First off, I want to thank BangShifter Joe Haber for sending this to me. Haber knows that he has an advantage when it comes to Craigslist surfing: he is based out of Tucson, Arizona, land of the rust-free Mopars, and he knows how to pour salt into wounds. In this case, however, he skipped the salt and sprayed Brake-Kleen into the wound by sending me a link to this 1978 Dodge Magnum’s Craigslist ad. I’m saying it publicly: you suck, dude. While I wait for Project Raven’s engine to emerge from the machine shop, here is a big-block B-body Mopar ready to go. That’s evil.
The Magnum itself was a strange beast, and it was created due to Chrysler Corporation’s own missteps in the 1970s. Here’s the rundown: there are two B-body platforms, the “Fury” body (shared with Coronet, Monaco, 1975 Roadrunner, and rare-as-hen’s-teeth Charger and Charger Sport) and the “Cordoba” body (shared with Charger SE and Magnum). From here on in it’s going to get more confusing, so try to stick with me. The Chrysler Cordoba, which was originally going to be the 1975 Plymouth Satellite, but was pirated because Chrysler only had land yachts that wouldn’t sell. Bucking the “no small Chrysler” war cry, the Cordoba turned out to be a sales success for Chrysler. None of the “Fury” coupes sold well…the Roadrunner moved to the F-body Volaré for 1976, and the rest kind of languished on lots while the four-doors were purchased by commercial accounts. That leaves the Dodge Charger. Nobody bought the Fury-bodied version (I’ve only seen one, ever) and compared to the Cordoba, the Charger SE didn’t sell worth a damn. So, in 1978, Chrysler made a new front clip for the car that featured headlights hidden behind clear “hideaway” lenses (a clever way to skirt the laws that didn’t allow for composite lights while aiding aerodynamics), threw what was left of the performance options at it, and changed the name to Magnum. Essentially the Charger with rhinoplasty, the Magnum sold for two years before the plug was pulled. Rumor is that the name didn’t move onto the new J-body car because certain Chrysler executives knew that the performance was dead. That car wound up named “Mirada”.
The Magnums weren’t bad cars. They are essentially squared off and plusher versions of the 1971 B-body platform with smog motors with disco styling. This Magnum is packing the 400ci big-block and 727 automatic, the only way to play with these later B-bodies. While the column shifter is unfortunate, that isn’t a deal breaker, and the interior actually looks really nice.
The paint looks decent, if not fresh, and while the car looks good cleaned up on the Cragars, I like the vibe the Vector wheels give off. It might not look like it is related to the car the Duke Boys made famous, but it is, and that 400 under the hood is good stock…but can be an absolute wild child when messed with. As a Rough Start project, as far as that’s concerned, it’s max budget but done and drivable. I want it badly. Very badly.
Craigslist Link: 1978 Dodge Magnum XE 400
Plenty of open space on that trans tunnel for a large lever.
I love learning how much seat-of-the-pants flying took place in malaise-era car design.
You know, as part of the comparison you need to do a graph for # of bodies the trunk can hold so that we can make a fair comparison of these cars.
A cheap alternative to a barf-bag,mate!
One of Chrysler’s children that should have never been born – I suppose beauty is in the eye of the beholder like when I wake up next to wor lass snoring and farting herself into a new day.
Wey that’s pure romantic like, marra!
CHMG, you are quite the poet, aren’t ya?
Yeah but think about this for a minute . Stuff some serious iron under the hood . Clean up the exterior – Redo the suspension – Put more benign looking wheels on it and you’d have yourself one hell of a sleeper . An ugly as hell sleeper mind you . But a sleeper never the less
PS; Keep the prose coming CHMG !
I think that my friend Bill owned this same car when it was in San Diego
these things can look really mean, the only thing that chaps my hide about the post 72’s is the rubber isolated everything below the doorline.
They look good with cop car wheels .
I can kick you in the nards while supplying you with fodder for the blog. …it’s s win win. The was a girl in HS that had a solve magnum. He dad owned a salvage yard. Hers was 440 powered and was one of the meaner cars in town.