HEMI Wagon Project Log: Update

"JGrabowMSt" (jgrabowmst) 07/22/2014 at 20:09 • Filed to: hemiwagon

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SRT8 Grill installed.

Fogs go in tomorrow when I get new bulbs, along with new hoses for the catch can that I need to empty.

New tires going on as well. Ready to hit the local C&C on Saturday.

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > JGrabowMSt 07/22/2014 at 20:12

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Ah, the Magnum I remember when my dad had one. It was a good wagon, at least I felt it was.

Takuro Spirit > JGrabowMSt 07/22/2014 at 20:12

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I'll never understand why the base models came blacked out, and the R/Ts added so much chrome. Both the Magnum and Charger had that issue. Silly DCX.

JGrabowMSt > Takuro Spirit 07/22/2014 at 20:20

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I think the R/Ts look great, but I was not a fan of the slotted grill. It wasnt bad, but not my style. I have seen them with the black headlights, and they dont look good to me.

mr2gud2u > JGrabowMSt 07/22/2014 at 20:31

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Are u getting the spacer for easy access?

JGrabowMSt > mr2gud2u 07/22/2014 at 20:36

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Spacer for what? I dont need a spacer for anything that I know of right now...

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > JGrabowMSt 07/22/2014 at 20:54

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you should put in the facelifted headlights

Kailand09 > JGrabowMSt 07/22/2014 at 20:54

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Is it reliable? My dodge doesn't seem so past 100k...

JGrabowMSt > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s 07/22/2014 at 20:57

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noooo

I just put on a new bumper, not getting another set of new stuff.

the face lift looks nice, but i like what i have.

JGrabowMSt > Kailand09 07/22/2014 at 21:07

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144k. Just shy of 145k. 20ish mpg average. Trans shifts great with new fluid. No reason i cant double the mileage on it. Rear will get a fluid change as well this week. It needs a good cleaning under the hood, but its in very good shape for its age and mileage. Im keeping it fresh and keeping it looking good looking.

the car will be a DD once I finish working on it, and the goal for the build is a 392 or 426 with a 6 speed manual. No boost, just a clean swap to get what I want out of it.

offroadkarter > JGrabowMSt 07/22/2014 at 21:33

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Looks like someone got their car back

Nothing > JGrabowMSt 07/22/2014 at 21:35

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Looks good. I've made sure to read your posts, as the Magnum is a car that's always interested me. I may still snag one someday.

mr2gud2u > JGrabowMSt 07/22/2014 at 22:31

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My catch can is parallel to the block and the radiator. I have seen some catch can setups that slightly raise the catch can so it doesn't sit down in the space between the block and the radiator. Its raised just above the throttle body.. You can easily unscrew the can without removing anything.

mr2gud2u > JGrabowMSt 07/22/2014 at 22:48

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Also a word of advise. Please don't put stock lifters in your build. They will fail and destroy whatever cam you have installed. I learned the hard way.

JGrabowMSt > offroadkarter 07/22/2014 at 23:04

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Yep. body shop did a great job on the front end. The one big scratch on the rear quarter was deeper than either of us initially though, but they did some touchup, and it's better than it was. It was more of a last minute thing, so I told them not to spend much time on it, my major focus was the front end. In all, I'd definitely go back. I didn't expect them to button the whole thing back up, but they did all the plastic fasteners and it was out the door for a very fair price. Thursday I'm stopping at an exhaust shop in the morning to discuss side exit and dumps.

JGrabowMSt > Nothing 07/22/2014 at 23:13

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This picture kind of shows some imperfections that I need to work around, but overall the car is in great shape considering it's age.

I got lucky for what I picked the car up for, if you really want one, just keep looking around. They aren't without their problems, but no car is. I'd say whatever you do, don't wait too long. Even after getting this one, looking around at used ones, you typically find abused ones for more than what I paid, that will be a money pit.

I've done a lot of major front end work on this car, and I'm only about halfway done with it. Because of the age, I did the water pump, radiators and because the bumper had a big crack in it, I had that replaced. I'm not one to leave busted parts on the car generally. Given the replacement parts, it should last another 150k miles, and have no problem doing it. There are Magnums out there with over 320k on them. You just need to find one that the owner isn't interested in anymore. If the owner liked the car and kept it well, you're buying a great car. Big wheels, aftermarket lights, shaved door handles, big sound systems, and you're getting into trouble. Some cars with big sound systems I've seen and read about have 2-3 batteries in the trunk, putting over 270lbs in there. The rear suspension on the RTs and SRTs can take it, but it's an awful lot of wear and tear, even for the Sachs Nivomat struts.

Most Magnum owners I meet and talk to are very firm that they will not sell their cars. I can't say I'm any different now, because I've grown to really love it. If it came down to my inability to afford the car, I'd have to make a decision then, but even with that, I may choose to suffer through in order to keep it.

offroadkarter > JGrabowMSt 07/22/2014 at 23:29

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Awesome, I'm getting my exhaust redone in 2 weeks and the car retuned in hopefully a month. Doing a 3" X pipe into borla stingers with 2.5" over axles into non resonated tips

Volume is up in the air, theories depict it'll be louder?

