‘MayHem’ Charger R/T: Mopar Restomod of the Gods
Totally-transformed 1969 R/T has a fire-breathing 830-HP Gen III Hemi with a Whipple 4.0-liter twin-screw supercharger.
For some of us, a clean 1969 Dodge Charger R/T is more than enough to make us happy. But then, reality hits. Cars today are just better than they were nearly 50 years ago. They’re quieter, they handle better, and of course, they’re a lot faster. So when you want the best of both worlds, you make like this customer of North Carolina-based shop Detroit Speed, who bought an unusually tidy ’69 and had them transform it into this. Say hello to the MayHem Charger.
The video, posted by YouTuber DIY Garage, is short on talk, but long on details. Mostly a photo montage, it begins with the Charger stripped down to bare metal and put on a rotisserie. Aside from some parts that are cut away (likely old damage covered by Bondo), the sheet metal looks pretty good. That’s why it’s strange to see all of it from the mid-C-pillars back get cut away, along with the floors. If you’re a vintage car purist, this video isn’t for the faint of heart.
From Factory to Badass
New rear quarters are added, along with reinforced flooring, a wider transmission tunnel, a full roll cage, and a whole lot of structural support. And while the original ’60s-era V8 isn’t without its charm, it’s replaced by a fire-breathing 830-horse Gen III crate Hemi with a Whipple 4.0-liter twin-screw supercharger bolted on top of it. An engine like that needs all the support it can get.
Impressively, most of the interior (dashboard, center console, and rear trim panels) are crafted out of steel. By the end of the build, they’re covered in black leather, but it just goes to show that no expense is spared in this build. Once the body is finished and Detroit Speed makes sure everything fits, the shell is primed and painted Hemi Orange. The interior is covered in Dynamat, and then the long reassembly begins.
In the end, it’s more modern supercar than classic iron. The Hemi is mounted to a built Bowler Performance 4L80E automatic transmission with triple disk lock-up converter and paddle shifters. Brakes are four-wheel anti-lock discs and come from a Corvette ZR1. It has traction control and a fully custom suspension from Detroit Speed. In short, it’s gorgeous, and unlike any other Charger on the road.
But in the end, we’re torn. Chargers were always rarer than their rivals from GM and Ford, and even more so today. We absolutely love this build, but it’s also a little sad that such a nice surviving Charger had to be cut up for it. For builds like this, we wish someone would make an aftermarket body shell for Dodge fans to use as a blank canvas.
Still, we can’t complain. Just listen to this thing on a dyno and try to nitpick. It’s impossible.
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