The idea for the Magnum was to bring out the existing uniqueness and character of this LX platform by keeping color count to the original Inferno Red and flat/semi-gloss black. 

I like the look of a sleeper, so the Magnum was de-badged – except for a Griffin (a gargole - known to protect it's owner's belongings with it's life) located where the front indented ram's emblem used to reside. The side trim was removed, windows darkened, all in an effort to cement that look like it means business but not Darth Vaderish. As for bling, it comes naturally with this vehicle. It now really looks like it means business. Adding external blingy trinkets are just that…trinkets. 

The wheels are 20” replicas of the Mercedes-McLaren SLR. What appeals to me is they look similar to the impellor on jet engines, and since my other hobby is performance aircraft these tied in nicely. Problem was the bolt pattern was on 112mm centers for Mercedes platforms with a 35mm offset. I started by machining the on-centers out to 115mm by simply enlarging/offsetting the existing stud holes and pockets, and then machined the inner lands for readily available steel conical inserts. This worked perfectly, as now the Gorilla locking lug nuts engage metal-on-metal instead of aluminum. The center caps are machined aluminum spinners that I produced back-mounts for.

To deal with the 35mm offset issue I machined 0.75” hub-centric spacers for the front to clear the steering knuckle and 0.50” for the rear. This gave me adequate clearance (~0.35”) between the sidewall and front steering knuckle.

Finally, the rims were painted titanium (2-stage) to complete the look of an impellor on a jet engine. A departure from my efforts to stay with only two colors, but black or red would have looked gay. I tied them onto the vhicle by paitning the lugnut pockets Inferno red and the faces of the spokes semi-gloss black to create the visual image they are actually thinner/lighter. This worked really well.

The next task was finding longer wheel studs. The backs were easy thanks to another LX Forums member. I found the fronts designed for a 3-ton GMC truck were almost a direct drop-in (I actually had to shorten ~3"). Although 0.005” smaller diameter in the spline area, I half-mooned the pad (like the OEM units) to clear the hub bearing boss and pressed them into the front hubs without issue. What was really nice was 4 bolts and the hubs dropped into my hands without having to remove half the suspension. The longer wheel studs I employed are still the OEM thread structure (M14 x 1.5mm).

There are no clearance or turning radius binding issues or bottoming out, even though the rears are huge 315-35-20 and 275-40-20's on the front. The point is that wheel designs that would normally be unusable due to their normal configuration suddenly become an option with the right machining.

The headlight assemblies were baked in the oven to facilitate lens removal. Certain parts of the silver/chrome bezels were carefully masked and painted semigloss black, the amber clearance lens was reduced, then the headlight assemblies reassembled. The only shiny bits on the entire vehicle are the headlight bezels, and the wheel's center cones and bead lips. I shot both the taillight and headlight lens with 2-stage Inferno red so they blend better with the surrounding fascia.

It took me the better part of a weekend to install the ST (KW in poor disguise - samer PN's) coilover suspension, the Hotchkiss anti-swaybars, StopTECH Pro drilled/slotted rotors, StopTECH stainless braided brakelines, bead-blast the caliper assemblies and shoot them with black 2-part epoxy to help dissipate heat. The biggest task was dropping the rear pumpkin/cradle assembly to R&R the rear swaybar and insert the new rear coils.

I am still tweaking the toe-in/camber to get to somewhere I recognize on the track (better turn-in after entry). For a car with this much mass, it handles surprisingly well. Specific suspension bushings have been replaced with machined polyurethane pieces to reduce compliance and bump-steer. Drifting when negotiating on/off ramps has become nice and predictable with little body roll. Brake pedal response/feedback has been improved with the stainless braided brake lines.