JGrabowMSt > mr2gud2u 07/22/2014 at 23:37

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This is a nearly 100% stock 2005 Magnum. The modifications are catch can, CAI, the grill, plug wires and interior lights. The whole top end is stock, and knowing about the weak lifters, a cam is not even on the future to-do list without a new engine. At 145k, there's so much slop in the top end, a cam would likely destroy the engine after a short while.

I want to do a 392 or 426 swap in the future. That's at least a year away, if not longer. I simply don't have the time to tear the car apart to do it, as a lot would need to be re-wired to accommodate the changes. One of those engines may see a rumble cam, but I'm not looking to push major power, I'm looking to have something different (6spd manual). The new 5.7s with the 6 speed are very tempting, as I'm not looking for major power, I'm looking for long term reliability with enough grunt to spin the tires once in a while. It'll maybe see some autocross, but not competitive. It's still a ~4500lb boat when it comes to turning, and I'm not emptying my savings on a suspension to fix something that it'll hardly ever have a problem with.

I've tossed the idea around for rebuilding the top end over a weekend in the winter, but I'm not sure. I'd like to maybe do the valve springs and put in new pushrods, but unless a cylinder is losing serious compression (and it doesn't drive like that's the case), I don't see myself tearing the thing apart. Given the mileage, I'd rather put in a new motor than spend a significant chunk of what a new motor might cost, just fixing a high mileage motor. I could part out the old motor, or sell it while it's still in one piece to offset the cost of a new one. Either way, this one wont see any changes in the cam.

I think my biggest issue at the moment is the shitty tubing with the catch can. Hopefully tomorrow I can pick up some 3/4 fuel line, and finally put the PCV issues behind me and move on. My catch can is not a Billet Tech piece, it's an ebay special (I wanted a certain size, certain capacity, color, etc) so It's actually mounted on the passenger strut tower. Reduced the total plumbing for the PCV system that I needed, and kept the install very neat and accessible the way I wanted it to be. Once I get the new hoses in, I'll take an updated picture of it.

In a few weeks (because they're going on vacation soon), I'm looking to try and get a chance to stop by a friends house, and steam clean the motor to get the salt off it, and clean up some of the crap leftover from previous work and the body shop. I was a bit specific with them (not pushy, just didn't want them wasting time on parts I didn't want touched), so I have to take care of cleaning up some of the residue from paint and sanding. Considering the difference in price between the first and second shop prices, I can handle the cleanup myself. I need to get the thing apart anyway to put the fogs back in (I did a lot of prep for them, removing parts and making it easier to get the bumper off for paint).

JGrabowMSt > offroadkarter 07/22/2014 at 23:46

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When my dumps are finished, we'll have to go through a tunnel together and find out.

The new side exit I have planned will only remove the resonators. There will still be cats and mufflers, so it'll rumble a little more, but wont be like yours. The dumps are going to be pre-muffler, so depending on what the shop says about the pressure, it might be a whole hell of a lot louder than yours when it's opened up, it might be just as loud, or just a little quieter. Whichever it is, I'm sure it'll be fine. Getting the exhaust to work will be hard enough I think, because space is tight underneath.

Side pipes will probably be oval, so the tips will have to be custom. I'm keeping most of the system stock, so it'll be 2.25" out of the mufflers to a wide flat tip. The dumps will be whatever wont throw a CEL. I can't really find any good info on exhaust dumps and how big they can be without affecting flow. I was looking at a Mustang with factory dumps, and the pipes for the dumps are definitely smaller than the muffler outlet, so I'll let the shop tell me what'll work. I just need a set of mufflers that weigh less than 25lb together, and are 2.25" with the inlet and outlet on the same side.

If I really want to make noise, I can route the dumps through a set of cherry bomb glass packs and a 90* bend down to keep it from roasting the shit out of the undercarriage. But space is too tight for that to work I think, so I'm not really looking to do that anyway.

offroadkarter > JGrabowMSt 07/23/2014 at 00:15

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if your exhaust is louder than mine with long tube headers I will buy you lunch

JGrabowMSt > offroadkarter 07/23/2014 at 00:23

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I'll take you up on that. The dumps better count though, because I need to be able to leave my neighborhood early in the morning without pissing everyone off, and that means closing them dumps and shutting the thing up for a while.

That and not everyone can drive on borrowed time like your marauder. Though, my friends truck might be able to give you a run for your money. It has flowmaster super 44 mufflers. That's it. No cats, no resonators, just straight pipes with the super 44s basically for show, because the damn thing is louder than all hell. His Corvette is no quiet thing either, but at 200k miles, they don't run it too hard.

offroadkarter > JGrabowMSt 07/23/2014 at 01:24

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well I'm getting my car retuned by a guy in toms river at the end of august and it in theory should be inspection ready when he's done with it.

Lets throw Mathias into this mix

JGrabowMSt > offroadkarter 07/23/2014 at 09:26

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thats hardly fair, the 924 barely has what could be loosely considered an exhaust...

offroadkarter > JGrabowMSt 07/23/2014 at 17:40

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yeah but he has half the cylinders

JGrabowMSt > offroadkarter 07/23/2014 at 18:08

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alright, but if he's in, then Aaron is also in. I mean, he has an adjustable exhaust after all.