Clint Eastwood’s Old Car Collection Will Make Your Day

You’d be unforgiven for thinking Clint Eastwood doesn’t love cars and isn’t a great driver. How else did he become The Man With No Claims?

Clinton Eastwood Jr is 90 today. In a glittering acting, directing and producing career, the original Man With No Name has long since become one-name famous, but when he was born the nurses at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco dubbed him Samson due to his size, an eye-watering 11lb 6oz.

He got his acting big break at the age of 28 when he landed a role in the TV show Rawhide, which in turn lead to a string of Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns that helped establish him as bonafide box-office star and would eventually lead to Academy Award success in Hollywood. Ironically, however, it was the money Eastwood was able to command from the Dollars trilogy that first enabled him to really indulge the love of cars that he had had from a young age. So without further ado, here are the automobiles that made Clint feel lucky…

Ford Roadster (1932)

Despite growing up in an affluent area of California, young Clint did not study hard at school and preferred hanging out with friends, going to jazz clubs, and held down a succession of short-term jobs working as a lifeguard (hopefully it wasn’t a Dead Pool) and a golf caddie (“I know what you’re thinking… Did he play six shots or only five?”). As a result, he was never able to buy the car he always wanted, a Ford Roadster hot rod. However, later in life as a reward for all his hard work, Eastwood was able to indulge his boyhood ambition and sourced himself one for a hefty fistful of dollars.

Lincoln K-Series convertible (1937)

In the 1982 movie Honkytonk Man, Clint played a Depression-era country and western singer suffering from tuberculosis who goes on one last cross-country road trip with his nephew. The car they used in the movie was a 1937 Lincoln Model-K convertible – a magnificent V12 (6.8 litre) roadster launched in 1931 – described as an era-defining vehicle by the manufacturer. “It surges lightly, swiftly ahead with a touch of the accelerator,” an advert gushed at the time. “Shifting is smoother. Springs are more flexible… modern beauty has been achieved without the sacrifice of the dignity traditional with Lincoln.” Despite Clint’s character dying from TB towards the end of the movie, Eastwood so enjoyed driving the Lincoln that he “coughed up” for the car after production was finished.

Austin Healey 100M (1955)

After its stunning debut at the 1952 Motor Show and their subsequent appearance in the Le Mans 24-Hours a year later, Austin Healey’s new sports car acquired cult status. Donald Healey named it the 100 on account of its top speed, but that didn’t deter his company from introducing a high-performance version in 1955. The 100M had a stiffer suspension, produced 110bhp and Clint loved his (Steve McQueen also owned one). This picture is from 1958, the same year Eastwood’s career broke with his role as Rowdy Yates in Rawhide. We wonder what he did with his first paycheque?

Cadillac Eldorado Series 62 convertible (1955)

In the spring of 1953, Clinton went on a blind date with a secretary called Maggie Johnson and it seems things went pretty well. They got engaged in October and were married in December. Two years later, they welcomed a Cadillac Eldorado into their lives and the Eastwoods were delighted. With its 270 horsepower engine, elegant tailfins and a price tag of $6,286, it was a beauty. Some 34 years later, and perhaps with fond memories of that car, Eastwood starred in Pink Cadillac, an action comedy about a bounty hunter and a group of neo-Nazis looking for an innocent woman. It wasn’t very good. The 1959 pink Cadillac DeVille that appeared in the movie was perhaps the best thing in it.

Jaguar XK150 roadster (1960)

After the Austin Healey, Clint traded up for another classic British roadster, the Jaguar XK150. Built between 1957 and 1961, Eastwood loved it and his version (one of only 9,385 ever made) was the 3.8-litre-producing 220bhp and was the last of Jaguar’s original XK line-up. Eastwood was so enamoured with the car that he gave it a role in the first film he directed, Play Misty For Me.

Gran Torino Sport (1972)