Meet The Handling Hemi Swap Challenger Project!

[@Red71392]

I was really missing her this weekend with the weather so nice. Thanks for scratching the itch and the kind words about Red!

[@DeadDodgeGarage]

Absolutely! I love it! Can’t wait to dig in - such a great combination and a neat build.

[@toddselph5992]

You got a really nice car. You don't see too many 71s around.

[@blueduster74]

May I ask what mufflers you’re running? Sounds great without being obnoxious.

[@Roosters_Restos]

I wonder what cam is in that. We are going to mod my son's keg and see how that wakes up top banana. I wonder if going carbed or stay throttle body is the way to go. For now I am going to just port and mod his keg. Today we talked about building the 360 30over I have in my shop. Part of me wants to build a little Magnum monster for his truck. This chally will be a beast when done. 707hp 392? If so those shorts ain't gonna come clean.

[@Red71392]

@@toddselph5992 thank you for the kind words! I feel fortunate to be the caretaker of this car. It’s been a blast to implement a lot of the parts/knowledge I learned as a kid reading articles about XV racing. With the 392, I’ll be able to realize a life-long dream of seeing the country in an old Mope.

[@musclecarmitch908]

Awesome car! I remember only ever seeing one 71 challenger in my area with that hood and fender moulding, it was B5 blue but the memory has stuck with me. I think Chrysler was going for the wrap around front bumper look with that moulding because it was so popular at the time!

[@LongIslandMopars]

You are correct. The only other time I saw that front end treatment was in a 71 Hemi Challenger that was an Arizona barn find. I think the channel was Carcheology.

[@richjordan9375]

Chrysler did the best loop bumpers

[@LongIslandMopars]

@@richjordan9375 My 74 Charger and my buddy's 69 Newport thank you.

[@terrymonroe6490]

That is 1 nice Challenger , you will enjoy working on it

[@gasser66]

What can pull me away from model railroading on a lazy Sunday afternoon? A Challenger on DDG. Looking forward to more on this beauty.

[@DeadDodgeGarage]

I want to get into model railroading one of these years. I scored some cool stuff to play with too. Whatever that old school size bigger than HO is. Can’t remember at present. I have a bit of a time issue…

[@LongIslandMopars]

​@@DeadDodgeGarage I think it's O-gauge. I have my dad's 1940s Lionel set and I believe it's O-gauge.

[@DeadDodgeGarage]

@@LongIslandMopars That looks about right!

[@blueduster74]

Can’t wait to add a TKX and suspension to my Duster. I have those strut rods and the boxed lower arms.

[@THEMOFODRIVER.]

Great intro! And that Challenger is wicked!

[@toddselph5992]

Nice car! Looking forward to seeing more of this project. I've considered the 392 swap for my Challenger.

[@evinford2966]

The new intro on channel is great. Nice work👌

[@wbarney59]

Thanks Jamie

[@m1a1hm]

Man sweet ride!! I look forward to see what you do with it.

[@Huffy_Turns_a_Wrench]

Sweet car Jamie!

[@MikeJBlues]

Awsome Challenger, love it

[@sinistercharger]

That looks very nice...Almost as good as the Charger 🙂

[@510CurtDawg]

I put a 6.4 in my 70 duster.... i put some info videos up on my youtube to help others out.... mine is a stock (reinforced) k frame, and is also built to handle, with a 6 speed too.... tons of fun.... reliable too!

[@DeadDodgeGarage]

Sounds amazing!

[@510CurtDawg]

@@DeadDodgeGarage its fun, i drive it every weekend i can with nice weather.... im in california area...almost every weekend is nice weather! Lol

[@DeadDodgeGarage]

@@510CurtDawg I might be a little jealous there... 😅

[@Red71392]

@510CurtDawg, I've watched and studied your videos to help me put the plan together on mine. Thank you for sharing the knowledge of your build. Those 1st to 2nd pulls you've posted are my greatest source of inspiration. haha

[@urielgarcia4567]

Awesome Intro, and beautiful car 😍 can’t wait for the 392 swap!

[@matthewb8229]

You started the car up at the beginning of the video, and the way you revved it, I immediately heard (in my head, mind you) a certain slap bass rhythm, and started in with, "Jerry was a race car driver. He drove so goddamn fast, he never did win no checkered flag, but he never did come in last."

[@DeadDodgeGarage]

🤣 that’s awesome.

[@rshegg7605]

I know a MB as I am he .

[@wiggyjones]

It was this or existential dread over Chinese "weather" balloons. This is definitely the better choice. Personally I never watched "Fast and Furious," but Challengers make me think of Kowalski in "Vanishing Point."

[@craigbowley6783]

What a beautiful car 😍

[@kenjohnson3641]

Sweet ride

[@kencooper2059]

Beautiful car!

[@dantupper1784]

What a nice car. This should be very cool.

