From Detroit to Queens, a love of Mopars, classic Chryslers shared

During a trip to last year’s New York Fleet Week, Detroit metal fabricator Josh Welton met up with a fellow Mopar enthusiast in Queens to share their love and stories of classic Chryslers, including a ’68 Dodge Coronet R/T. Images provided by Josh Welton

Early last year Darla and I drove to New York City for New York Fleet Week festivities. Dodge loaned us a special-edition Stars and Stripes Charger for the journey from Detroit. While there, we wanted to locate other Mopar enthusiasts in NYC. Darla reached out to a friend who pointed us in the right direction. One of these guys lived in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens and was stoked to show us his ride.

“I took it for a little spin while you guys were on the way here,” said John Tsontos, who built his ’68 Dodge Coronet R/T by himself in the borough. Yes, in Queens, in the elements, in an open garage/canopy setup, behind a series of row houses where his parents lived. If you want it bad enough, an excuse like “I don’t have an enclosed garage” does not compute.

“I built this car outside. I did the front suspension in 14-degree weather on the ground. Most people think, who the hell is going to have anything like this in New York City!”

We all laughed, but John quickly replied, “You’d be surprised. Let me tell you, it’s deceiving. There’s a lot of Mopars in this area. Especially in Astoria. Yeah, a lot of Chryslers, a lot of Chargers! But I’m the only one who has one of these in this part of the country, as far as I know, hooked up like this.”

John is a high-energy operator and tradesman accustomed to working with his hands.

He went on to say, “I’m a stationary engineer for the city, so I run big high-pressure steam boilers and air conditioning equipment. I’m an aircraft mechanic by trade - went to school for that and worked out of LaGuardia (Airport) for US Airways for a few years. I’m part of the International Union of Operating Engineers, so operating engineers do pipeline construction, drilling, infrastructure, bridge building, and buildings.”

John rents a couple of garages from local homeowners as a home for his car and motorcycle and a spot to wrench. Space like this is not easy to come by in Queens.

We were stunned by the car. Big, bright, and beautiful. The color combo is striking, with the body painted in a Porsche hue, Arctic Silver, a sharp “Marlboro” red stripe on the back, and a killer red interior. Darla asked a lot of the questions as I took in the Dodge with my camera.

“The only thing I didn’t do on this thing was the paint, the bodywork, and recover the seats,” John said. “But everything else I did; the engine, the tranny. It’s got a Tremec TKO600 in it. It’s got air conditioning.”

John bought the car as a rolling shell in 2003, letting it sit for two years while doing his homework. He then set out to build it with the best parts available at the time. “Everything in it is new. I got this car with no motor, no tranny, and five different colors. Then I built it like this.”

And he’s been driving it ever since.

Back then, before the track in Englishtown shut down, it ran 13.8 @ 108 MPH, but it’s certainly quicker now as that was before the 5-speed Tremec transmission. Since the strip went away, he’s gotten his track fix by autocrossing and hitting road courses.

“Getting the suspension dialed in right on this thing, like when I did the Good Guys road course, I couldn’t believe how tight it was,” John said. “This thing is planted on the ground.”

He added, “Not too many guys with Mopars like to road race, but there were like 10 of us that drove there. Me, Pete, and another friend with a ’66 Chevelle convertible, another guy with a ’70 Camaro Z28; all of us went.”

The “there” John spoke of was the Good Guys car show in West Springfield, Mass., close to 140 miles from Queens.

“The other guys racing were like, ‘Where’s your trailers?’ and we said, ‘Yeah, we just drove here from New York City, bro.’”

The car sounds as good as it looks thanks to a bored-out and built 440 from a ’70 RV, long tube headers, and 3-in. dual exhaust. And it drives as good as it sounds.

“The way the thing is built, it’s got a nice ride,” John said. “I’ve gone to the Poconos a few times – and it’s 80 MPH all day long because I’ve got 3:23s (rear-end ratio) in the back.” With a retrofitted A/C and an oversized radiator, the car and passengers stay cool no matter the traffic or the conditions. John also added disc brakes to bring the 3,800-lb. Coronet to a halt.

“I learned how to drive on a friend’s ’70 Charger, so for me driving this thing is nothing. That’s how I learned to drive stick too.”

Darla asked if that’s why he likes Mopars.

John laughed, “Yeah. Well, that and the ‘Dukes of Hazzard,’ the Saturday morning lineup!”

We cruised the car through the historic Astoria Park along the East River with the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge in the background. I took advantage of the location to grab some more photos.

As we talked about NYC’s old street racing scene, life, cars, and Queens, I realized we had a mutual friend in noted automotive enthusiast Mike Musto of House of Muscle fame, who now writes for car culture website Hagerty Media. And earlier that day we met with his longtime buddy Peter Filippatis to check out his ’70 Charger. It was cool to hear how three dudes from Queens bonded over their love of muscle cars and the neighborhood. It seemed like they’d still all have each other’s back today if shit hit the fan.

Rain clouds moved in as we hopped back in the Coronet and drove through Astoria toward an industrial area on the far side of the neighborhood to sneak a few more photos.

When the clouds broke loose, we headed back to the garage. We asked John about a good place to grab dinner and found ourselves feasting on authentic Greek food with him and his wife, Andrea. Laughing over car stories, sharing about our lives, and making new friends that felt like old friends made for a perfect afternoon.

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