HEMIWagon needs some photochopping

"JGrabowMSt" (jgrabowmst) 02/15/2015 at 16:59 • Filed to: HEMIWagon, Fender Flares

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Who wants a challenge to work on?

This is a newer 07+ Dodge Magnum. The headlight/front bumper is slightly different from what I have, but you can ignore it for this.

This is a Rocket Bunny FR-S.

Does anyone see where I'm going with this?

The rules:

1) I do not want the thing slammed to the ground. Lowered? A little bit, but DD ride height is important. None of that scraping shit happening to my car.

2) Wheels? 5 spoke cop steelies or Viper replicas if you feel so inclined.

3) Rear wing? Not right now. Rear Splitter? Keep it in mind.

4) Fender Flares? All night long. Remember I'm having side exit exhaust put on in front of the rear wheels. Leave room, or just know it will be going there.

5) No decals. I'm still working on the stripe before I send it off my vinyl guy for a final once-over and tweak to fit the car, so don't do any graphics.

Anyone want to take that challenge? I'm thinking some aggressive fender flares, a rear diffuser and a slight lowering. Who's bored and wants to take a crack at it? I could, but I want to see what you guys come up with. I want to see how it would look, so if it's good, I may actually consider having it done.

StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 > JGrabowMSt 02/16/2015 at 15:32

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Side exhaust you say? Hmm I like that. Though the Corsa system I have on mine (SRT though) sounds awesome, some cut outs dumping at the sides would be nice too.

JGrabowMSt > StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 02/16/2015 at 19:31

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Yes, Im looking to have a truly different Magnum. My concerns are most definitely with ride height and practicality, but the shop Im working with definitely has the skills to make some magic happen.

Cutouts are in the plans for the exhaust. When the weather warms up, we'll be putting the wagon on a lift to plan things out.

Is your SRT a Magnum as well?

StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 > JGrabowMSt 02/17/2015 at 08:02

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Sounds like a pretty awesome setup. Should look good when you are done with it.

Yes, mine is a Magnum as well. 2006 w/ 45k miles on it. She is sleeping away the winter right now. Just have a k&n intake and the Corsa exhaust on her right now. Would love to do a cam, and will be upgrading the stereo in the spring.

JGrabowMSt > StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 02/17/2015 at 11:40

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Sleeping for the winter? She needs to get out and play some! My 05 is pretty rust free, not sure whether the original owner kept it in a garage or what, but I jumped on the opportunity to buy it when I saw it was rast free (never mentioned it to the seller when I was looking at it initially). Regular DD duties with Yokohama IceGuards on it (stock sized 225 tires).

What state are you in, Im wondering how close you are to Northern NJ. Would be awesome to meet up with another Mag, especially an SRT.

When I get further into the plans, I can share more and more of it, in case someone wants schematics or sizing info of the mods Im doing.

StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 > JGrabowMSt 02/17/2015 at 11:59

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I plan on keeping her forever, so hiding her away for the winter isn't a bad thing. I have a 95 XJ for winter fun. I'm in MI, so I'm not sure how the SRT would have done in our 16 inches of snow we got a few weeks ago either! Jeep did just fine.

Mine is rust free as well, got it a few years ago with only 39k on her.

JGrabowMSt > StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 02/17/2015 at 14:51

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Sounds good. I plan on keeping my Magnum forever as well. Didnt originally think I was going to get one, but here I am.

With only 45k on it you should drive her a little more, shake the dust off a little. Probably still have the factory warranty as well for one more year?

What color is yours?

StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 > JGrabowMSt 02/17/2015 at 15:29

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Ha, I wish I still had the factory warrenty! I have an R6 that gets seat time in the summer too, so they have to compete against each other. Plus it is Michigan, we don't have the longest summers....lol.

And shes Red. 1 of 666 built, which I find funny.

JGrabowMSt > StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 02/17/2015 at 19:26

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Holy crap she's beautiful. I wish I could have found a red one, but I found the black one and I don't love it any less. If I had a red one, instead of the HEMIWagon, it would be the Li'l Red Express Wagon.

I'm looking for probably powder coat black, but this is a good idea of where the exhaust will sit on the passenger side. Needs to be wide and flat to prevent a major loss of ground clearance, and we'll have to come up with some kind of box to weld onto the frame, because the exhaust will basically be where the rear jack point is. That's my big concern about doing the exhaust, but we'll figure something out for sure.

I stopped by today to ask about the police package brake kit and to see if he can find me a price on the police wheels, but I'm not really sure I want them. I'm too picky about the visual stuff, so I may have a set of the wheels for the winter tires, but I don't know what I'll do about the all seasons for the rest of the year. The stock RT wheels just don't do anything for me. I need to find something subtle but unique. The cost of the steelies is what's putting me off at the moment.

StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 > JGrabowMSt 02/18/2015 at 08:21

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Thanks! It's a blast.

That exhaust will look awesome when it's done. Have you seen the body kit side skirts they made for our cars that have a cutout in that area already? I dont know if you can put the exhaust in there, but that would be cool too.

