Harry Gant's 1988 'Skoal Bandit' NASCAR Aerocoupe Monte Carlo (Unrestored & Sounds Epic)

Its always a good time when we are able to stop by @TheGarageShop200 and check out some NASCAR history like this here. This Burt Reynolds and Hal Needham team built 1988 Chevy Monte Carlo Aerocoupe driven by Harry Gant is visually original from its last update in 1988! With a mechanical refresh only this thing is a real time capsule into what a stock car was like back in prime time 1980's NASCAR!

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[Stapleton]

Was this car more or less “factory” than you expected it to be?

stapletonautoworks.com

[petesmitt]

Harry turns 82 in January; Gant tends to a herd of 100 Black Angus cattle on his 300-acre ranch in Taylorsville, North Carolina, rides his motorcycle around the country and is enjoying the good life.

[larryhurley]

Dude....that cooler inside the car is as 80's as you can possibly get.

[Razz]

What a sweet piece of history. One of the most iconic paint schemes ever.

[openoutlaw]

Man that is a really nice car. I missed most of the 88 season. I went to Basic Training for the Army on Feb 22nd of 88. My dad would send me VHS tapes of the big races sometimes and I would drive people bananas when i was in Europe because I would watch the same race over and over. I don't think I sen the Daytona race until September lol. Man I would love to have that car. I was a Dale Senior fan and always will be, but I liked Harry. I love that you do these videos on old NASCAR vehicles' So much History.

[askledhead]

The Wood was attached to the gas pedal because it didn't get Hot, that was an issue back in the day. Great video

[craigrmeyer]

Those guys were either real men of yore, or just crazy, to get into that thing and slap the face of death itself, over and over, for hundreds of laps. Just incredible. It's a real privilege to get a chance to get a nice close look at the inner details of this thing. This is what I've always wanted to see.

[BuddWolf]

Although I’ve been an Earnhardt 3 fan since 1987, I always liked Handsome Harry Gant. He was a true gentleman, a great spokesman for the sport and always had a smile when meeting fans or the media. Thank you for sharing the video post and best of 🍀luck to you and your family ❤️👍🏼

[billyj.williams]

Clearly a short track car. Lots of cues. #1 - Wheel opening gaps are huge.... Super Speedway bodies were very tight to the tire for aero reasons. #2 - Oil tank in the front left against the thats to get more left side % so it'll turn at slower speeds.. #3 - Rear steer Banjo Matthews chassis which were very good for short tracks on the old bias tires. Dead give away that it's a Banjo chassis rather than Hutcherson-Pagan or Laughlin is the way the bar is routed over the trans tunnel under the dash. Anyway by 88 many teams were starting to run the front steer chassis on Super Speedway because it allowed the engine to be lower, running a bigger oil pan which helped clean up air under the car and free'd up power on plate engines. Nicely preserved and restored where needed car from a great era in NASCAR.

[shawdowsanddust]

I talked to Will Cronkrite who built plenty of these cars in the 70s and 80s about the subject of how much the bodies of these cars were stock. In his words all the sheet metal body parts started off as factory parts on these cars that got cut, stretched, massaged etc. So for the bodies at least, these beasts started their life as factory panels.

[jeffausbun]

I loved the bandit. Harry Gant was a great driver.

[alanbundy]

A lady I work with is a big NASCAR fan and I have told her about your video's and channel, last week she came up to me and said is that guy you told me about Stapleton42. I said yes that's him, she said her husband found your channel and they've been watching your video's!

[MM_in_Havasu]

So glad to see you guys out and about checking out great NASCAR history such as this stock car driven by Harry Gant! Man, I'm f'n' there, this was way back when, when stock cars were exactly that and not some homologated cookie cutter car that they use now. Harry Gant is still around, he is now 81 years old and hope he is doing well.
Thank you & the lovely Logan for this wonderful video on this cool ride! Keep up the good work, love it! :)

[daytonafuntim]

Love the original state of this car! Kyle Petty did a "Coffee with Kyle" segment with Harry a few years ago. Harry still looks incredible, like he could still run the high line in a cup car!

[thrillbilly]

I used to love the sound of 43 of these busting off on pit road at Charlotte and the smell of rich racing fuel exhaust fumes floating through the air.
So many memories.

[jeffreyevens]

Awesome car from the real NASCAR Era. Harry Gant was a great addition to the late 80s-90s drivers. 4 in a row what a feat in 91. NASCAR was more exciting then. Thanks for the video. Merry Christmas!

[banditgrizzy]

R.I.P. BURT REYNOLDS
One of my favorite actors growing up.

[oldmountainmarineandmetals]

How cool is that! I don't live to far from Handsome Harry. He's still working his farm. One badass man!!

[darthkso]

To quote the great Harry Hogge “there’s nothing stock about a stock car”

[jrussellcase]

I think you're right, I think that's actually an 85 chassis. I was a huge Monte Carlo fan as a kid, I loved these cars. Gant's was one of my faves.