At first it seemed that out on the tracks the cars ran well with Petty almost winning his Daytona 125 (finishing second), and leading over 30 laps of the Daytona 500 until a blown front tire caused him to wreck. While not as aerodynamic as the 1974 Charger body, the shape of the Magnum showed promise, and the "Petty Enterprises" built test cars reached 190 mph (310 km/h) on test runs. Chrysler worked on several car designs to smooth out the current 1975 bodied Charger into something that would be reasonably aerodynamic for the big racetracks and the Magnum design was settled on in the summer of 1977 for use in the 1978 racing season. For the 1978 NASCAR season, the 1974 Charger that Chrysler teams had continued to use was no longer eligible for competition. The mid-size B-body 1978–1979 Dodge Magnum coupe in the United States and Canada was an addition to Chrysler's line up that allowed Richard Petty to continue racing with a Mopar. Only 3,704 1979 Dodge Magnum coupes included a T-Top.ġ978 Dodge Magnum XE, rear view NASCAR During the end of the 1979 model year, the mid-size B-body Dodge Magnum (along with its mid-size B-body based Chrysler Cordoba counterpart) was discontinued, as was with just the Magnum name itself, in favor of what would become a smaller, all newly designed, M-body platform based Mirada coupe (which also would be shared along with what would become its M-body platform based Chrysler Cordoba coupe counterpart as well) all during the next four model years (1980–1983). Technology was advanced for the time with an onboard spark control computer from inception, electronic ignition, and a lockup torque converter. A performance model, the "GT" had been available with the 400 cu in (6.6 L) V8 during the previous model year (1978) and the "E58" police interceptor (360 V8-195 HP) engine was available during the 1979 model year along with HD suspension, special axle, special "GT" badging and a "turned metal" dash applique. The base engine was the 318 cu in (5.2 L) V8 with Lean-Burn, while two and four-barrel carbureted 360 cu in (5.9 L) and 400 cu in (6.6 L) V8s were optional weight was nearly 3,900 lb (1,800 kg).ĭuring the start of the 1979 model year, the 400 V8 engine was dropped from the options list as Chrysler stopped producing big-block V8 engines in production cars during the end of 1978 model year. The Magnum was well-featured with power steering, brakes and seats the suspension included Chrysler's standard adjustable, longitudinal torsion bars, lower trailing links, and front and rear anti-sway bars. Styling features included four rectangular headlights behind retractable clear covers, with narrow opera windows, and an optional T-bar or power sunroof. The appearance was somewhat of a rounded off Charger, and was in response to getting a car that would be eligible for NASCAR that would be more aerodynamic, something that the 1975–1978 Charger was not.
It was sold in two forms, the "XE" and the "GT" and was the last vehicle to use the long running Chrysler B platform. The Magnum was introduced for 1978 to supplement the Dodge Charger.
Motor vehicle Dodge Magnum (US & Canada, 1978–1979)
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