Hard to believe, but 2011 will mark 40 years since the guy who’s never seen, inside the cab of the oil-blackened Peterbilt 351 tanker, tried to murder Dennis Weaver during a harrowing chase through Soledad Canyon in California. The pursuit was the entire plot of Duel, the ABC Movie of the Week made for TV that put Steven Spielberg on the map.
Only one of the Peterbilt trucks used in the film project has survived, and this one was used mainly in filming in additional scenes to support Duel’s post-ABC theatrical release (the original truck that terrorized star Dennis Weaver is apparently the one that went over the cliff). After changing hands several times, it’s now in the collection of truck collector Brad Wike, and will form the centerpiece of his annual ATHS Virginia-Carolina Truck Show on Saturday. It runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Wike farm in Lincolnton, North Carolina. Think anyone will bring a red four-door Plymouth Valiant?