Steve's 70 Hemi Charger makes front cover!

[moparjohn]

Welcome aboard Steve!  I can tell you guys first hand this car is as nice as they come, for that matter so is Steve. We get to hang out every so often at cruises and the like. John

[1969chargerrtse]

Welcome aboard Steve!  I can tell you guys first hand this car is as nice as they come, for that matter so is Steve. We get to hang out every so often at cruises and the like. John

I grew up in the same town as Steve.  I remember him driving around in an Orange superbird as a kid and a 69 camaro Pace car.  I followed him home and that's how I got to know him. That was some 25 years ago.  Great kid back then, nice guy now.  I remember him working at a body shop and restoring one of his Cuda's.  I must of missed the pony tail years.  Nice to have him on the site, extremely knowledgable, and funny.   

[JerseyJoe]

Hemmings seems to like the '70's..... 'cause they're the best!!!     Wow, I guess I need a "tongue-in-cheek" smilie     Great car, Steve 

[69_500]

I don't know about Hemmings prefering the 70's over another year. I seem to recall a HEMI 69 Charger 500 being in Hemmings, as well as a 68 that was on the cover a few years back, as well as a Daytona that graced the cover.

[nascarxx29]

I seen that car In Flemington NJ .And meet Steve he also formerly owned 71 hemi cuda conv Y2 hemi daytona 71 hemi sunroof charger and more.And that 70 Hemi charger sold from Surburban Dodge Metutchen NJ

[Ghoste]

I don't know about Hemmings prefering the 70's over another year. I seem to recall a HEMI 69 Charger 500 being in Hemmings, as well as a 68 that was on the cover a few years back, as well as a Daytona that graced the cover.

Not to mention the 69 RT and the 3rd gen. in their last issue.

[hemi68charger]

Flog,,, someone say flog?........ I'll say, "Two broken driveshaft thanks to a 4-speed"............ 

[69_500]

Yeah but your doesn't count in this thread Troy. As it was in a car that wasn't a HEMI> 

[Hemidoug]

Flog,,, someone say flog?........ I'll say, "Two broken driveshaft thanks to a 4-speed"............ 

You must be using the wrong driveshafts.... I have had to replace 3 pinion snubbers however...snapped off the bolts!

[njsteve]

OK, now here's an absolutely un-freakin-believable story:

I have been posting on various sites recently about how I am looking for another set of rear Cragars in 4-1/2" bolt pattern to replace the rear rims that I stupidly gave away 21 years ago to someone, I can't remember who. At least I was smart enough to keep the front 15x4 skinnies.

Well, I just found MY OLD RIMS AND TIRES on ebay and bought them! They were 40 miles from my house in Jersey! They are the rims with the same Parnelli Jones L60x15 Firestones on them. I paid $78 for the pair and they are now back home and ready to be cleaned up. The guy said he picked them up from a friend of his in town, about 15 years ago and that guy had them for a few years before that.

I guess I have yet another bizarro story to add to the archive now.

[andy74]

that is so kick ass man! love your car,not bad looking for a second gen!

[njsteve]

I spent the past few days cleaning the old rims. They are not in the best of shape, they are rather "patina-fied" as most Cragars are. Since I can't seem to find anyone that will rechrome them, I figured I'll just run them as is. I used a lot of Simichrome and cleaned up the chrome (where I could find it) as much as possible and then masked off the center lug nut areas and sprayed them flat black. Works for me. So I guess I am returning her to her "Rat Rod" beginnings.



Here's the finished product. While the 38 year old rear tires are not safe to drive on, they look good enough for show. For the fronts, I ended up using a pair of NOS F78x15s that came with a wrongly described set of front skinny cragars I bought last month and just sold last week on ebay.  (They were advertised at 4-1/2" bolt pattern but were actually 4-3/4") So they ended up being useful afterall.

[Daytona R/T SE]

I spent the past few days cleaning the old rims. They are not in the best of shape, they are rather "patina-fied" as most Cragars are. Since I can't seem to find anyone that will rechrome them, I figured I'll just run them as is.

Steve, I believe Stockton Wheel can rechrome your Cragars for you : 


             http://www.stocktonwheel.com/ 

[njsteve]

I just called them and they said they do rechrome Cragars at $185 each with a 30-45 day time span. Has anyone had any experience with their work?

[mtr]

Steve's car has a ga-gillion documents. Nice to see it make the cover. 

ps- Any non-numbers car should be flogged every day of the week. 

HEY!!!!! I resemble that remark! It is fun to flog after all....

you flog your what?

[hemi-hampton]

Can't you buy new ones for that Price, I thought Cragar was remaking them again? LEON.

[Daytona R/T SE]

I just called them and they said they do rechrome Cragars at $185 each with a 30-45 day time span. Has anyone had any experience with their work?

A friend of mine had some Rallye wheels widened by Stockton wheel about ten years ago, he said he was very pleased with their work...

$185 a piece doesn't sound bad to me...

[njsteve]

Can't you buy new ones for that Price, I thought Cragar was remaking them again? LEON.

Cragar does not make the single bolt pattern wheels anymore. All they make is the uni-lug version that fits 3 different bolt patterns. Also the spoke and rim design is slightly different and the chrome is blue-er. Other than that they're a perfect copy. ;-)
They also dont make the 15x4 width anymore, their version is a 15x4-1/2. The 15x4 was initially a racing-only wheel. When I dismounted the old front tires, inside the rim was stamped "FOR RACING USE ONLY, NOT FOR HIGHWAY USE". So, I guess I have to race it again.

[Magnumcharger]

That is good information that should be used by another member of this board -Sites-, the guy with Dick Landy's 1970 Hemi Charger.
I recall that his original Cragar rims were pretty well peeled and rusted to decrepitude.

Here are some pics of NjSteve's ride at Carlyle 2006, courtesy of BeepBeepDave.

[Magnumcharger]

Some pics of the documentation that were on display at that show.

[FJMG]

    Wow great paperwork! I didn't know that 14" wheels were available with the hemi.

[Daytona Guy]

All I can say is WOW - Love that car.

Dane

[njsteve]

    Wow great paperwork! I didn't know that 14" wheels were available with the hemi.

1970 was a weird year for hemi B-bodies. There was no mandatory 15" wheel like on the 1970 E-bodies or the 69 or 71 B-bodies. I tried driving the car on a set of 14x6 rallyes...once. It felt like a Pinewood Derby car - it wouldnt turn, it would just go straight ahead and then skid when you tried to make a turn. Very scary!

[Magnumcharger]

Looks WAY better on those classic Cragars anyway!

[njsteve]

Well it's only been five years give or take a day since the last post on my car. I figured I'd give a heads up in case anyone is interested:

I have consigned the Charger to the Mecum Indy Auction coming up in May, 2013. Here is the link in case anyone is interested in the car or knows someone who is.

http://www.mecum.com/auctions/lot_detail.cfm?LOT_ID=SC0513-154173

Thanks guys,

NJSteve