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!
Suspension | Chassis | Brakes | Exhaust | Engine | Fuel System | Drivetrain | Transmission | Interior |
Front - Magnum Force XRT - Power steering, 14" brakes, Swaybar, silver vein |
Magnum Force Double Rail tubular subframe connectors | Front - Wilwood 14" six piston |
Headers - TTI |
472 inch Hemi by Mopar Engines West | Magnafuel Pump | Dana 60 | Magnum Force Torqueflite | Steering column |
Rear - Magnum Force Pro-Link - E-body | Forward strut braces - In engine compartment | Rear - Wilwood14" four piston | Mufflers and pipes - TTI modified for Chassis and suspension mods | Pulleys | Magnafuel Regulator |
Non-adjustable axle bearings | Gear Vendors Overdrive | |
Master cylinder - 1" bore | Clamps |
Oil Pan 9 quart |
1/2" pickup in tank for return and sending unit | |||||
Proportioning valve | Tips - TTI | Oiling system | ||||||
U-bends for mods | Motor Plate - Bushed w/power steering | |||||||
Gear drive | ||||||||
Water pump |
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 ˝” 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
Telephone
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408-559-6633
FAX
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408-559-5283
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Postal
Address
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1436 White Oaks Rd. #7 Campbell CA. 95008
Send E-mail to gofast@magnumforce.com
Return Policy: We here at Magnum Force will make every effort possible to ensure all of our customers get the correct and highest quality components with the best advice available. In the event an item still needs to be returned please take note of these considerations.
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Returns must be in as new condition in original packaging.
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