My dad bought my step-mom the 1976 version right off the floor. Probably the same 400 engine. I eventually inherited it. Trust me, the stock power was NOT that impressive. It was such a shame for all those cubes to go to waste.
But, it was still a fun car to drive (torque made it fun to drive, even though HP was very lacking).
It was obvious that there were several "stunt cars" doing all the heavy lifting, while the one Burt drove was the "Glamour shot" car -- Auto, polished, etc.
If you watch the scene where Bandit first picks up Carrie, and then tears off -- that car was obviously a modded manual car, as it left a first-second shift scratch on the road. The auto would have NEVER done that. I can testify to that personally.
It was also fun to watch all the E-Brake slides the stuntmen did. I wonder how many rotors they warped, and how many rear right calipers were toasted.
Still a VERY fun movie to watch to this day. Jackie Gleason's performance was one of his best as "Buford."
Too bad the sequels were a waste of film.
