Within the Firebird hobby, McQ has a strong following. After all, who doesn’t enjoy watching John Wayne hot rod a Brewster Green 1973 Trans Am?!
For years enthusiasts have debated how many Trans Ams were used in McQ and how they were equipped. As we learned in Found! One of McQ’s 1973 Trans Ams!, at least one authentic McQ movie car survives. No other vehicles, VINs, or supporting documentation has ever surfaced, however. That is, until now! If you’re a McQ fan, you’ll be excited to see what I recently uncovered.
In the infamous jump scene we can clearly see Washington license plate ICG 587 on this particular McQ Trans Am.
As we know, one Trans Am in McQ is equipped with Washington license plate BRN 952 and a second is equipped with plate ICG 587. That fact suggests that Pontiac supplied two identically-equipped Firebirds for the movie. Back when Washington state made such information available upon public request, fellow hobbyist and Washington resident Ric Pratt searched those plate numbers. Plate ICG 587 took him to the car detailed in Found! One of McQ’s 1973 Trans Ams!. Ric found nothing on plate BRN 952, however, and searching every possible sequence around it proved fruitless.
We see the Trans Am wearing plate BRN 952 most often in McQ.
Technology is wonderful. I once watched VHS recordings of McQ on tube-type televisions. As television quality improved and DVDs were introduced, I watched McQ in greater detail and gained precise control over stop and go points and playback speed. That allowed me to find some interesting details. For instance, plate BRN 952 is found on a completely different vehicle in one scene. I theorized that BRN 952 was a license plate that Washington assigned to the production crew who swapped it around as needed—much like how automakers handle manufacturer plates. That theory did, however, cast doubt in my thought that only two Trans Ams were used in McQ.
It wasn’t until the advent of DVD and its improved picture quality that I noticed this van wearing the same BRN 952 plate often seen on the Trans Am.
While writing the previous McQ blog, I contacted Ric and we revisited his unsuccessful attempt of finding plate BRN 952 in the Washington system. I shared how I’d found it on a different vehicle and Ric added that he questioned the plate’s validity. He explained that back then Washington used the initial plate character to denote county registrations and “B” wasn’t applicable to the Seattle area. A quick web investigation confirmed Ric’s comment. I found “B” indicated Pierce County while “I” indicated Seattle’s King County—the latter clearly coinciding with plate ICG 587 seen in McQ.
Here, we see the Trans Am with plate ICG 587 again.
It had been a while since I last watched McQ’s Trans Am scenes in a frame-by-frame manner and with today’s large-sized high-definition televisions and modern disc players (Blu-ray), I decided it was time to revisit that. I sat down recently and invested a couple of hours dissecting each McQ Trans Am scene in search of new clues. It didn’t take long to stumble upon something!
Immediately following the infamous jump scene within the chase sequence, there’s a very brief scene where McQ takes a high speed righthand turn in the Trans Am. That’s when I noticed plate “ICM 171” on that particular car. Ah ha! A third McQ Trans Am!
I recently discovered the presence of yet another Washington plate—this time ICM 171. It suggests that Pontiac supplied three Trans Ams for the movie.
Elated with this discovery, I continued detailing the chase sequence hoping for more finds. As McQ drives on the I-5 Expressway, the Trans Am’s filthy rear body panel and BRN 952 plate are clearly visible. That’s when I noticed the plate’s “B” isn’t the same width as its other characters. Compared to other authentic Washington plates visible in McQ, I found plate BRN 952 appears larger in size, its green paint seems darker, its green border is unpronounced, and it lacks any mounting holes and/or hardware. With Ric’s original suggestion and this recent discovery, I, too, began seriously questioning BRN 952’s authenticity!
Notice how the plate’s “B” seems narrower than the other characters? The green letters are darker than traditional Washington plates visible in McQ and the plate fills the entire recess in the rear body panel. Is BRN 952 a real Washington license plate?
When McQ’s Trans Am is destroyed in the alleyway, it’s equipped with plate BRN 952 and those same oddities are quite apparent early in that scene. Then, after the Trans Am is smashed, something jumped out in the front perspective. There, in the Trans Am’s bent license plate bracket was the shiny backing of a Washington license plate revealing its embossed characters! Upon closer look, I could clearly make out an initial sequence of “ICG” and after manipulating screenshots, plate ICG 586 became clear!
Another view of plate BRN 952. Wait, where is its mounting hardware?! Going back and looking at every image in McQ where plate BRN 952 is clearly visible reveals the same characteristics! It appears that BRN 952 is an overlay.
With this discovery, I came to the realization that plate BRN 952 was nothing more than a cleverly designed prop intended to provide movie goers with visual consistency. More importantly, we’d positively identified at least three identically-equipped Brewster Green 1973 Trans Ams with valid Washington plates in McQ. We know that the Trans Am destroyed during filming was equipped with plate ICG 586 and the Trans Am wearing plate ICG 587 exists today. So, what became of the Trans Am equipped with plate ICM 171? And were there more than three cars?
This image depicting the crumpled remains of a 1973 Trans Am clearly reveals that actual Washington license plate ICG 586 was hidden beneath the BRN 952 overlay.
McQ was produced by John Wayne’s Batjac Productions company. I begun wondering if Batjac’s records might exist in an archive somewhere, so I started searching and networking. I learned that a good portion resides with the Wayne family, but some of it is housed within University of Southern California’s Cinematic Arts Library and Archive. I sent a note to USC asking about any McQ materials. A couple of days later I received a phone call from USC and that gentleman was a John Wayne fan, too. I explained the professional nature of my request and the minute details I’d found in the movie. He appreciated my passion and offered to help. A couple of anxious days later an email arrived in my inbox and it contained some never-before-seen information!
