[njsteve]

Yesterday I gave a copy of the Hemming Muscle Machines to my mechanic at work. He was having dinner with the Wickbergs on Friday evening and was going to give it to them.

It's 12:30pm Saturday and I just got off the phone with Richard Wickberg, Sr. He called me up and we talked for about 15 minutes. (He had to get to his grandson’s baseball game). Depending on the weather we will all get together in the next week or so. His son Richard Wickberg, Jr. is flying back in from out of town business today. They own a commercial dredging business so they are rather busy.

Richard Sr. gave me some info on the Charger. He said back in '69 he was about 30 years old and a 60 year old buddy of his had a hemi GTX. The buddy was pushing Richard to buy a hemi car, but a Plymouth not a Dodge. Richard liked the Charger body style and the dealership, Suburban Dodge was in the same parking lot in Metuchin, New Jersey, that the local bar was in. All the salesmen from Suburban would come into the bar after work and hang out. That is why Richard made the decision to order his Charger from Suburban. He mentioned that there were two salesmen he remembered, Bernie and Arnold, which he dealt with.

(Richard actually ordered the car 39 years ago, last Monday)

Richard ordered the car and took delivery in January 1970. Shortly thereafter, the buddy with the hemi GTX traded his GTX in on a 70 Superbird.

Richard remembered that he only drove the car about 3,000 miles and all he ever did was wash it and wax it. I asked him about his son “borrowing” the car and he said he found out one day when he came home from work and saw burnout marks heading INTO the garage. He said that there were tire marks all over the driveway and that his son must have almost ran it through the garage wall. His son eventually became the one who drove the car more and more over the next few years, running it into things and breaking parts.

The longest trip he ever took with the Charger was up to Syracuse, New York one warm November. He went up there for some sightseeing and got caught in a lake effect blizzard. He remembered being the last car allowed on the highway before they closed it down. It took him 14 hours to get back to Jersey, going 20 mph the whole way. He said the car had absolutely no traction on anything but dry pavement.

I asked him if he had any old photos but he said he moved several times and had a divorce in the middle, so he didn’t think he had anything left but would look. I asked him to try to write down any stories he could remember for when we meet in person.

We will be getting together with Richard, Richard Jr., the wife, kids and grandkids in the next week or so. I will keep you updated with the details.