Drivetrain upgrade highlites to date consist of Diablosport Predator with custom tune files for street and track action, 170 T-stat, Kooks longtubes and hi-flow CAT's, modified SRT 8 CAT-back (see article here: http://www.lxforums.com/board/showthread.php?t=137457), AFE Stage II, DSS (CAN buss) disengagement, MOPAR TCM, Inertia stage II heads/Spartan cam, 25% underdive dampner, and a GETRAG 3.73:1 limited slip differential. I can roast the 315's at will...no brake-standing required. It now chirps going into third @ WOT.

I built a custom rear spoiler for the Magnum, the build process can be seen here http://www.lxforums.com/board/showthread.php?t=116998http://www.lxforums.com/board/showthread.php?p=1673618#post1673618

The Danko Direct Shaker System is probably the focal point for most onlookers. I have it plumbed into the AFE airbox. The front drip rail on the shaker's lower pan was removed to allow it to sit properly over the AFE intake. It took me an afternoon to prep and paint the trim ring to match the hood, cut the hood, and fit the inner hood fascia.

When the new cylinder heads were installed, I tried anodizing the OEM cast aluminum valve covers. However it was likely not to work out due to the high silicon content. As exepcted, the results were terrible. So instead I painted them with Duplicolor's "Metalcast" translucent paint. They turned out fantastic! The finish is actually heat-resistant. Go here for the article: http://lxforums.com/board/showthread.php?t=157189 

Amongst other interior mods there is a 2-position gauge pod on the left “A” pillar which holds dual Aeroforce gauges. These two gauges are absolutely awesome! Everything I need to know about engine performance and diagnostics through the OBDII port can be displayed. Wideband O2 data from a Zeitronix system is actually fed into the Aeroforce gauges through one of the spare analog-in ports. That's right, the Zeitronix wideband output is being read through the Aeroforce gauge system.

The upper gauges 1st line displays O2 constantly. On line 2 I can scroll through knock retard (LED alarm set to trigger at >1.5 degrees), actual spark, and P-ratio (these are but a few of the available parameters for the LX platform). In the lower gauges line 1 it automatically cycles between coolant temperture and oil pressure while line 2 cycles through IAT and transmission temperature. I could choose from "many" more parameters at any time. These two gauges keeps interior gauge clutter to a minimum. These gauges offer two-way communication; I can veiw DTC's and even turn the fans on while sitting in the staging lanes.

Part of the interior (upper area) trim is light beige in color, incoluding the “A” pillars/headliner. I painted the right “A” pillar semi-gloss black to match the aftermarket gauge pod. Now when you look through the front windshield from outside the vehicle, there is continuity of color and the "A" pillars are no longer visible. I installed real Japanese Cherrywood, mostly along the center console area. The Aeroforce bezels, as well as the main instrument bezel and steering wheel controls were painted first with Duplicolor's Metalcast red, then dusted with "Smoke" to blend in with the wood veneer.

I'm really happy with the two-piece front grille, it significantly moves away from the OEM cross-hair grilles seen on every Dodge vehicle and smooths the overall appearance. Shaving the rear liftgate (wiper and lift handle) has cleaned up and simplified the rear view. I painted right over the chrome Porsche 993 exhaust tips match the rear fascia cut-outs perfectly. I took my time aligning them prior to final welds. I then shot them with Duplicolor Metalcast's "Smoke".

I finally found a pair of sideview mirrors I liked, between them and a donor set of OEM mirrors I mated the bases from the OEM mirrors to the new aftermarket mirrors and molded them in. In my opinion the stock sideview mirrors stick out like dogs b****. Go here to see how I did it: http://www.lxforums.com/board/showthread.php?t=159217

Although hard to see in the pics, all the signal/clearnace lights have been replaced with hi-performance LED's. Not only are they safer (reach full brightness in msec and are significantly brighter), but when off the bulb lens are water-clear. Go here to see how I did it: http://www.lxforums.com/board/showthread.php?t=119356

Finally, here is a video clip of the modified OEM SRT 8 CAT-back exhaust system (turn your sound up):

http://s193.photobucket.com/albums/z142/Moebius44/?action=view¤t=Underground.flv