It's HEMI time !!! Compliments of NJSteve

[GTO_DON]

Steve I have a set of f78 blackwalls that are perfect!

[njsteve]

Don, pm me your phone number and what you want for them. How old are they?

[njsteve]

I checked the Charger websites, I think a 15x10 will also fit. (This car has some huge wheel wells!)

[njsteve]

Happy Birthday Charger! It was built 38 years ago today: Dec 8, 1969. I bought her a birthday present. I found a pair of 15 x 4-1/2 wide 4.5 inch bolt pattern Crager SS wheels on ebay that went rather cheap. The even had an NOS set of 205-B78's on them. Now I dont have to try and rechrome the original set of front rims.

The new pair are the two in the center. My original 1970 dated rims are on the outside.



Here's a closup:



The tires still have the tags on them. I will probably replace them since I dont feel too safe driving on 30+ year old tires.



Here's the back side. It looks like they have never been mounted on a car.



And the date code on my original rims. It looks like a grid with "70" for the year and an block date for the month from "J" to "D". The rims I just bought do not have the same date coding. They have a "RA252" stamped into the outer spoke flange in the same general area as my 70 rims. I dont know if that translates into a date code. Anyone out there know? They have to be rather old since Crager stopped making the single bolt pattern rims and went to the uni-lug in the late 70's (I think).



Now I just need to find a nice set of 15x8 rears to match!

[njsteve]

I got an email from John Ehnat today. He sent this "obituary" out to his friends. Looks like the Charger's dealership is finally gone:

"Every year the number of friendly, small town dealerships gets smaller, while the number of automotive multi-plex superstores grows at an alarming rate. McDonagh Dodge in Metuchen New Jersey is the latest casualty in the David vs. Goliath type battle. Prior to being renamed about 5 years ago, McDonagh Dodge was known as Suburban Dodge. Suburban Dodge proudly served central New Jersey for more than 40 years. Known for their great service and terrific deals, Suburban was THE Dodge dealer to deal with. Suburban Dodge could also boast parental rights as the original selling dealer of arguable the most photographed and writting about Dodge Charger on the planet. The Red 1970 Hemi R/T SE owned by NJSteve. This Hemi Charger has graced the pages of numerous magazines, and can be seen on the covers of the HEMI book, by Steve Atwell, as well as several other how to books. Suburban Dodge will always hold a soft spot in my heart for the fact that since 1967, there has always been at least one of my family members employed there. My Grandfather, father, uncles, brothers, cousins and myself have have worked in the historic dealership. The building will be used for storage of cars and equipment, and the bodyshop will remain in operation for the time being. However, it will no longer be called a Dodge dealer since Chrysler pulled the dealer code. So...personally I feel like I have lost a friend."
-John Ehnat



RIP Suburban Dodge

[njsteve]

If anyone is interested in the above mentioned narrow 15x4 inch wide Cragars (that are actually 4-3/4" bolt pattern, not 4-1/2"!!!) I have them for sale on ebay:

https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/show...e/0#Post313070

Turns out the guy I bought them from didn't know how to measure bolt patterns! So, maybe someone here can use them.

I am keeping the tires, though.

[flyingn]

just got the hemmings today steve.. Nice article but I had to giggle at the part where the original owners Son grenaded the hemi at *150* mph.. lol yea ok, with 4.88 gears. double ok. LOL with 88's, 115 mph would be more like it.