THE "WARRENCAR"

THE BONNIE & CLYDE "DEATH CAR"



1934 FORD FORDOR DELUXE SEDAN
Death Car: 1934 Ford Model 730 Deluxe Sedan

Assembly Plant: River Rouge

Assembly Date: February 1934

Dealership: Mosby-Mack Motor Company

Engine: Large eighy-five HP V8

Transmission type: manual 3 speed

Tires: Firestone 525/550x17

Original owner: Ruth Warren

Original purchase price: $835 (1934)

Custom color: Cordoba Grey

Inside options: Arvin hot water heater

Outside options: steel cover for spare
tire, front & rear bumper guards, a

chrome greyhound radiator cap ornament,

Potters trunk & safety glass windows

Date stolen: April 29, 1934

Vehicle's Motor # 649198

License plate: 1934 Arkansas 15-368 

Original license plate: Kansas 3-17832

Odometer miles: (added by Clyde) 2,500

Damage assessment: bulletholes & bloodstains




Mosby Mack Motor Company
courtesy of Eric Wise






Henry Ford admires THE death car?




1934 ARKANSAS 15-368 LICENSE PLATE


Will it ever show up? It had originally belonged to Mr. Merle Cruse of Fayetteville, Ark.
According to his grandson, when Mr. Cruse was in a theater watching newsreel footage of the
impounded death car, he noticed it bore his stolen plate. He excitedly jumped up exclaiming...
"THAT'S MY LICENSE PLATE!"


Old rusted license plate created by Frank R. Ballinger




Vintage Ford V8 newspaper Ad




When Mrs.Ruth Warren arrived in Bienville Parish to claim her car (after the ambush).
Sheriff Henderson Jordan refused to release it to her, claiming that she would have to
pay $15,000 to get it back. She then hired Arcadia attorney W.D.Goff to represent her.
Goff claimed that by Jordan setting the value of the car over $3,000, the case would
surely wind up in Federal Court. Because of Sheriff Jordan's refusal to comply, Federal
Judge Benjamin Dawkins threatened to send the sheriff to jail, if he did not return the
car to Mrs. Warren.

She finally did, get her car back, and drove it to Shreveport, Louisiana. From there the
car was taken by truck, back to Topeka, Kansas, where it sat in her driveway at 2107 Gabler
Street for several days. She leased the car to John Castle of "United Shows" and when the
contract went into default, she had the car repossessed and rented it to carnival operator
Charles Stanley. After she divorced her husband Jesse, she kept the title to the car and
sold it to Stanley for $3,500. The "Death Car" was then exhibited at a Cincinnati, Ohio
amusement park from 1940-1952. Ted Toddy purchased the car in 1952 for $14,500. The car
then sat in a warehouse for years until the popularity of the 1967 Authur Penn movie
"Bonnie & Clyde" brought it out of retirement. In 1988, the death car was used in the
Great American Road Rally in the old Arlington Stadium.


Yes folks! This is the Real McCoy

At a trial held in a Georgia Federal court in 1969, the Toddy car was authenticated with the assistance
of Ted Hinton and through the vehicle's motor # 649198, the same as Jesse Warren's stolen Ford vehicle.







Death Car on Exhibit (vintage photo)


Death Car on Exhibit (vintage photo two)







Where is the car now?
Primm Valley Resort & Casino in Primm, Nevada.
The car was originally obtained by the owners of Whiskey Pete's in 1988 for $250,000. 
The infamous "Death Car" was an attraction in their lobby, along with other Bonnie & Clyde
relics, including the bulletriddled shirt worn by Clyde Barrow on the day that he was killed.
"Whiskey Pete's" (Primadonna Resorts Inc.), in Primm, Nevada, is located
just 35 miles south of Las Vegas, on I-15 at the California/Nevada Stateline.
However, MGM, the Las Vegas-based Entertainment Gaming and Hotel giant, had
recently acquired "Primadonna Resorts Inc". Whiskey Pete's was also included
in this $267 million dollar deal, so the "deathcar", shirt and other memorabilia
are now located across the road, at "The Primm Valley Resort & Casino".


