It’s a timeless, Hollywood-worthy story: a son wants a vehicle, a dad finds him a fixer-upper muscle car. They restore the vehicle shoulder-to-shoulder, learning and bonding. Could anything make it less wholesome? Perhaps if the car in question portrayed a tool of murder and mayhem for a Tarantino movie.
Death Proof is a gory 2007 masterpiece and a tribute to the stuntmen and women of Hollywood’s golden era. Kurt Russell plays the psychopath Stuntman Mike who uses his “death proof" cars to massacre innocent people—until justice catches up with him.
Car fans who see the movie can’t forget the 1970 Chevrolet Nova Russell drives—and crashes—in the beginning of the film. The iconic vehicle wears flat black paint, with a skull and crossed lightning bolts emblazoned on the hood. It has a roll cage for the driver and is outfitted with a “kill cage” for the unwitting passenger. The Death Proof Nova has inspired countless tributes. But today we will find out how many cars were used in the film, how many remain, and where they are today.
Tarantino's Classic Film References
Quentin Tarantino had a clear plan for his Death Proof movie. He paid homage to as many classic Hollywood car chase movies as possible. He also featured two separate, exciting action scenes in the short film.
The filmmaker first had the idea for the movie when he was discussing buying an old car with a friend, but expressed a fear of dying in a horrific crash. His friend suggested buying an old car and taking it to a stunt crew to have it “death proofed.” When the director finally made 2007’s Death Proof he packed it with references to as many classic films as possible. For example, Stuntman Mike’s cars (the Nova, and a 1969 Charger) feature a grumpy rubber duck style hood ornament as a nod to Kris Kristofferson’s big rig in 1978’s Convoy. The Death Proof Nova wears a JJZ 109 license plate, as a tribute to Steve McQueen’s Bullitt Mustang (1968). Stuntman Mike’s 1969 Charger wears a 938 DAN license plate, referring to 1974’s Dirty Mary Crazy Larry. Also in the film, the character Kim’s Mustang Mach 1 is a clone of the “Eleanor” Mustang from 1974’s Gone In 60 Seconds. Find out more about the details in Death Proof on the Ultimate Hot Wheels site.
Kurt Russel’s Death Proof Stuntman Was Buddy Hooker
For the Chevy Nova’s Death Proof finale, Stuntman Mike winds the car out to almost 80 MPH and shuts off the headlights, then drives over a car full of unsuspecting women who teased him at a bar. The Nova rolls over and over, killing the passenger too, but Mike survives.
In Death Proof, Buddy Hooker was Kurt Russell’s stunt man. The filming used a total of 9 cars, two of which were prepared for the final stunt. The two cars with full roll cages and reinforced roofs were nicknamed “The Prius,” and “The Jesus.” Stuntman Hooker would only have two shots at nailing the scene. Incredibly, he landed the stunt perfectly on the first take.
“The Prius” was destroyed filming the stunt. That left “The Jesus” unscathed, with the scene in the can. With no more use for the excess car, Tarantino offered to sell it to Hooker for $500. Hooker knew his son Kanan wanted a car, so he bought it.
Kanan Hooker Restores The Nova Muscle Car
Buddy Hooker presented his son with one of the only remaining Death Proof Novas—for his first-ever car. Kanan recalls that when they began work on the vehicle, the 350 V8 was in such bad shape that it was only firing on six of eight cylinders. They tore the engine down completely and bored the block out to a 383 cubic inch displacement. They then installed a high-performance cam, aluminum heads, an Edelbrock carburetor, an aftermarket radiator, and Hooker headers. Kanan estimates that today, the car puts about 425 horsepower.
Kanan disassembled the grizzly “kill cage” from the film and installed a safe racing seat with proper seatbelts so he could drive his brother around. Then Kanan drove the Death Proof Nova. Forget that it was a priceless piece of Hollywood history, he treated it like any other Chevy and drove it to school, and everywhere--for the next five years. In 2007, Kanan took a job at Hoonigan. The team there assumed he had built his own Nova into a Death Proof tribute. When Kanan explained his family story, the team immediately asked to feature his one-of-a-kind car. See Hoonigan cover the Death Proof Nova, and watch Kanan do some burnouts.
The Death Proof Nova Movie Car For Sale
In addition to Kanan Hooker’s daily driver Nova, at least one other car survived the filming of Death Proof. Rusty’s TV and Movie Car Museum, in Jackson Tennesse, features countless vehicles from films as diverse as The Fast and The Furious and the A-Team. The museum is also famous for sculpting life-size replicas of characters from Pixar’s Cars films. Rusty’s boasts a 1970 Death Proof Nova among its extensive collection as well. See Rusty’s Facebook page for pictures of the Nova in their collection.
But Rusty’s continually buys and sells cars to keep their collection fresh. They must have decided to sell their Death Proof Nova because, in 2019, Stuntman Mike’s car came up for sale on the Car-From-UK website. You can find all the details on the auction listing for the Death Proof Nova.
The second Death Proof Nova is listed with a $40,000 starting bid. Buddy and Kanan Hooker’s $500 car is beginning to look like a fantastic investment.