Welcome to Murray Country: Population, Awesome


It’s difficult to believe from 40-odd years on that the most legendary versions of the muscle cars we now worship often languished on salesfloors when new. Turns out a wildly expensive, obscenely powerful American car getting low-single-digits fuel economy and requiring arm-leg-and-kidney-priced car insurance was a tougher sell to the aspirational young market than the earlier, less insane muscle cars. As Murray Markwell, proprietor of the Australian shop Southern Customs, explains as he talks about his minty-fresh Plymouth Superbird, what once was anathema to buyers is now understandably ambrosia. Make the jump for another excellent video, Murray Country, from Bandit Films.

Welcome to Murray Country from Bandit Films on Vimeo.

Murray’s clearly a “revhead” – antipoedean slang for “gearhead” – and it shows when he explains how he became interested in American, rather than Australian, heavy metal. He’s not the kind of guy that wants a trailer queen, and his Superbird is proof positive – it’s actually a clone, built off of a non-Superbird GTX by a dealer in the early 1970s from leftover NOS parts. That’s not too far removed, spiritually or temporally, from the real deal … but as Murray puts it, “I don’t care that it’s a clone … because I can do this!”
Hunger for more deliciously high-def video of revhead ambrosia? Bandit Films spreads it thicker than Marmite. May I recommend Rancho Deluxe? We’ll bring you more Bandit productions as they hit the interwebs.
Check out Bandit Films on Vimeo for more.

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  1. Jeff Glucker Avatar
    Jeff Glucker

    I am convinced that Australia is basically America, if we stayed cool… which we didn't.

    1. tonyola Avatar
      tonyola

      Yeah, but Australia can confiscate your car if they catch you hooning it. Most uncool. America isn't quite that bad yet.

      1. LTDScott Avatar

        I'm an Aussie expat, so I can't say what things are like there now, but I get the same impression. American attitude but more British-leaning laws.

    2. facelvega Avatar
      facelvega

      Oh, wow, you've never been to Australia I take it. For me, Oz in US terms is like if you forced Southern California and Texas to exist in the same space and population. Slightly different hats and drawls, though.

  2. Lotte Avatar
    Lotte

    That. Is the coolest picture I've seen all day. Now to get home and see the video…can't wait!

  3. dculberson Avatar
    dculberson

    Isn't that always the way, though? The cars that nobody wants when new are the ones that are worth a small, or in some cases large, fortune later. If they sell in enormous quantity, they'll never be incredibly valuable.
    Of course, there are plenty of cars that don't sell in huge volumes when new and are still mostly worthless when old, but that's a different issue..

  4. dukeisduke Avatar
    dukeisduke

    Wow, I had the sound turned off at first, and looking at the guy, I thought I was looking at a Texan, not an Australian.

    1. facelvega Avatar
      facelvega

      Bingo. You've just understood Australia.

      1. perlhaqr Avatar
        perlhaqr

        Except Texas has guns.

      2. Adem Avatar
        Adem

        Calgary! Texas of the frozen north. Australia! Texas of the southern hemisphere.

  5. Jackmac Avatar
    Jackmac

    I've heard there were new Superbirds around at dealers until 1974, and that many had the front clip swapped and wing removed in an effort to move them. The E-body Mopars are a classic example of the car nobody wanted when new. The only one that sold in any volume was the '70 Challenger, and with the shoddy assembly and hard plastic interior they were considered junk in the eyes of the public.