The mountain or the law still haven't got those Duke Boys!

Everyone is familiar with the General Lee. The orange 69 Dodge Charger driven by Bo and Luke Duke every week from 1979 to 1985 on the hit CBS show, The Dukes of Hazzard. While there are several original General Lee's from the TV show still in existence, there is one unique one that will be up for auction at the Barrett-Jackson collector car auction January 15th through the 22nd. This particular car is known in Dukes circles as Lee 1, and was the first General Lee to ever be jumped on the series, as well as the 1st car built. Lee 1 was used extensively through the first episode before making the first iconic jump over Roscoe P. Coltrane that would later be seen in the opening credits of every episode.

After a 16 foot high, 82 foot distance jump, the charger was extensively damaged. It was repainted shortly after to look like a wrecked stock car and used in another early episode before being retired to a junkyard near Covington, Georgia along with a few other cars from the early episodes. That's where Travis Bell comes in. A die hard Dukes and film car fan did some research on the show and made a visit to Covington. Speaking with several crew members led to the tip that a few cars from the show might still be in the junkyard and a visit was planned. Hidden in the woods was Lee 1. Still wearing it's green paint and i.d. tags for the show, and literally left to rot. A rescue mission was started and Lee 1 and several other cars were saved and preserved. Several years and owners later a full restoration was started. With attention to detail as to how the early cars were built, and in an effort to preserve as much as possible, the car was restored and painted as a stock 69 charger before the characteristic orange paint and graphics were re-applied. Unlike performing a concours restoration, all efforts were taken to restore the car to "as used' condition. That means it's not a perfect show car, but there's no denying it's heritage. And now the General Lee can be all yours. I'm sure this is one car that will ring the bell in Scottsdale. It's also one of a handful of celebrity and movie cars that are being auctioned at the various auctions in Scottsdale in the next couple weeks.

Stay tuned for more posts on the 2012 Scottsdale auctions.

Photo and info source: Barrett-Jackson.