If you are a fan of classic Mopar project cars, then there is a good chance you’ve watched at least a video or two on YouTube from a gearhead by the name of Dylan McCool. Dylan has been posting videos from the heart of Tennessee to his channel for over a decade filled with old-school Plymouths, Chryslers, Dodges, and more. The south can be a goldmine for project cars and trucks hiding behind a barn or left out rotting in a field. McCool grew up watching and helping his dad pull them from the weeds and bring them back to life, so it’s no surprise that he caught the bug early. He amassed quite a history of classic Mopars under his belt before landing this 1986 Dodge Diplomat in the spring of 2022. Not quite the Blues Brothers, but the Blues Brothers with a Tennessee Twist.
Photos: Motor Life
Dylan found it in a field in Alabama. Even though he owned more desirable 70s Mopar muscle cars, he always had a soft spot for the undesirables, the long-forgotten malaise era cars. The era of rear-wheel drive box-shaped cars that some of us seem to look past, but that means you can snag them for cheap. At first, he thought a previous owner had painted the car like an 80’s movie cop car, but upon closer inspection, McCool was in for quite a surprise. Bigger brakes, front and rear sway bars, heavy-duty rear axle, and a factory-installed 125mph speedo. So this was for sure something special, and further digging found this old Dodge was a real police car in Georgia.
This Diplomat did not run and had been sitting since the 90s, but he still hauled it home to get it running. But the new life he breathed into it was very short-lived. The now 36-year-old radiator decided to kick the bucket and mix coolant into the transmission fluid. So he did what any logical thinking hot rodder would do, if you have to fix it, might as well upgrade it to while you’re at it. Right?
The 318 under the hood wasn’t in bad shape, but it was old, tired, and only made a measly 140 horsepower when it was new over 35 years ago. So, a 5.2 Magnum was sourced from a ’92 Dodge Ram. Besides a cam and spring kit, Dylan left the new power plant mostly stock. The plan was a cool oddball street car he could take to events, not a spared-no-expense show car build. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have some good old-fashioned fun on a budget.
The Magnum engine was topped with a four-barrel intake and Holley’s Super sniper EFI. Much like Holley’s Sniper EFI, the Super Sniper EFI system is a 4-barrel style fuel injection system with the added benefit that Dylan was looking for; the ability to handle boost. An eBay sourced GT45 turbo now sits behind the passenger headlight. Power is feed through an A904 automatic with a manual valve body and a PTC 3400 stall converter and the original 8.25 rear axle with the 2.94 gears and a locker to help with traction.
Dylan is keeping the boost level low for now, feeding just enough psi to make what he estimates is around 300 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque to the rear tires. By keeping the power level moderate, the car is a rock-solid, reliable cruiser that can still party. Road-tripping it to Kentucky for Moparty in 2023 to compete in autocross, drag racing, burnout contest, and dozens of other events and blast down the drag strip. The plan is to turn it up down the road to around 400 horsepower, but it’s hard to mess with a good thing for now.
