Two-door utes are nothing more than a distant memory as far as the American car industry is concerned. Thankfully for the more nostalgic among us, Smyth Performance offers conversion kits for the Beetle, Grand Cherokee, Jetta, Impreza, Audi A4, as well as the Dodge Charger.
The 2006 Dodge Charger R/T we'll cover today has been subjected to a conversion kit from Smyth Performance, which costs $3,000 excluding labor and the Dodge Grand Caravan-sourced taillamps. Acquired by the seller two years ago, the V8-engined ute is listed on Bring a Trailer with 68,400 miles (110,079 kilometers) on the clock and Hellcat-style chrome wheels.
As opposed to the bone-stock Charger, this black-painted bad boy features fiberglass rear-quarter panels, a steel tailgate, aluminum inner bed surfaces, a few structural reinforcements, a full-size spare wheel under the cargo area, and rear glass. The payload is estimated at 900 pounds (408 kilograms), which isn’t too shabby at all considering the unibody vehicle architecture.
Take a closer look at the muscly truck, and you’ll notice a visual drama that wouldn’t have been possible without Eibach lowering springs, Koni dampers, and polished rectangular exhaust outlets. Offered with a clean Virginia title in the seller’s name, the Charger has been meticulously maintained since 2018.
Along with an oil change, the air filter, expansion tank, and a few bits and bobs of the braking system were reportedly replaced in October 2018. Closer to the present day, the battery and alternator were swapped for new ones in December 2020, according to the online listing. Repainted in gloss black following the conversion, the Charger also had its front control arms and passenger-side tie-rod end replaced in June 2020 to ensure the car's roadworthiness.
Titled as a 2020 Specialty Pickup, the ute flexes corrugated aluminum for the bed floor and 5.7 liters of HEMI oomph under the hood. Originally rated at 340 horsepower and 390 pound-feet (529 Nm) of torque, the free-breathing lump is connected to the original 5G-Tronic automatic transmission.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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