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| Photo ID # | O03.20.18__9c_CRO_FLM_0070_1 |
| Car #: | #9C |
| Driver (s) : | Howie Cronce |
| Location: | Flemington Speedway |
| Date: | 1971 |
| Photographer: | George McCormick |
| Photo provided by: | George McCormick |
| Comments: |
Comment: I've learned from Howie that the body on this car
came from Falcon that was used at the Hunterdon Central Auto Shop Class
(Howie was a student in the auto program in 66/67.) It was being replaced,
and they were no longer using it for instruction... and was headed for
scrap. Howie had a good home for it! It was just a shell without front fenders which made it perfect for the beginnings of a stock car body. Howie cut and skinned the rest of the car with a torch. The roof was cut in a big square and all the window posts were made by Howie from flat sheet metal. Somewhere around the time this car was being built (1969) a friend of Howie's named Jimmy DeBaro started helping out. He had a lot of knowledge when it came to body work. Howie and Jim used 3/8" steel fuel line from the parts store to make a bead around the body edges, along with a little welding and some bondo. They used 5/16"or 1/4" around all the window/roof posts to stiffen it up. The roof was moved back on the body to make it sit right and look cool from the side! When it was ready for paint, the car was taken to George Unfried's in Ringoes where Jimmy DeBaro worked part time doing body work. It was painted yellow, and was run that way for the first year. At some point, a color change was in order, so it was later painted black with silver sides, but kept the "#9C.". The car was raced beginning in 1971 (yellow), and after the color change, continued to race through the 1974 season. The Falcon was eventually replaced with the black Mustang bodied racer. The rear and a few other parts from the Falcon were used on the Mustang, and whatever was left of the Falcon (mainly just the chassis, body, and front axle) was sold off. |