Bruce Campbell: “What in the hell happened in that car?”

At HorrorHound Weekend during the Evil Dead 2 panel, Bruce Campbell talked about his old nemesis the Delta 88, or the “Classic.” This vehicle has been in every Sam Raimi production for years and the actor wants to know why?

“The P.O.S. Delta 88.” – Bruce Campbell

The Look of Love

The saga with the Delta 88 has long been a part of Michigan Mafia legend and lore. Director Sam Raimi has had a lengthy love affair with the Detroit darling since his formative years. When Raimi was filming Crimewave, his childhood friend actor Bruce Campbell exacted his revenge on the auto.

According to Classic Cars Today Online, a mechanic approached Campbell and asked which Delta he needed to “modify and mount on a sliding rail car so that scenes could be shot from inside the vehicle.  Since the mounting platform could not support the weight of an entire car, anything installed on it would need to have as much weight removed as possible.”

Of course, Bruce told him to go ahead and modify the Classic. The next day when they began shooting, Sam realized that it was his vehicle that was on the rail car without the engine, transmission and wheels.

Raimi knew exactly who had done the dirty deed. Looking straight at Campbell he said, “You gutted my car!  You tried to kill the Classic!  Hard as you try, you will never kill the Classic.”

Which brings us to the present.

Getting to the Bottom of Things

When Bruce Campbell was moderating the Evil Dead 2 panel at HorrorHound Weekend in Indianapolis, a fan inquired about Sam Raimi’s Delta 88. She wanted to know if the car was functional and if the actor had a chance to drive it.

Followers of the franchise know that Campbell is anything but enamored with Raimi’s ride. Think of him as having a love/hate relationship with it. His term of endearment for the auto is “That piece of s*** Delta 88.”

The actor admitted that he has been trying to kill the Classic for years. He went on to state that Evil Dead was just the beginning of the car being immortalized on film. However, his involvement with the Delta goes way back to the Super 8 years.

Bruce recounted the films that the car was in from Blood Simple to Darkman when Liam Neeson hits it flying from the bottom of a helicopter. According to Campbell, “You name it, it’s in it!”

After all these years, even the actor has no idea why the vehicle is featured in so many of Raimi’s ventures prompting him to ask, “What happened in that car? That’s what I want to know!” So do Evil Dead fans, Bruce!

Always and Forever

More from Bruce Campbell

• Evil Dead star Bruce Campbell to guest star on A.P. Bio Season 4
• Bruce Campbell: Impact Wrestling wedding pays homage to Evil Dead 2
• Bruce Campbell: What is his connection to Impractical Jokers on Tru TV?
• Bruce Campbell: Last Fan Standing returns to Wizard World
• 31 Days of Halloween: Revisiting American Gothic with Bruce Campbell

Campbell is convinced that “Someone did something in the back of that car, some memorable moment.” Raimi is so infatuated with his Delta that he incorporated it into The Quick and the Dead. In a western, there is definitely not a place for it but Sam being the genius that he is concocted a plan.

Bruce explains how the auto was worked into the film. “Sam had the chassis pulled off and he put a wagon over the top of it. So he could say his stupid ass car was in the movie.” The Classic was also in Oz, the Great and Powerful in the tinker’s shop.

The actor recounted, “Some of the P.O.S. parts are on the wall so Sam could go, ‘That’s my car!’” This prompted Bruce to reiterate, “What the hell happened in that car? The first what happened in that car?”

A running joke is that Raimi will not tell Campbell where it is located. All he knows is that it is in an undisclosed location. At this point, Danny Hicks (Jake), Bruce’s co-star from Evil Dead 2 jumped in.

“When we were shooting Spiderman, Tim Quill (another Michigan Mafia member who has been in Army of Darkness and My Name Is Bruce) and I were driving around looking for a place to park at Sony Studios and we drove down to the basement. There were like six or seven of them (Deltas), exact models.”

Bruce chimed in with, “But I know how to tell the first one. You have to open the door. There is a number 1 on one of those sons of b******. And I know which one to shove a potato up it’s ass. Have fun trying to start that, Teamsters with your Spiderman movie.”

Where in the World Is the Delta 88?

Supposedly, Sam Raimi’s next venture as a director could be the talked about Bermuda Triangle film with Ryan Reynolds. It will be interesting to see exactly where and how the Delta 88 will fit in that effort!

Are there any other Sam Raimi movies where you have spotted the Delta? Feel free to share your observations in the comment section below. We want to hear from you.