At this year's True Street Challenge, Steve caught us off guard. What we saw was a restored '66 Hemi car that looked like a survivor and garage queen. What we didn't know at the time was this Belvedere sees its share of road time around Colorado's high altitudes and still makes passes through the traps in the 11s. Many other participants had the power in the right spot, but suffered on the road and under Nevada's grueling temperatures. Steve's Plymouth trudged along without a hitch.
Steve's attitude was so pleasant that it was hard not to spend all our time just chatting with him. Calm and quiet spoken, this retired airline pilot manipulated this stocker down the quarter, passing up fuel-injected E-Bodies and Super Stock Hurst Hemi clones. It just goes to prove that the saying "experience and cunning wins over youth and brute strength" was never truer.
| FAST FACTS |
| Owner: | Steve Hagberg, Berthoud, Colorado |
| Body: | ’66 Plymouth Belvedere |
| Color: | Red |
| Engine: | 439 Hemi, Manley 6.86-inch rods, JE 10.8:1 pistons, Racer Brown .527-lift camshaft, iron heads, stock intake, stock AFB carbs |
| Transmission: | self-built 727 TorqueFlite auto, 3,000-stall 10-inch Turbo Action torque converter |
| Rearend: | 83¼4 with stock 4.10 gears |
| Exhaust: | Doug’s headers, Dynomax mufflers |
| Wheels/Tires: | front: Bogart 15x3.5, Firestone M/T 205/75/15; |
| | rear: Bogart 15x8, Firestone M/T 28/11.50/15 ET Street |
| Quarter-mile: | 11.32 at 119 mph |