When Dodge revived the Charger moniker, the return of the famous badge sent Muscle Car fans into a craze, but some Muscle Car purists still wanted what the factory would not give them: a real two-door Muscle Car Charger coupe. Southern California import customizer West Coast Customs agreed that’s what they needed to make and took on the build. The project, which was built for a CSI actor and was showcased on Season 1 of Street Customs, was essentially a heavily modified 2007 Dodge Charger SRT8 chassis.
A simple cosmetic modification wouldn’t do the job; these days turning a four-door Charger into a creature-built coupe involves a lot of structural fabrication. Under the guidance of Sean Mahaney, the West Coast Customs crew shortened the frame, cut the roofline, extended the doors, rebuilt the A, B and C pillars, and heavily reconfigured the exterior. Not only was the body finished in custom pearl orange paint with ghosted graphics, but the suspension, brakes, Hemi exhaust, interior, and audio system were all highly customized as well.
1. Cutting the Charger Down for a Two-Door Transformation
The biggest challenge of the project came with the significant cutting required to the Charger SRT8’s body. After the interior was removed at West Coast Customs, the team had to actually cut the vehicle in order to achieve the shorter proportions needed for a two-door. Working under Mahaney’s instructions, the team cut nine inches from the middle section of the chassis. It was much more complex than just removing the rear doors, since the shortened structure had to stay correctly proportioned in order to serve as the attachment point for the rest of the bodywork.
Chassis Transformation Highlights:
- Nine inches removed
- Roof chopped three inches
- Interior completely gutted
- Two-door proportions redesigned
- Aggressive lower roofline created
The roof was then chopped by three inches to complement the shortened chassis and create a more aggressive overall stance. Lowering the roof helped the Charger visually resemble a classic muscle coupe instead of a modified sedan. The result was a much tighter silhouette with proportions that looked deliberately engineered rather than simply cut down. This structural work established the foundation for the rest of the transformation and allowed West Coast Customs to pursue the classic two-door Charger appearance it wanted.
2. Lengthened Doors and a Cleaner Exterior Design
Instead of cutting down those short, stubby factory doors, the guys at West Coast Customs decided to go much longer and build front doors proportioned to the new coupe shape. It was crucial to get the door height right as the doors would need to fill the space left when the rear openings had been removed and the body flowing smoothly from front to rear. The shop also shaved the door handles, deleting the exterior door handles and side body moldings for a more modern look that put the custom bodywork front and center.
Exterior Fabrication Highlights:
- Front doors were lengthened
- Exterior handles were shaved
- Side moldings were removed
- Upper door pillars disappeared
- Wider B-pillar was fabricated
The upper door pillars were removed and replaced visually by a wider, more muscular B-pillar inspired by late-1960s muscle cars. Up front, West Coast Customs installed a custom chrome wire-mesh grille in place of the horizontal bars used on the factory Charger. These changes helped connect the modern SRT8 platform with the classic Charger influence while giving the finished coupe its own identity. Every alteration was intended to make the shortened body appear factory-designed rather than like a conventional sedan that had simply lost two doors.
3. Pearl Orange Paint and Ghosted Charger Graphics
Once the major metalwork and the reshaping of the exterior was done, West Coast Customs went to the paint shop. Buck and his body and paint guys came up with a great pearl orange finish with a nod to a modern day take on that classic General Lee theme that The Dukes of Hazzard made so popular. That bright orange color was an immediate eye catcher for the car, but they also wanted the graphics to appear to be all in the paint rather than decals stuck to the finished body.
Paint And Graphics Highlights:
- Custom pearl orange finish
- General Lee-inspired color
- Darker ghosted shades
- Ghosted “01” door graphics
- Roof graphics blended subtly
Buck achieved that effect by ghosting darker shades into the orange paint to create the “01” graphics on the doors. The roof also received a ghosted Stars and Bars flag design. Because the graphics were incorporated subtly into the finish, they remained visible without overwhelming the Charger’s reshaped body. This approach allowed West Coast Customs to reference the familiar General Lee aesthetic while maintaining the custom coupe’s clean visual flow and highly finished appearance.
4. Custom Body Details Meet Upgraded Brakes
Painting, Fabrication & Enhancement West Coast Customs also gave its color and fabrication expertise to areas you wouldn’t normally get to see on a production vehicle. They applied custom paint to door interior panels, as well as the trunk floor and walls, which were custom-molded for the high-powered audio system installed in this car. The factory rear brake calipers were finished to match the body color, while the braking system was upgraded to a high-performance Brembo package with larger, two-piece, cross-drilled rotors and four-piston front calipers.
Performance Upgrade Highlights:
- Custom trunk panels painted
- Rear calipers color-matched
- Larger brake rotors installed
- Cross-drilled rotors upgraded
- Four-piston Brembo fronts added
These details demonstrate how extensively the project combined appearance and performance. The brake upgrades were not treated as separate mechanical modifications hidden beneath the car; they became part of the overall visual presentation. By applying the same level of attention to the trunk, brake hardware, and body panels, West Coast Customs created a much more cohesive build. The finished Charger therefore looked customized from every angle while also receiving hardware capable of supporting its substantial size and performance.
5. 6.1L Hemi Power and a Custom Exhaust
Ryan Friedlinghaus, the head man at West Coast Customs, pointed out that the factory 6.1-liter Hemi V8 was packing more than enough punch for the custom coupe. His shop didn’t mess with the engine, which was still a super-powerful Mopar under the hood of this slammed-and-customized coupe. Instead, the shop kept the engine, honed its character using the exhaust system, and let that powerful V8 provide the power – enough to blast the Charger to 60 in around five seconds, and clock a quarter-mile in around 13 seconds.
Hemi Performance Highlights:
- 6.1L Hemi V8 retained
- Approximately five-second 0-60
- Around 13-second quarter-mile
- Modified Gibson exhaust
- Polished exhaust tips
To make the engine sound as powerful as it performed, the team installed a modified Gibson Performance Exhaust Systems after-cat dual exhaust with polished tips. The system gave the Hemi a deeper, more aggressive exhaust note that matched the visual attitude of the vehicle. Keeping the stock engine largely intact also demonstrated that West Coast Customs did not need to chase extreme engine modifications to make the Charger fast. The existing Hemi already delivered the muscle-car performance the project required.
6. Lowered Chassis, 22-Inch Wheels and Brembo Brakes
With the body shortened and the roof lowered, the suspension and wheel setup needed to reinforce the new proportions. West Coast Customs lowered the Charger approximately three inches at both the front and rear, giving the car a much more aggressive, asphalt-hugging stance. The build then received large 22-inch Asanti AF122 luxury wheels with graphite-painted centers and bright chrome rims, dramatically filling the shortened bodywork and giving the coupe a strong custom-car presence.
Chassis And Wheel Highlights:
- Ride height lowered three inches
- 22-inch Asanti AF122 wheels
- 22×9 front wheels
- 22×10 rear wheels
- Pirelli PZero Nero tires
At the front, 22×9-inch wheels were fitted with 265/30ZR22 Pirelli PZero Nero tires, while the rear used wider 22×10-inch Asanti wheels with 295/25ZR22 Pirelli rubber. The larger wheel and tire package was matched by serious braking hardware, including red Brembo performance calipers at all four corners. The upgraded system could bring the heavy muscle coupe from 60 mph to a stop in roughly 110 feet. Despite the aggressive chassis changes, the build retained heated seats, air conditioning, and cruise control for everyday usability.
7. Bespoke Interior With Factory-Like Integration
Inside the cabin, West Coast Customs continued the same combination of custom styling and careful fabrication. The factory seats were reupholstered in rich charcoal-gray material with bright orange accents, creating a color scheme that matched the exterior. A custom-fabricated headliner completed the updated cabin. One of the most difficult interior challenges involved the extended front doors because the interior door panels also had to be lengthened to match the new exterior dimensions.
Interior Customization Highlights:
- Charcoal-gray upholstery
- Bright orange interior accents
- Custom headliner installed
- Extended door panels fabricated
- Factory-style integration maintained
The finished interior was designed so carefully that the extensive fabrication could easily go unnoticed. Rather than looking like an aftermarket modification, the extended panels and new upholstery appeared integrated into the original Charger architecture. This was particularly important because the exterior transformation had already changed the vehicle’s proportions dramatically. By carrying those changes into the cabin, West Coast Customs ensured that the two-door conversion felt complete from the driver’s seat as well as from outside the car.
8. Sony Multimedia System and Hidden Speakers
The custom audio and video installation, directed by Chad Utt, brought another layer of technology to the Charger without sacrificing the clean appearance of the cabin. At the center of the dashboard was a Sony XAV-A1 DVD/CD/MP3 receiver with a seven-inch flip-out touchscreen, while the LCD head unit remained positioned in the factory dashboard location. The system was designed to provide substantial entertainment capability while keeping the interior visually organized.
Audio System Highlights:
- Sony XAV-A1 receiver
- Seven-inch flip-out screen
- WCC-652cs component speakers
- Hidden dashboard tweeters
- Factory-style speaker integration
WCC-652cs two-way component speakers placed 6.5-inch midbass woofers inside the doors, while the tweeters were discreetly positioned behind the factory dash grilles. Another set of WCC-652cs components was installed in the rear deck. This arrangement allowed the cabin to deliver a serious audio experience while preserving an OEM-style appearance. The careful speaker placement was especially important because the interior had already undergone extensive custom upholstery and door-panel fabrication.
9. Custom Orion Amplifiers and Four Subwoofers
The audio system became even more elaborate in the trunk, where West Coast Customs installed a pair of custom WCC amplifiers by Orion. A WCC-6004 four-channel amplifier powered the front and rear component speakers, while a dedicated WCC-8001 mono amplifier supplied power to four WCC-104 10-inch subwoofers. The subwoofers were housed in sealed enclosures, giving the large Charger an audio system capable of producing substantial low-frequency output.
Trunk Audio Highlights:
- Two Orion-based amplifiers
- WCC-6004 four-channel amplifier
- WCC-8001 mono amplifier
- Four 10-inch subwoofers
- Sealed subwoofer enclosures
The low-frequency sound was directed into the cabin through a large opening in the center of the rear deck. Punched metal grille material protected the opening, while orange accent lighting added another visual connection to the exterior paint scheme. This meant the trunk was not simply a storage area filled with audio equipment. It became an integrated part of the overall custom design, combining practical equipment placement with carefully planned visual details that matched the rest of the build.
10. Seven-Panel Fiberglass Trunk and the Finished Custom Coupe
The trunk itself became one of the most intricate fabrication pieces on the entire Charger. Chad Utt engineered a molded fiberglass installation consisting of seven separate panels that were designed to interlock without exposing a single fastener. The panels were then finished with paint matching the exterior bodywork, creating a seamless appearance around the audio equipment. This level of fabrication demonstrated the amount of planning required to make such a large custom installation look clean and intentional.
Final Build Highlights:
- Seven molded fiberglass panels
- Hidden fastener design
- Exterior-matched trunk paint
- Extreme custom fabrication
- Modern Charger became two-door coupe
By combining the shortened chassis, extended doors, lowered roof, custom graphics, 6.1L Hemi power, upgraded brakes, large Asanti wheels, bespoke interior, and elaborate audio system, West Coast Customs created a modern two-door Charger that Dodge never officially built. The project successfully blended classic 1968 Charger inspiration with the mechanical foundation and everyday comforts of a 2007 SRT8. Its extensive fabrication and attention to hidden details made it more than a cosmetic conversion, turning the Charger into a distinctive custom muscle coupe and a showcase of West Coast Customs craftsmanship.