[@Roosters_Restos]

Dear Red71. It's in good hands Jamie may be a little insane but Tom is for sure and that's the best guys for this build. Rocket is nothing less than innovated, so ol red will come out swingin so hang on. Oh those shorts ain't gonna come clean if you floor it. Just sayin. I drove a cuda swap and it was insane.. melted the tires in 4 gears and chirped 5 and 6. Hit 6th gear at 140mph. No idea what it would top out at but it wanted to go. Rooster

[@Red71392]

I don't know how to love this comment, but you definitely got me pumped! I want this car to be a total rocket ship! haha

[@Roosters_Restos]

@Red71 actually just got off the phone with Jamie and with the stand alone tune set up you have you can take this from 525hp and 510 torque to over 600hp but getting that to the road will be hard with those wheels and tires. Just because you have the hp don't mean you need to show it. Kinda like just because I can don't mean I should lol. Just enjoy it and remember if you floor it those shorts won't come clean. You will sound like prudence the screaming goat.

[@craigbowley6783]

My cousin built one of those engines for his 71 duster but then he totalled it and put the engine in a it 65 Dodge 100 .

[@Jaybird66sweptline]

I would love a video on what upgrades/cost/etc could be done on the front suspension for old Mopars like this (B Body, in my case) for the budget minded folks like myself. Also, I did notice that in this video you mentioned the owner purchased the parts beforehand. I always understood this as a no no for shops? A faux pas of sorts? Maybe old school unwritten rules? I ask because I'm on the wait list for Rocket and thought about it for sure. That sure is a sweet ride. Some steelies and dogdish caps would look way better though in my humble (and biased) opinion. Cheers.

[@DeadDodgeGarage]

This is a bit of a special case as far as parts go. While we are usually in charge of getting parts, Austin has done all of the research and ordered absolutely everything needed for the swap. While he isn’t doing the actual assembly, he is very involved in the build. We are also using this car as a bit of a guinea pig as we have not done a third gen hemi swap yet. Your average repair shop wants to sell you parts for two reasons. 1) markup and 2) so they can offer a warranty. There definitely can be an added benefit of making sure the right parts are ordered. I can say this as someone who ran a regular repair shop for years. I will definitely have to do a video on suspension upgrades down the road. They range from a stock rebuild and throwing on a sway bar, on up to a build like this one - and beyond. I am not an expert, but I have had my hand in many Mopar front end setups over the years so I have some experience there. As far as the wheels… I have the same ones on my Charger, and I didn’t like them at first. They’ve grown on me. It’s a modern take on a classic style, and I do think they look good. But I totally understand your opinion, and as you may well know, I’m also a big fan of steelies and dishes. It’s basically that or slot mags for me - in a perfect world. Haha.

[@smarternu]

I would leave it the way it is, love it. Put the hemi in another body.

[@DeadDodgeGarage]

I get it. It’s pretty good - but realize other than the body, nothing about this car is stock. That’s essentially a dressed up 90s truck engine under the hood now. I didn’t mention this at all in the video for some reason, but this was a factory base model 318 flat hood car. Nothing special. It has been built into what you see now - and the Hemi is kind of the next logical step. It will be awesome. We’re not “ruining” a real 340 car or R/T or anything here.

[@staceyrenner5418]

Man, that thing is gorgeous. Has a damn near perfect stance. Is that red a factory shade?

[@DeadDodgeGarage]

I think it is! It’s also really close to what my ‘68 Charger is supposed to be I think. No build plate, so I don’t know the original color code.

[@richjordan9375]

Beautiful car. Those bodyside moldings kind of leap out; they are not common any more since for decades most folks stripped them off and ground off or drilled out and patched the rivets. Those on my '71 are pretty beat up, and the spares I have (because holy crap have you seen the price people want for nice ones?) also need a lot of work to make presentable.

[@rshegg7605]

Is the metaphor, the road to hell 🧐 I needs to know. PS excellent work by the way 👍🏻, 🍺 cheers big ears 🇬🇧.

[@davidjones5729]

Love the Challenger. I have a TKO-600 5-speed in my 70 Challenger and it seems really easy to shift compared to the 6-speed in your buddy's 71. Maybe you just need more seat time to get used to it? 🙂

[@DeadDodgeGarage]

That’s definitely a huge part of it. Haha. It was only the 5/6 gates that were giving me fits. I can’t say why - just seemed like they weren’t quite aligned with eachother.

[@Red71392]

@@DeadDodgeGarage It was odd at first for me, but it's second nature now. Reminds me of the Hurst/Barton short-throws folks install in the new Challengers. Very firm, positive, and a blast to bang gears in! :)

[@DeadDodgeGarage]

@@Red71392 You (and everyone else) saw my first attempt at shifting it. Haha. I'm sure I would get used to it. In my blue truck, third gear was something approaching impossible to find initially. It became second nature before long.

