Excellent Condition! 1 Of 162 Made W/ Police Engine (4bbl, Factory Dual Exhaust) on 2040-cars

1979 Dodge Magnum GT

Dodge made 1,674 Magnum GTs in 1979 and to the best of my knowledge only 162 with the “Police” package driveline (L code on VIN and E58 on fender tag).  How many GT’s have survived this drivetrain and T-tops too?  I only know of one other and it was highlighted in the July 1998 edition Chrysler Car Enthusiast Magazine.

I will do my best here to provide as accurate and detailed information as possible so you can make an informed decision.  The car currently has 126k plus miles on it. 

I bought this car back in 2002 after it had been restored by a gentleman in North Carolina.  Originally, I believe this car to be from Virginia.  It has not been driven in winter conditions since I’ve owned it and only in rain if caught in it.  From the pictures I received during the restoration it did have some small amount of rust at the bottom of each quarter panel; behind the rear tires.  That obviously has been fixed.  Overall I’d say the man who did the restoration did a very, very nice job.  It is not, however, a 100% perfect car.  Below, I will go into detail about the New Old Stock (NOS) parts he installed.  I do not know if the powertrain was worked on at all.  It runs strong for a heavier car.  The police package was known to be “bullet-proof”, no pun intended, and this one is no exception.  It was not a rotisserie restoration.  And, unfortunately, I do not have the build sheet.  It may still be in the vehicle somewhere but I haven’t found it.  With as many NOS materials as were used on the interior during the restoration, it probably was discarded.  But, I don’t know for sure.  With the fender tag and VIN decoded, it provides quite a bit of information anyway.  

This vehicle has won and placed in many local shows over the years.  A few years back now it took second at Chryslers at Carlisle to an almost perfect, ’78 Magnum GT w/T’s.

VIN: XS22L9R******

Fender Tag:

N41-Dual Exhaust w/o Tips

G55-Left Outside Painted Racing Mirror

G67-Right Outside Painted Racing Mirror

H51-Air Conditioning with Front Heater (AC compressor runs when charged but there is a leak.  Heater works great)

M27-Wheel Lip Flares

M55-T-Bar Roof (Yes, the T-tops do leak slightly. I’ve tried to fix that and have improved it but not completely.  It’s not bad and since it’s a nice weather driver no big deal) 

K5C-Vinyl Body Side Molding

A75-GT Package (wheel lip flares, G60x15 outline white letter Goodyear tires, heavy duty front and rear sway bars, quick ratio steering, leather wrapped steering wheel, engine turned dash and console appliques)

C16-Console

C56-Bucket Seats-Non Recliner

EW1-Spinnaker White Paint

B12-Heavy Duty Front Disk Brakes

B28-11x2.5 Rear Brakes

E58-360 Cubic Inch, 8 Cylinder, 4 Barrel Carburetor (ThermoQuad), Dual Exhaust

D36-A727 Automatic Transmission

Vehicle Options:

8-Track AM/FM Stereo with 4 Speakers (8-track works good but hard to find good 8-tracks.  AM/FM works most of the time)

Rallye Instrument Panel with Tachometer, Water Temp, Oil Pressure, Fuel Level, and Alternator gauge (doesn’t move much)

Chronometer Digital Clock (works perfectly – this is not the electro mechanical clock from previous year Chrysler products)

3.21 Sure-Grip Differential

Magnum 15x7 Road Wheels

Blue Body Side Tape Stripes

Electronic Remote Trunk Release

Carpeted Trunk

Inside Hood Release

The difference of an E58 car?  This is the highest performance engine Dodge put in their vehicles in 1979.  They put these in the Lil Red Express truck which, for 1979, were the fastest tested truck that year.  The E58 package had a performance valve train including: cam, valves, valve springs, rockers, double roller timing chain, dual exhaust, non-lockup torque converter, large brakes and radiator.

Among dozens of other things, I have replaced the Spark Control Computer with a MoPar Performance Electronic Ignition.  The computer still worked okay and is still on the air cleaner if desired to be hooked back up.  This computer is correct for the police package and supposed to be higher performance.  I however, wanted the reliability and possible increased performance of the vacuum advance and newer electronics.  The car responded nicely to the upgrade.  Recently, I put on 4 new Goodyear tires to get the look closest to that of the original tires.  These currently have probably less than 500 miles on them.  As far as the other things I’ve replaced over the years, this is just a sample: radiator, water pump, thermostat, most engine hoses except AC, front wheel bearings, alternator, ignition switch, voltage regulator, fuel pump, rear brake lines, coil, etc. etc. etc.

Car still has the original leather bag (really nice condition) that holds the glass T-top panels.

In 2009, this car was featured on month April in the ‘MoPar Style ‘Annual Calendar.

NOS equipment – As I mentioned the gentleman who restored it used many new Chrysler parts.  Here is the list as I know it.  NOS: headlight doors (work fantastic) and park/turn signal lights, factory dark blue vinyl interior fabric, factory dark blue carpet, horn buttons, and tail light assemblies.

All of the exterior chrome was redone at restoration and done very well.  Stainless has all been polished multiple times.

I am not sure if he replaced the dash pad or not but it’s nearly perfect.  Overall, the interior is in very nice.  Headliner is near perfect as is the package tray, courtesy light lenses, all kick panels, etc.  One of the seat belts is missing the blue colored trim piece.

The paint overall is extremely good.  There is no rust on the body or underneath except for a small bubble on the passenger side rocker.  It has not gotten larger over the last 10 years and it has not come through.  There is no rust in the trunk at all (not sure if that was replaced at restoration or not but I don’t believe so).  Please note the paint is not perfect.  There are a few (like two or three) pinhole size chips that I have not touched up.  The underside of the car is pretty much factory original; clean and solid.  The floor boards are very solid and again, as far as I know, original.  The engine bay has had quite a bit of attention to it but was not completely repainted at the restoration.  It is very well detailed and I did find and replace many of the factory markings/stickers.

I have three boxes of additional parts I will include (came with the car when I bought it).  Not sure if it’s complete or not but there are parts to convert the car to electric windows including a NOS window switch.

So that’s it in a nutshell.  I feel that I have this priced fairly for as rare and as nice as it is.  You should be able to drive this car anywhere and it will show well.  Plus, you can be almost guaranteed it will be the only Magnum at your local show.  Many people do not even know Dodge made this model for 2 years!

I will accept a wire transfer, money order, or check (cleared before title transfer), or certified check at transfer and a $500 deposit.  I am advertising in multiple locations and reserve the right to pull this ad.  Buyer is responsible for shipping.  This vehicle does not come with a warrantee and is being sold as-is.

Please enjoy the pictures and let me know if you should have any additional questions.  If you’d like, you can view more pictures at:

Keywords: 1978 1979 Dodge Chrysler Plymouth Magnum Charger Cordoba Mirada Challenger Coronet Dart 300 Imperial Newport New Yorker LeBaron Diplomat Daytona Superbird SuperBee Aspen SuperCoupe Volare

For more pictures e-mail me or go to: http://s941.photobucket.com/user/JimsGT/library/1979%20Magnum%20GT