DEATH CAR - PRIMM VALLEY RESORTS

courtesy of Professional Photographer - Ken Leonard

Please visit Ken's Online Gallery at: http://www.pbase.com/xl1ken





Primm Valley Casino SOLD

Bonnie & Clyde Death Car being displayed at the various Terribles Casinos

photo of death car in Iowa - courtesy of Rick Mattix

Primm Valley Resort & Casino in Primm, Nevada - soon to become Terribles Casino Nevada.
The Death Car, recently displayed at "Terrible's Casino" in Osceola, Iowa in August of 2007
is currently being displayed at Terrible's St. Jo Frontier Casino in Saint Joseph Missouri.

Missouri update supplied by Hideout visitor Greg Baldwin







Chuck Flynn's
Death Car Diorama









Photos of Death Car in Verdi, Nevada courtesy of Dave Lopez
PHOTO ONE
PHOTO TWO
PHOTO THREE






THE REAL DEATH CAR
POWERFUL HOLES







Fake "Death Cars" Out There

(See related link below)



Fake Death Car's new owner

(Related link Fake "Death Cars" Out There)

From Hickman Creations






POLICE LOGBOOK-"PAGE 45"
On April 29, 1934, Bonnie and Clyde had stolen the car
that they eventually died in. In the last months of their
lives, the telephone calls, to and from the home of Cumie
and Henry Barrow were being monitored by the Dallas Police.
A log had been made of these conversations. Included here,
is page 45 of that logbook dated April 26, 1934 at 8:40 PM.
Frank, the brother of Joe Bill Francis calls Mrs. Barrow to
discuss Joe who had been in jail. While at the City Hall,
he overheard an interesting conversation that he tells
Cumie about.
"CLICK HERE"



photo above shows the actual V8 emblem
from the Bonnie and Clyde death car





DEATH CAR DISPLAY PHOTO
courtesy of James D. Mortellaro





"CLICK HERE" - A WARREN STORY


CLYDE'S BULLET-RIDDLED SHIRT
courtesy of Jack Branson





Clyde Barrow's death shirt came from Wasson's of Indianapolis.
H.P. Wasson and Company aka Wasson's was an Indianapolis, Indiana,
based department store chain founded by Hiram P. Wasson.




DEATH SHIRT CLOSE-UP
courtesy of James D. Mortellaro






DEATH SHIRT RESTORED
computer restoration by Frank Ballinger



At the time of his death, Clyde Barrow was wearing the light blue western style shirt
shown above. It sold at auction for $85,000. A one inch swatch of the dark blue trousers
Barrow was wearing, can be purchased by you, and you need not mortgage your home
to own a tangable piece of clothing that was actually worn by Clyde Barrow on May 23, 1934.


DARK NAVY BLUE "DEATH TROUSERS"

Click here to see how to own a piece of the "death trousers"







Auctioned in 1973 for $175,000

The 1975 Kruse Letter to sell Death car

Earlier display of Death car

Bonnie and Clyde's car exhibited - poster

Bonnie and Clyde's car exhibited - color stills


Death car Transport Trailer early 70s





RACING THE BULLETRIDDLED DEATH CAR

In 1987 the car belonged to Clyde Wade, curator of Harrah's Automotive Museum. It was
put in running condition. The only thing changed was the windshield, because it would not
pass inspection. The steering wheel was half rebar and half plastic. The seats were all shot
up and there were bullet holes throughout. Because all of the side windows still had holes
through them, they were covered with Plexiglas to keep out the weather. Bruce Gezon and
Virginia "Ginni" Withers raced the death car in 1987 in the Interstate Batteries Great Race.
Wade, who is a friend of Withers and her husband Newt, entered the car in the Great Race
because he wanted to sell it and he believed that the publicity would increase its value.



Bonnie and Clyde's "race car"
photo Virginia Withers


Bonnie and Clyde's "race car"


Bonnie and Clyde's "race car" in action


Bonnie and Clyde's "race car" coin


Ford Fordor Sedan styles of 1935 and 1936


"Old clunker" - similar to Bonnie and Clyde's death car


Death car in a Simpsons episode



Death car lookalike in Stooges episode



How's this for a getaway car?




Death car lookalike in Charlie Chaplin film







SANDY JONES DEATH CAR EXAMINATION



SANDY JONES REPLICA DEATH CAR PROJECT




THE 1967 MOVIE DEATH CAR PAGE