We're Celebrities Too!

Duane Troy, left, and girlfriend, Debbie Kopac, are "Dukes of Hazzard" fans who own a replica of General Lee, the car driven by the characters in the popular 1980's TV show. Troy and Kopac named their basset hounds, Flash, left, after the one on the show and Toodles, after the dog on the later reunion movie.

BRIAR CREEK TWP. -- Duane Troy has never launched his replica General Lee car over a creek, construction site or freight train, but he was in a minor crash with a car driven by Cooter Davenport.

Troy took his beloved '69 Dodge Charger to an annual "Dukes of Hazzard" picnic last month in Virginia hosted by Ben Jones, who played mechanic and tow-truck driver Cooter on the popular 1980s television series. As Jones pulled into the parking lot with Catherine Bach, who played Daisy Duke on the show, he came too close to Troy's car and hit the front end, dinging the paint.

The "Dukes of Hazzard" first aired in 1979, and Troy, then 13 years old, knew the moment he saw the bright orange General Lee car with a Confederate flag on the roof and number 01 on the doors that he wanted one of his very own.

At first, he didn't know what kind of car main characters Bo and Luke Duke, a pair of Southern outlaws, drove on the show. His father told him the model and would point out Chargers when they went for drives.

He put a Confederate flag decal on the roof, but the car's paint was black, not bright orange. For several years he forgot about the "Dukes of Hazzard." But reruns rekindled his thoughts of owning his own General Lee.

His chance came in 1995 when he noticed an ad for a '69 Charger with low mileage, which had been stored in a Scranton garage for years. He paid $1,500 for the car and started the long process of turning it into a replica of the car made famous by the television show.

"He's addicted," said Debbie Kopac, Troy's girlfriend of eight years. "The show is in every single day of our lives."

Troy has been known to watch at least two taped "Dukes of Hazzard" shows a day. He has all episodes in his video collection and even plays the tapes when the couple sleeps, taking in the Dukes subliminally. When Troy decides to pop the marriage question to Kopac, they plan a "Dukes of Hazzard" theme wedding.

After three years of searching for authentic wheels, decals and paint, the General Lee was finished last November. But in January, a woman smashed into the car at an intersection near the Berwick Hospital and it was back to the garage for the General.

Troy, 34, turns lots of heads when he drives the car. People ask for pictures and wave. It turned out Troy was taking kids for rides around the parking lot.

Local and state police have even given the thumbs up when they see the car pass. In the television show, the Dukes were always trying to get away from the law, which led to wild police chases along the dirt roads of fictitious Hazzard County.

"I guess there's no animosity still around," said Troy, a mechanic.

The car also travels to vehicle shows, like the ones last month in Lime Ridge and Carlisle.

No, the doors aren't welded shut and Troy and Kopac don't slide across the hood and trunk and climb in through the windows like the television show characters. The doors on the cars used on in show also opened, even though they looked like they were permanently sealed.That's how fat old Uncle Jesse and corrupt Boss Hogg could sometimes squeeze into the back seat.

Duane Troy stands beside his 1969 Dodge Charger, a replica of General Lee which was driven on the "Dukes of Hazzard". On the inside of the trunk lid are autographs from cast members of the popular 1980's television show.


'Part of the family'

"It's a lot of fun," Troy said. "The kids get a kick out of the car. I never thought it would go to this extreme."

Troy said he tried to make the car as authentic as possible, which is tough because there were many Generals used in filming. It has been estimated that three cars were wrecked in the making of each episode.

The first car had a tan interior. Other cars had black. Some had polished chrome while others were dull. While Troy has never jumped the car, he has indulged in a smoky burnout or two.

"Occasionally, we exercise the General's tires," he said. "If you want him to, he will go."

Troy said he knows some folks might object to the Confederate flag, but said the symbol is part of history and the show was just good family fun.

The inside trunk of Troy's car is signed by many of the show's main characters.

It cost about $8,500 to turn the car into a General Lee, not including labor. Troy has been offered up to $20,000 for the car, which he refers to as a "he."

"He's part of the family," said Troy. "If I could get a birth certificate for him, he'd have one."

Troy is already working on a car that will replicate Sheriff Coltrane's squad car. Next might be Daisy Duke's jeep and Uncle Jesse's beat-up Ford pickup truck.