For $15,000, Will This Custom 2005 Dodge Magnum SRT8 Be The Never-Was That Is?

Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe Magnum SRT8 is an illustration in metal of the maxim "if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." Let's see just how right its price might prove.

You know, there's another old adage that says if something seems too good to be true, it likely isn't. That caused some apprehension around yesterday's 1993 Mercedes Benz 300CE convertible as it's price was well below all others on the market. And, as was easily discovered in a simple VIN search, even that had come down from a higher asking just a month prior. The question was, what was that Benz hiding? Enough of you were apparently willing to find out, as Karl took home a solid 58-percent Nice Price win.

You may recall that, when Daimler/Chrysler introduced the LX platform for the 2005 model year they offered the Chrysler 300 as a gangster-esque sedan while Dodge's version could only be had in long-roof form. The general consensus was that the 300 had a handsomer nose, but the Dodge had a body that evoked happy childhood memories or some such nonsense. That melding of models did make its way from Chrysler's Brampton Ontario plant to Europe by way of the 300 Touring, but here in America, neither the twain would meet.

That didn't stop a number of enterprising individuals, like the builder of this 2005 Dodge Magnum, from doing the 300 front clip switcheroo, but in this particular car's case, that presto-chango is only the top of the nice-berg.

According to its ad, this car started life as a Magnum R/T with a 5.7-litre engine. That apparently dutifully served the car for a good 157,000 miles after which it was retired and replaced with a 6.1-litre edition of the Hemi V8. With the Hemi came the rest of an SRT8 drivetrain, along with its upgraded suspension and Brembos.

The 6.1 was originally rated at 425-bhp from the factory, however the seller says that this one rocks freer-breathing heads and an NBA-caliber cam which conspire to provide the car with 500-ponies at its massive rear wheels. The work is claimed to have been done by Plum Floored in Arizona, and there's a nominal 60K on the mill to date. It lives, as should we all, in a carbon fiber swaddled engine bay.

The car isn't all go and no show either. Fresh Laguna Seca blue paint tops a de-badged body. The angry eyebrow hood rolls into a custom grille and SRT8 front bumper and valance. Wheels are huge SRT five spokes. It's bad-ass without looking like total ass.

Inside, things go also stock one better with a slate color palette where once there was beige. Front buckets are out of a '14 Challenger and the rear bench has been re-leathered to match those. These cars come from an era when Chrysler did hard-edged and overly plastic interiors, but this one looks inviting at least. It's clean and seemingly free of flaws. There are all the expected accoutrements, and one would assume everything works as expected.

Quite remarkably for a car with so major an overall mod, the cars is claimed to have a clean title and no history of financial shenanigans. The asking price is $15,000 which gets you SRT8 performance at R/T insurance rates seeing as that's apparently how it's still listed on paper.

What's your take on this wild wagon and that $15,000 price? Would that sway you to endorse its purchase? Or, no matter the ponies or the package, is that just too much for a Franken-Magnum?

You decide!

Phoenix AZ Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to the automotive wagon gods for the hookup!

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