Am, complete with silver paint, giant hood bird, mirrored T-tops and disco-era silver interior. The special edition could be ordered with an Oldsmobile-built 403 V8 and automatic, but the car reported to have appeared in ‘Joe Dirt’ was a Pontiac 400 V8/four-speed example, rated at 220 hp. It may not have Hemi horsepower, but visually the 10th Anniversary Trans Am is peak late-’70s swagger.
1969 Dodge Charger Daytona
This the real star of ‘Joe Dirt’ is this battered, banged up, winged NASCAR monster. Joe drives what appears to be a rusty 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona, but the movie car actually began life as a regular Charger before being converted into a Daytona clone. Under the fake rust and mismatched bodywork sits a 440 CID Magnum V8. The absurd nose cone, towering rear wing, chain-link steering wheel and generally abused appearance somehow make it cool to a certain demographic—the movie car later sold for $330,000.
There is one funny postscript. In 2015, David Spade paid $900,000 for a real 1969 Hemi Daytona, a beautifully restored T5 Copper car with a 426 Hemi and four-speed manual. It was worlds removed from Joe’s rolling junk pile and one of the rarest versions built.
And there it is: three wicked American machines trapped inside a port-a-potty of a movie. The GTX, Trans Am, and derelict Daytona are memorable, but none of them can make ‘Joe Dirt’ worth sitting through. Save yourself two hours, and stay far away from this stinker.