JGrabowMSt > StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 02/18/2015 at 08:28

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I did see those, and they look awesome, I'm just still tossing the idea around between doing flared fenders or keeping a completely sleeper look on the outside, especially considering when I get the money (hopefully not that far away), I'll be dropping a 426 under the hood with a TR6060 trans.

Looking to keep it pretty low key. It's just the rear jack point that I'm concerned about, because I do not want to have a problem if I ever get a flat tire and need to change it. It will also be an issue putting the car on a lift, so I'm letting my shop work that part out.

StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 > JGrabowMSt 02/18/2015 at 09:02

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Well now I'm jealous! If you can make a manual trans work in an LX thats impressive. I would love to do that.

JGrabowMSt > StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 02/18/2015 at 12:50

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Your car would be easier to convert to manual than mine would be. For your car, you remove the TCM, you remove the NAG1, you remove the pedal box and replace with a manual Challenger pedal box. Install the clutch hydraulics, TR6060 (or T56), cut a hole in the trans tunnel, may require some custom fab to make it all fit together in terms of widening the trans tunnel and changing the driveshaft length, but you could do it with your existing motor. I have to replace the motor ( again ) in order to make it work. The MDS feature is a monkey wrench in the plans, so I would need a motor with no MDS. The good part is that the manual trans will probably yield a better result than the MDS feature does. The other good part is that my now brandy spanking new MDS motor will be able to offset the cost, because it's got reinforced valve seats, and unlike most ads try to claim, my car is truly mostly highway miles (about 40 miles each way commute to/from work, plenty of days I put 100+ miles on the car).

Once I get to that point (gotta save up, 426's aren't cheap), I'll certainly keep a log of how it goes. I'll be collecting parts and visiting a few different shops putting the Magnum up on lifts talking with people about what's required, what can be removed, and how easily the existing body harness can adapt to the new ECU and motor. We'll say it'll be a challenge, but there are 3 SRT10 swapped Magnums in the midwest area (not sure exactly where, but I have heard of them, and they all see track time), so if they can do it, I can do it with a smaller motor. The 8.4L certainly interested me, but in the end, required too much modification for me to be willing. I want to keep the HEMIWagon a true HEMIWagon, the 8.4L would take that all away.

Another major concern I have is chassis stiffness. Another bridge I have to cross when I get to that point. Strut tower bars and some steel tubing underneath will be a requirement. A new rear and also coilovers are on the to-do list. Really going all out on this car, but have to do a little at a time so I don't destroy my bank account too quickly.

StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 > JGrabowMSt 02/18/2015 at 15:53

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None of this sounds cheap.....lol. I wish it were as easy as just taking the Challenger trans / TCM and plugging it in. Seems like the tunnel needs to be modified. You would think there would be a ton of people out there w/ manual swapped LX's, but there really aren't. Unless, like you said, you go crazy and drop a Viper motor in there. Because at that point, why the hell not.

I'm looking forward to seeing where your project goes. Sounds like it will be one hell of a Magnum when you are done!

JGrabowMSt > StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 02/18/2015 at 19:43

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There was a company that made an attempt at a manual trans for the LX cars, but could never get past the TCM issue. The manual Challengers actually don't have a TCM, because you row your own.

I've done a lot of research into it, but also my shop is very interested and willing to do crazy things that I talk to them about. They're just as excited to see it all come to shape as I am.

StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 > JGrabowMSt 02/19/2015 at 08:22

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Yea thats true. Maybe an ECU swap. I know Chrysler does it to some SEMA cars, I just never fully asked anyone that worked on them what all is entailed. I remember a few shops were trying for kits, but I think they were too expensive as well.

Good luck! It will be an awesome project thats for sure.

jnhalstead > JGrabowMSt 02/24/2015 at 16:46

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DODGE MAGNUMS WORLDWIDE is your source. You can find endless amounts of the things you want there. The fender flares aren't gonna work. Only vehicle they remotely look good on are the concept magnum.

Here's my creation...

I also shopped this diffuser this one

I could fill this with pictures for days, just come join the group

Jal > JGrabowMSt 02/24/2015 at 18:40

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Here's my attempt. Didn't do fender flares because I don't think it would look right on a magnum. Here's the version without decals http://imgur.com/u1WaSaF

Blue2010SRT > JGrabowMSt 02/25/2015 at 08:46

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Check out LXForums for some good advice & ideas.

While you're there, check out member Hemiwagn's original ( version 2.0 is in the works ) 6.1L N/A Magnum - 10.785 @ 125.02 MPH. I saw it run many times around Southwestern Ontario.

I'm currently looking for a decent Magnum R/T AWD for a winter car so the Charger can be retired from the salt baths. If the Magnum had still been available when I bought my Charger in 2010, that's what I would have bought.

JGrabowMSt > Blue2010SRT 02/25/2015 at 10:54

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I am a member on LX Forums, Im not terribly active, but I do know a few members on there.

HMushman > JGrabowMSt 02/25/2015 at 11:31

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I took a few minutes and threw a couple things together. Not perfect, but it'll give you an idea. The flares are not terribly aggressive (would have taken much longer) and I did not add side pipes because I wasn't sure what style, and there is no shortage of options. Also, it is slightly lowered. Hope this helps.