Paperwork from the Batjac files that shows the VIN of a McQ movie car. This one received Washington plate ICG 585. It was returned to Pontiac on February 14, 1974 with 7,100 miles. It seems “Principal Car” refers to it being the vehicle John Wayne drove. Others were likely driven by stunt drivers.
The Batjac paperwork I received revealed that three Trans Ams—all delivered to Batjac on June 1, 1973—were returned to Pontiac once McQ’s filming was complete. The cars were equipped with Washington plates ICG 585, ICG 587, and ICM 171. Taking into account that the Trans Am with plate ICG 586 was destroyed in the movie, it seems that Pontiac actually supplied four Brewster Green Firebirds for McQ.
The Washington state registration for the Trans Am with VIN 2V87Y3N133701 reveals that the car was registered to Pontiac Motor Division’s Portland Oregon zone office, which means it was owned by Pontiac and loaned to Batjac Productions for use. We can assume the remaining three cars followed suit.
I immediately called my USC contact to express my sincerest gratitude. I asked if any additional pieces of documentation existed or if there was anything in the file on the destroyed Trans Am. Unfortunately, there was nothing more, but he referenced a financial note in which Batjac paid Pontiac for bumper damage on one of the returned vehicles.
The factory-to-dealer invoice for the 1973 Trans Am with VIN 2V87Y3N133xxx (plate ICG 585) proves it was equipped identically to the other known McQ movie car. Both were powered by the base L75 455-ci d-port. Note that it was assigned to Pontiac’s Zone Office in Sherman Oaks, California on July 30, 1973. Do you know where this car is today?
While Batjac recorded license plate numbers on its paperwork, only one VIN was recorded—2V87Y3N133xxx—and included was its original Washington state vehicle registration. I immediately contacted Jim Mattison at PHS Automotive Services who responded with a copy of the 1973 Trans Am’s original factory-to-dealer invoice. It confirmed that this car was equipped identically to the surviving car. Their VINs are little more than 100 units apart.
We don’t know the VIN for the McQ Trans Am equipped with plate ICM 171, which is visible in the movie. It was returned to Pontiac on July 30, 1973.
It's intriguing to learn that Batjac returned two Trans Ams (those with plates ICG 587 and ICM 171) to Pontiac on July 30, 1973. We can only assume that this date coincides with the completion of McQ’s filming. The Trans Am with plate ICG 585 (and VIN 2V87Y3N133xxx) wasn’t retuned until February 14, 1974, however, and it had 7,139 miles on its odometer at the time. So, why did Batjac wait so long to return this particular car? Did it have something to do with McQ’s official release date of February 6, 1974? Was it used to promote the movie in some way?
The Trans Am with plate ICG 587—which still exists today—was heavily abused during the McQ’s filming. The hand written “trans out” note likely refers to transmission damage that Pontiac noted upon acceptance on July 30, 1973. As we learned in the previous McQ blog, this particular Trans Am was so badly damaged that Pontiac donated it to a Seattle-area tech school.
I reached out to my USC contact and he suggested otherwise. The presence of “Principal Car” handwritten on its paperwork likely refers to it being the Trans Am that John Wayne actually drove. Was plate ICG 585 concealed by the BRN 952 overlay in some McQ scenes? We don’t know, but we might speculate that Pontiac loaned Duke—who we know was a Pontiac fan—the Trans Am with VIN 2V87Y3N133xxx for his personal use after filming was completed. This could be the exact reason that its invoice shows it being transfered to Pontiac Motor Division in Sherman Oaks, California on July 30, 1973—the same date that Batjac returned the other McQ movie cars to Pontiac.
A note in the McQ files reveals that Batjac Productions paid Pontiac for bumper damage that occurred during filming. It didn’t, however, reference which particular Trans Am. I never noticed any such bumper damage before, but while specifically looking for it in a recent screening, the damage is quite obvious in this portion of the chase sequence.
There are still many unanswered questions about the McQ movie cars and some answers may be lost to time. I’m confident in saying, however, that Pontiac loaned four identically-equipped Brewster Green 1973 Trans Ams to Batjac for McQ’s production. Identifying them by their valid 1973 Washington-issued license plates, we know the following details of each:
ICG 585- VIN 2V87Y3N133xxx- Whereabouts Unknown
ICG 586- VIN Presently Unknown- Destroyed During Filming
ICG 587- VIN 2V87Y3N133xxx- Exists and Awaiting Restoration
ICM 171- VIN Presently Unknown- Whereabouts Unknown
In the final scene of the chase sequence, we can clearly see the aforementioned bumper damage. We might surmise that this particular Trans Am was one returned to Pontiac—but which one?!
I checked with Washington state in hopes of identifying any VINs associated with the 1973 registrations for the license plates above but was told its vehicle records do not go back that far. Maybe you (or someone you know) might be aware of a way to dig deeper into Washington’s DMV archives?
With the information presented above, we know that the 1973 Trans Am with VIN 2V87Y3N133xxx is an authentic McQ car that was driven by John Wayne. Maybe you own it or know who does? If so, I’d love to hear from you.
And last, the information in this blog reveals that if you own a Brewster Green 1973 Trans Am that’s identically equipped to the two known McQ cars, was produced in late May 1973, and has a VIN in the 133000 to 134000 range, you might just have something special! Let me know if you do!