[@pmp2559]

You aren’t kidding about expensive. I’m kind of reevaluating my life choices from 440 to 6.4 hemi. If I get it done it better be worth it.

[@DeadDodgeGarage]

It’s absolutely ridiculous. I think I would’ve kept the big block… but I will say, this car is insane with the Hemi. I did a wrap up video a month or two ago when we got it done showing what it’s like to drive if you want to check that out.

[@pmp2559]

@@DeadDodgeGarage yes I agree after adding up the costs I really don’t believe it’s worth it yet, granted it’s not done yet because I’m stalled right now short of money. But I already sold the 440 😭 I should’ve just got a TKX or even 6spd maybe sniper EFI and call it a day. Oh another big challenge I have the 8spd auto, but got a good deal less than a thousand miles from a 2022 charger. Kind of one of those things where you dreaming of happiness but crying at same time.

[@tonyb3864]

Very nice car and sounds like a cool project. What engine came in this car originally? I have a 72 challenger rallye with the original 340 4 speed. Sometimes I think about a modern hemi swap. But then I think nah....it's fine like it is.

[@DeadDodgeGarage]

This was a 318 car! If I had an original 340 car (hey, wait, I actually do now) I would leave it alone! I owned what had originally been a '73 340 4 speed Rallye for a while. It had been swapped to a 400. I wish it hadn't.

[@michaeladamo6279]

I'm not trying to correct you but you called the scat pac bee a bumblebee I'm j.s. that is the only car I have a ever seen with the belt molding's on it and they look great on it!

[@DeadDodgeGarage]

I realized that in editing last night 😅 little late at that point… I called it a rumble bee (as in the 2000s performance Dodge pickup.) Had a feeling someone would catch that. I know! The owner was considering removing them to complete the performance tribute look, but they’re there and so nice. I think he’s decided to leave them be.

[@Ripsaw17]

Hey just remember when a Chrysler leaks oil it's not an oil leak it's sweating power

[@DeadDodgeGarage]

Damn right. The Cummins engine is such a natural fit for Dodge trucks for exactly that reason..

[@majortwit]

That car is just about right for a shaky great grandpa (me.) Sounds gorgeous, looks to die for, but not so much strength she kicks you out and introduces your face to some wet tree bark.

[@DeadDodgeGarage]

I am personally of the opinion that 300-400 HP is plenty. I don’t need any more than that… but this thing is going to be pretty cool.

[@majortwit]

i didn’t need it either, but I should have erred on the side of performance and not anemia. Spent ~ 30 large and found out ROUSH only wanted another 50 for just bolt on power…oh well, I’m still breathing, and that wouldn’t be likely if I romped on something respectable.

[@joshjesch6000]

I was 383 like on this video...even though I liked it on my old phone before. Lol

[@stevenleyba4]

What size wheels do you have in the front and rear. I want the same wheels. And curious if you had to narrow your axle housing at all.

[@DeadDodgeGarage]

They are 18”s - appears to be 18x9.5” in the rear with approximately 4.5” of back spacing (I did not order them, this is a rough measurement on the car) and 18x8” with approximately 4” of back spacing in the front. Rear tire is 275/40ZR18, and front is 245/45ZR18.

[@DeadDodgeGarage]

As far as I know, the axle housing is stock width.

[@OdySlim]

That car is nice!! Can you please tell me what mufflers are on it? Thanks! Regards from Ody Slim

[@DeadDodgeGarage]

The owner popped into a reply elsewhere and said they’re Flowmaster Super 40s. It’s a full 3” exhaust system. It sounds fantastic. Excellent tone, and no excessive or annoying drone inside that I noticed.

[@OdySlim]

@@DeadDodgeGarage Thank You! Right now Im using a 2 1/2" exhaust. The engine a 383 stroker. It was dyno tuned at 475 hp at the crank and 410 out the pipe. I think the Flowmasters will be a big upgrade

[@Anthony-nw5zv]

First or third Gen Hemi Jamie?

[@DeadDodgeGarage]

I have to pick? I’d probably go first gen.

[@danielventura8073]

Can't find anything cluse to that here in Florida. All you find on Marketplace is used up overpriced junk. Like a 78 D100 318 with no interior and rotten frame for $5500. That was the best one.

[@DeadDodgeGarage]

It’s a lot more overpriced junk than good stuff around here too… but there is good stuff.

[@Legacy_Lou]

Sweet ride. Not a fan of the wheels though.

[@DeadDodgeGarage]

Me neither. I think you probably know that by now. Haha. But they had to be sizable to clear those brakes.

[@wintonwright4244]

Actually it's 1992 not 93 Thank you

[@DeadDodgeGarage]

Magnum 5.2/318 - 1992. Magnum 5.9/360 - 1993.