(Enlarge photo)

Probably the most extensively fabricated vehicle for Fast & Furious is this '67 Chevy truck. (Photo by Kurt Niebuhr)

(Enlarge photo)

Dennis McCarthy lobbied to have this truck painted a copper color in honor of the "Copperhead" '67 Chevy built by Stacy David of the TV show Gearz. (Photo by Kurt Niebuhr)

(Enlarge photo)

Perfect stand and the ability to drift like an old Corolla. (Photo by Kurt Niebuhr)

(Enlarge photo)

There's no rear window so stunt people could pass through, out onto the flatbed. (Photo by Kurt Niebuhr)

(Enlarge photo)

Those rear tires are 445 millimeters wide. (Photo by Kurt Niebuhr)

(Enlarge photo)

Concept art. (Photo courtesy of NBC Universal)

(Enlarge photo)

(Photo by Kurt Niebuhr)

(Enlarge photo)

The fuel heist '67s have frames fabricated from box-section tubing from the cab back. (Photo by Scott Jacobs)

(Enlarge photo)

That's a rear end for a semi, not a half-ton Chevy. (Photo by Scott Jacobs)

(Enlarge photo)

That's a big tire. (Photo by Scott Jacobs)

(Enlarge photo)

It's a shame not all of the fabrication on this truck is visible in the film. (Photo by Scott Jacobs)

(Enlarge photo)

Big tires need big spindles. (Photo by Scott Jacobs)

(Enlarge photo)

That's a big tire. Again. (Photo by Kurt Niebuhr)

(Enlarge photo)

(Photo by Kurt Niebuhr)

Heist-Ready Hauler

By John Pearley Huffman, Contributor

Go back to 2001's original The Fast and the Furious and ruminate about just how ludicrous the truck hijackings are in that film. The whole crime depended on the truck drivers never hitting the brakes, swerving or generally changing direction. And wouldn't it have been a whole lot easier to hijack the trucks when the driver had stopped to eat lunch or pee? Of course it would have been.

So in Fast & Furious, the truck hijacking scene is even more ludicrous and insane. But it's also so breathtakingly staged that you may as well shut down all the parts of your brain where reason resides and go along for the ride.

The original script had the "road train" fuel truck having its trailers swiped by a pair of El Caminos. But for picture car coordinator Dennis McCarthy, the idea that the light-duty El Camino could haul off giant fuel trailers was just too absurd. So he asked that his crew be allowed to produce more plausibly rugged machines for the scene. The copper-colored '67 Chevy here is one of McCarthy's two solutions.

From the cab back, this beast features a custom frame built from massive steel box section tubing. The rear suspension is a giant ladder bar setup with airbags, and those rear tires are the biggest and widest the picture car department could find. (Ironically, they're usually used on tanker trailers.) Power comes from a massive 502-cubic-inch GM crate V8 (what once would have been called a big-block Chevy) with enough torque to pull the Dow up 1,500 points by itself (though it's theoretically a diesel in the film).

The picture car department built two of these beautiful trucks plus one engine-less buck for filming. All survived and are in storage.

As Portrayed Specifications*

Engine
Type: Cummins Turbodiesel
Fuel: Sunoco Diesel
Lubricant: Castrol

Drivetrain
Transmission: 13-Speed Fuller
Fuel Cell: JAZ
Hoses: Earl's
Driveshaft: General
Rear differential: 10-ton two-speed

Suspension
Front: Original GM A-arms and coil springs with 3-inch drop spindles
Rear: Custom fabricated ladder bar with air springs

Wheels
Type: Alcoa
Front Size: 19.5-by-7.5 inches
Rear Size: 22.5-by-14 inches

Tires
Type: Michelin
Front Size: 225/70R19.5
Rear Size: 445/55R22.5

Interior
Seats: Chevrolet original equipment
Belts: Diest
Cage: Matt Sweeney
Door panels: Chevrolet original equipment
Wheel: Grant
Gauges: Autometer

Exterior
Custom flatbed

Paint/Graphics
Paint: Cinema Vehicle Services

* "As Portrayed" specifications indicate the state of the car as portrayed in the film. No single car was necessarily built to these specifications by the picture car department. But all the cars built to portray a vehicle in the film were constructed to appear as if so equipped.