American Graffiti, a film about four long-time high-school friends set in Modesto, California, in 1962, sported several great classic cars throughout the movie. One of the least talked about, but most loved, was the 1958 Chevrolet Impala that belonged to the character played by Ron Howard. In the movie, Howard’s character loans the Impala to one of the other central characters, Terry “the Toad” Fields.
Steve tells Toad that, “I’ve decided I’m gonna let you take care of my car for me while I’m away, at least until Christmas. See, I’m coming back for a couple of weeks at Christmas. Now, I’ve got some very simple instructions for you, here’s the keys. First of all, only 30-weight Castrol-R. Now, I’ve written the tire pressure and stuff on a pad in the glove… are you listening?”
The Toad is stunned and replies; “I can’t believe it! I don’t know what to say! I’ll love and protect this until death do us part! This is a super-fine machine! This might even be better than Darryl Starbird’s Superfleck Moon… it is! It’s better than Darryl Starbird’s Superfleck Moonbird!”
“The Toad” takes the Impala cruising and runs into a rebellious and wild girl named Debbie, who is played to perfection by Candy Clark. She asks if the car can lay rubber? Trying to impress her, Toad tells Debby “Yeah, I got a 327ci Chevy in it, it’s got six Strombergs!”
Debbie: “That’s bitchin’ tuck-and-roll, you know I really love the feel of tuck-and-roll upholstery.”
Toad: “You do? Well come in, I’ll let you feel it. I mean you can touch it if you want… um, I’ll let you feel the upholstery.”
Toad and Debbie end up parked in the back woods where the social inept Toad appears to be on his way to getting lucky. All of a sudden the pair realize that the Impala is gone and they are left on their own.
According to the current owner of the car, Mike Famalette, “The car never did have a 327 with 6 Strombergs as claimed by Toad in the movie.”
More details on the story of the American Graffiti Impala: