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Keep or ditch the MDS?

I finally have a Charger again!

516 views 8 replies 9 participants last post by  jkelly16 
#1 ·
Greetings all! I just picked up a 2007 Charger in trade. It needs some work, but it'll be fun to teach my girls how to turn wrenches, lol. It was originally a police cruiser in Texas before it made it's way out here to the Charleston, SC area. I'm the third owner since it departed from LE service. Right now it's a driveway ornament, and after talking to the first civilian owner that had it, apparently a truck dropped a box of something on the freeway in front of them that they couldn't avoid. It supposedly took out the oil pan, and the engine seized by the time she was able to pull off the road. So, engine building time! There's no electrical power, but the battery could merely be dead. It'll probably be a couple/few weeks before I start the troubleshooting since I'm still recovering from recent surgeries, but looking forward to it.

I'm not sure if I'm missing something, so please feel free to educate me on police packages. The honeycomb style grille has an R/T badge, while the build sheet lists it at the top as an SE. Further down it confirms that it was ordered with the 5.7L MDS and W5A580 5-speed AutoStick, but I see no mention of R/T anywhere on the build sheet. I plan on ditching the dash shifter, and haven't decided if the push bar should stay or go...looks kinda cool, but I'm sure it's heavy and doesn't help with aerodynamics, lol. I'm not sure if the rear door locks are factory or a home brew job...both rear doors have a knob on the b-pillar door jam you pull out (forward) to unlock and press in to lock...I think they're choke knobs or something (?).

It'll be nice to finally have a V8 RWD again (for now my daily is a 2014 Chrysler 200 Limited with the 3.6L Pentastar)...at least it's a Mopar!

I would like to hear from the forum on whether or not to keep the MDS, or if I even can once I start modifying the engine (this is my first MDS engine). I'd love to get some detailed technical supporting arguments for and/or against it as opposed to just run of the mill love and hate. Also, can someone explain what's different with the "high speed engine controller" and will my MPVI2 w/Pro Features work with it, or would I have to swap in a non-police controller for optimum tuning?

Thanks!
Nick
 
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#5 ·
Welcome to the Z from Atlanta!!!
 
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