Hellcat-Swapped Dodge Magnum Sounds Lethal, Gives Off Terminator Cobra Wagon Vibes

David Patterson, the man behind the ThatDudeInBlue YouTube channel, is prevalent for doing some of the most entertaining car reviews on the platform. Unlike most YouTubers in the car scene, he's not 'all talk and no show.' He has a couple of project cars running, but as usual, none of them seem to be giving him enough sleep at night.

Some of the projects he's shared with his fans on the platform include two Ford Mustang projects a white one making about 750 hp (760 ps), and a blue one making 700 hp (710 ps), a blue Nissan 240SX, and perhaps his most exciting yet challenging build ever – a Hellcat-swapped Dodge Magnum.

As the title suggests, we'll look into his most recent upload, working on the Dodge Mangum Hellcat Redeye swap.

It all started with the legendary MotorTrend Presents Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge event, where he, as well as other car influencers, got the chance to build their own drag racing cars courtesy of a Hellcat Redeye crate engine supplied by Dodge Direct Connection.

$10,000, a crate Hellcat Redeye engine and ECU

The competition that debuted in 2015 is a spectacular adrenaline-pumped event where racers and spectators get to experience the full wrath of American car culture. The one-day event showcases legal street races, Dodge thrift, and drift cars, simulators, and much more.

In last year's event, Patterson got $10,000, a manual transmission, a supercharged 6.2-liter Hellcat Redeye crate engine, and a plug-and-play Hellcat Redeye crate engine ECU ( Engine Control Unit) from Dodge.

Here's where it gets interesting. His Dodge Magnum was initially automatic. As you'd imagine, switching it to a manual transmission was quite the workout experience. In the video, he sarcastically admits it might have been the worst decision he's made in his life.

"It was really rough. I did this for a race, and then, my clutch blew up at the race I was supposed to be racing, after a 24-day marathon build of a Hellcat Redeye swap Dodge Magnum," he confessed, giving a back story of the build.

Everything went bust even before the competition began

Patterson had a terrible experience at the Roadkill Nights. His clutch blew up during the competition. It had initially failed moments before the transport truck arrived at the workshop headed for the event. Grayson and his OTP crew discovered the hydraulic throttle bearing had died – which forced them to do one of the fastest clutch jobs in their career (30 minutes).

But when you are a famous car enthusiast with more than a million subs under your channel – you get sponsorships and endorsements, and ACT Clutch came to his rescue with a replacement.

That alone didn't solve his troubles. He has more headaches. During the build, Patterson put in an AEM dash on the Magnum, hoping to simplify the build. Instead, it deleted the CAN bus system and factory ECU. The CAN bus system lets each ECU in the system communicate with each other without the need for a complex wiring system.

Therefore, if you are reading this (hopefully not too late) and have a 2006 stock Magnum ECU lying around your garage – Patterson might have a couple of bucks to spare for it.

On the upside, Patterson admits, his Dodge magnum, with the Hellcat swap, is the best-sounding Hellcat Redeye ever. The build makes 800 whp (941 hp/954 ps), and is currently running on pump gas.

New clutch from ACT Clutch

In the featured video, the crew at OTP (Off The Line Performance), who is working on his Dodge Magnum, did an install of the ACT Clutch and then went on a ride along to see how good it grips.

It was a simple plug-and-play service, and Grayson from OTP said it was all because the Magnum had all aftermarket parts, meaning there were not many factory components they needed to work around.

Still, the 2006 Hellcat Redeye Dodge Magnum sounds epic – regardless of all the work it needs to be run right.

"It's been a day or two since we put the clutch in. And the next thing that we need to fix is, I think, my brake booster because it sounds like a supercharger when it's not supposed to. Whenever I get on the throttle at all, it lets out this high-pitched scream," Patterson explained about his most recent Magnum problem.

Grayson of OTP had a theory. He felt the manifold might have been pulling in too much vacuum that the factory Dodge Magnum brake booster couldn't handle – leading to the high-pitched sound.

We hope Patterson's 2006 Dodge Magnum gets all the treatment Patterson has been planning, even though we all know a project car will never be complete in the eyes of the owner.