Original Owner V8 Swap: 1987 Dodge Charger
The Dodge Charger comes in a few versions — first there is the original fastback styled Chargers, then the General Lee Chargers, next the Burn Notice Charger, then the Charger that looks like Chrysler Cordoba, and finally the new Charger that uses a bunch of Mercedes parts and has terrible visibility. That’s it? Yup. What about the L-Body Charger from the mid 80s? I don’t know what you are talking about…Chargers have a V8 up front mated to the rear wheels. Like this 1987 Dodge Charger offered for $4,800 in Frederick, MD via craigslist. Tip from Rock On.
When Dodge slapped the legendary Charger badge on the back of a front-drive compact crapmobile in 1983, there was an uprising of B-body Dodge fans, but then Return of the Jedi hit the big screens and everybody forgot what they were rioting about. His twin sister…whoa!
Today’s Charger has been yanked from the depths of front drive obscurity and lifted to the blistering white halls of Valhalla by a 360 cubic inch Mopar V8. The owner purchased this car new in 1987 and shoved the V8 mated to a A500 OD auto, please Mopar 8.75 inch reach end with a Mustang rack-and-pinion up front. This is old school hot rodding at its best.
See another L-Body that accelerates like a real Charger and turns like a Mustang II? tips@dailyturismo.com
It'd be interesting to talk to this guy. He takes a front wheel drive car he bought new, rips the entire running gear out of it, and then fabricates it into a rear drive beast. It looks like a good job from what I can see from the pictures. I'd love to go through it to see just how everything got mounted and what the fit-up looks like. Would be a real fun animal!
Agreed, quite the conversion!
I wonder if it's something about the K-car platform that makes it easy-ish to RWD swap. There's a guy in Illinois, I believe, who has a RWD swapped Shadow running a Neon motor.
There's a company who makes a kit to put a 302 in a Focus as well. I think it's common to see front wheel drives converted to rear at drag racing tracks.
He's selling it now because it needs a new distributor cap…
Burn Notice Charger. Love the reference to my favorite cheesy show!
there was a kit offered by mopar that had everything needed to convert your daytona/shadow/charger/etc… to v8 rwd. they are long since discontinued but there is a guy in PA that still makes parts for the swap. his name is Ken Exline at exline motor sports or exline customs. I used his kit to convert my 92 shadow es convertible to rwd with a 440ci rb motor/727 trans/dodge 9 3/4 corporate rear diff.