Mike Kroegers 1970 Blown Hemi Dodge Challenger by Magnum Force

Build video

Smokin' hot 1970 Challenger build for one of the coolest guys in rock music, Mike Kroeger.

This project started off with a less than spectacular, stripped to the bones small block car, and underwent the hardcore metamorphosis you see here. Granted two years of build cut down to 35 minutes of video hardly does such a car justice. We've nonetheless tried to pair it down to a bit more palatable format to convey a bit of the heavy work involved. The final product ending up with 1100 horsepower of centrifugally blow 472 inch hemi, a stout 727 Torqueflite transmission and overdrive, Dana 60 rear-end, Magnum Force suspensions front and rear, Magnum Force sub-frame connectors, 14" six piston brakes, 18" and 20" wheels, and a plethora of mods to bring this machine up to modern muscle car standards. Take a look below at the intricate details. See the build photos and watch the video to see how it's all done. Check out the specific parts below used in the build and even add 'em to a shopping cart to build your own!

Sporting a Magnum Force XRT tubular, 4130 Chromoly front suspension with rack and pinion steering, coil over shocks, and its wicked improvement in suspension geometry, this thing drives like a dream.  Magnum Force and Wilwood have put together some pretty sweet combinations for stopping and dropping our old Mopar monsters too.   With 14” rotors and six piston brakes on the front and four piston on the rear, along with Magnum Force 2” dropped spindles, it stops as sweet as it handles, and sporting silver powder coating throughout sure doesn’t hurt the eyes either.  An electric nitrogen assisted power master cylinder and proportioning valve get the hydraulic pressure out to the four corners.

The rear suspension starts out with a new Dana 60, 35 spline Strange axles, 3.54 gears, and true trac, while swinging from a burly Magnum Force Pro Link fourlink suspension with another set of Magnum Force rear coil overs.

The big 472 inch Mopar Hemi meticulously assembled by well known builder Rich Nedbal of Mopar Engines West, consists of a new Mopar Hemi block by World Products w 4.24 rough bore, Stage V Aluminum HEMI Heads, 2.25 Intake, 1.90 Exhaust, Indy Roller Rocker arm kit, 4340, 4.15 stroke crank with Radiused Journals. ATI BB Mopar Harmonic Balancer. The rods are HEMI H-Beam, 4340 Steel, Rod Length=6.86.  JE Custom Forged HEMI Pistons, Bore=4.25, Stroke=4.15, Deck Height=10.72, Comp Height=1.765, Deck Clearance=.020, Comp Ratio=9:1. 1/16, 1/16, 3/16 Plasma Moly Ring set.  ARP Rod bolts and main studs. HEMI Hydraulic Cam, custom ground for a blower motor.  Comp Cams dual springs.  Smith Bros hardened push rods.  Magnum Force/ Milodon 9 qt oil pan with Milodon Pump. MSD Pro Billet Distributor.  HEMI 4150 Indy Intake, Single Plane with a Custom CSU blow-through 750 CFM carburetor.  F-1 ProCharger Kit with a Gilmer belt drive and race relief valve. Fuel delivery comes courtesy of a Magna Fuel pump drawing from an oversize ½” pickup.  The end result was over 1000 horsepower and 880 ft lbs of torque! And quite drivable nonetheless.

Magnum Force built the 727 Torqueflite transmission using a manual valve body, 3500 stall converter, and Gear vendors overdrive along with a number of internal mods. Also in the engine compartment you’ll see the motor mounted with a modified Magnum Force bushed 6061 aluminum motor plate and torque limiters bolted to a pair of Magnum Force forward struts to add a bunch of structural integrity to the otherwise flexible mopar front frame rails.  The firewall and inner fender wells have been heavily massaged to rid the car of its rust infestation and crate a smooth, custom look without going too over the top.  The core support had to be moved forward to clear the blower pulleys, massive dual fan, and allow an oversize aluminum radiator, so a sweet tubular mount was fabricated.

Chassiswise a set of Magnum Force tubular subframe connectors help reduce torsional twist and the custom Magnum Force cage is 1-5/8” 4130 Chromoly as well. We wanted to ensure a roomy fit to minimize impact on the passengers comfort so the cage was sunk into the A and B-pillars which mandated custom interior mods be performed to wrap around the cage at the dash and door panels.  It’s a ton more work to do it that way but yields a much cleaner installation.  The services of another die hard Mopar guy were enlisted with Erwin and his crew from Just Dashes tackling the gorgeous interior as well as the dash itself. 

Bodywork was also performed in house and shot with a flat clear coat.  Mike’s always been a fan of the SE look and its associated smaller back window so this is likely the only time you’ll see an SE Challenger without a vinyl top. Using an original SE fiberglass insert as the pattern, Magnum Force built a custom steel one to weld in place and eliminate the need to hide the stock seam under vinyl. Power windows were a nice added creature comfort as well.

Custom steel wheel tubs were fabbed and installed while the quarter panels were being replaced to allow the car to sit low over the tall 20” wheels and tires.

20x11 inch Budnik wheels adorn the rear with 18x8’s on the front.  Tire-wise there’s 305-35 ZR20’s on the rear and 245-45 ZR18’s on the front

Build photos

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