Driving along a side road of an outer Melbourne industrial suburb, this distinctive cab profile stood out amongst the modern pickups surrounding it, and I had to stop to grab a couple of quick photos. It is a 1947 Dodge Power Wagon, and is quite the powerful machine in more ways than one.
The registration plate shows the little red sticker that signifies it is running on LPG, or more likely dual fuel. Note that lpg is also called gas here (normal petrol aka gasoline is not), because it is actually a gas! There is every chance something other than the original flat-head six is under the bonnet, which would be a good idea because you lose power running on LPG. A Power Wagon is never going to be a ball of fire but you want it to be able to get out of its own way!
The big chunky tyres, and capacity to take anything your expedition might require on the tray make this a powerful imagination machine; just think of where you might go! And thanks to its comparative lack of refinement compared to a modern pickup, even the daily drive to work would seem like an adventure. Chances are the same guy has been driving it for the best part of 25 years.
My buddy’s ’56…
He does actually work it from time to time….
Who doesn’t love a Power Wagon? Whenever we try to remember the last flathead six being offered to the public, we almost always forget about these as they were offered only that way into the late 1960s before they were killed by Chrysler’s unwillingness to attempt to certify the ancient flathead for modern emissions requirements.
I love that Chrysler didn’t even pretend to try and modernize it.
I doubt that was the reason they were killed; do you have a source for the claim? It would not have been difficult or costly to make the flathead six meet truck emission standards through at least ’74, and quite probably at least a couple of years after that. More precise carburetion (already available off the shelf; R&D work already done for the Slant-6 carburetors) and improved ignition (ditto) would’ve done all or nearly all the job.
Not that it’s necessarily always right, but that’s what allpar has said on the subject:
The Power Wagon was finally dropped from US sale after 1968 (though not before the Forest Service pleaded their case for its continuance), partly because the flat-head six would not pass emissions rules, and it was deemed too expensive to switch to the Slant 6, given that, between 1945 and 1968, just 95,145 of the WDX-WM300 Power Wagons had been sold in the United States — under 4,200 per year on average. Dodge kept building them for export into 1978, likely when the tooling wore out; changes continued, based on what was in the Chrysler parts bins.
It makes sense to me. And you’re speculating, as to how easy it would have been to de-smog it. I suspect flatheads are intrinsically pretty dirty.
Perhaps they could have used the 265ci Hemisphere six? I suspect the slant may have been tricky to fit in the narrow engine compartment.
Actually slant sixes were installed for some limited production export trucks, built up until 1971 or so. Also, the 318 V8 was also installed in these, in the later years.
Oh, and please don’t call it a “hemisphere”. Yes, Chrysler AU called their six “hemi”, but the combustion chamber was not a true hemisphere. Just like the current hemi V8 is not a true hemisphere. It’s marketing-speak.
Sorry Paul that was an autotext moment & a quick comment from my phone – missed that it had changed the word.
I had meant to say Hemi 6 because that is the common name for these engines, I am aware that the combustion chamber is not hemispherical.
Yes, I’m speculating, but (1) you’re right, the basis and quality of info on Allpar is wildly inconsistent, clear all the way up to rock-solid and down to made-up-out-of-misrecollections-and-guesses; and (2) I think it is much more likely the trucks would’ve been impracticably expensive—if not impossible—to make meet the tightening safety standards of that time. Bolt-on stuff is bolt-on stuff (dual-circuit brakes, etc) but a collapsible steering column, 3-point belts, rollover performance, door latch performance, that kind of thing would’ve required a great deal of R&D for such an elderly vehicle.
That bit about Slant-6 engines installed in late-production export trucks, if it’s so (got a source? That Allpar article says several times the Slant motor was never used in these) would seem to sturdily bolster my position here. Slant-6s in emissions-compliant form were readily available, but that would have still left the safety issues unsolved.
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That makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. The clean condition of this combined with the wider than stock tires really give this rig the right presence.
Ive seen several of these PW’s stateside updated with Cummins engines or even benefiting from a whole chassis-ectomy out of a HD Ram. With some hotrodfing, those Cummins can boogie.
Were Dodge vehicles ever officially sold in Australia, or did someone bring this there from overseas? I ask because when an Australian friend visited a few years ago he said he picked a Dodge as his rental car specifically because they don’t have them there. And Chrysler always seemed to have a much smaller presence internationally than Ford and GM. But it’s always possible that they were sold there at one time but aren’t anymore.
Chrysler products were sold and built in Australia usually the plodge variety CKD from Canada, American cars are fairly rare in OZ compared to NZ but they were definitely sold there years ago.
Beginning in 1954, the big volume of Aussie Chryslers were domestic manufacture, not CKD. Australia was tooled for standard Plymouths in 1954, and continued to make various Plodges on those bones til 1963. After the Valiant became the volume car in the 60s, some bigger cars were imported.
Good point, during the run of the Chrysler Royal they consolidate things a bit. Then the Dodge Phoenix was built in one of the smaller plants in Adelaide before being transferred to take up capacity in the Port Melbourne Rootes factory, until that closed at the end of 1972.
Dodges were sold in Australia from the early days until the early 70s for cars, and a bit later for pickups. The Neon was sold as a Chrysler over here, but in more recent years they have sold the Avenger, Caliber, Nitro, Journey and Sebring. The Journey finished up a year or two, so there aren’t any Dodges for sale now.
The Royal Australian Air Force used Dodge Power Wagons as utility trucks with a flat bed, and also as rapid response fire vehicles, in RHD configuration. The RAAF Museum has a fire version in the collection, and I’ve seen a few other ex-RAAF Power Wagons around the place too.
That Great Looking Dodge Wagon Will Have Both Toyota&Nissan Trucks For Breakfast&Poop Them Out Before Lunch Time.Just Like First Gen Mustang These Power Wagon s Are Timeless Beauties.200 years From Today People Will See These And Appreciate Their Awesomeness.
The Nissan Patrol is nothing to sneeze at.
Always been a fan. Would prefer to my 4Runner and for me that’s saying a lot. Original eng seems likely to me because of the ease of conversion to nat gas. Still plenty strong just “walking your dog” slow.
these are timeless and the pictorial definition of TOUGH. doesn’t matter how tall they sit or how big of a maw GMC, Ford, Chevy et all paste on their trucks, lined up with a PW all boys (and some gals) 6 to 96 will clamber over this brute first.
If the owner had kept the original flathead, he’d have been able to convert it to propane using all factory parts. Long after their demise in cars, Chrysler flatheads remained in production as industrial engines. They were used in tractors, lift trucks, generators, wood chippers, compressors and a variety of mining, drilling and construction equipment. When I worked as a mechanic in the early 70s, our Ford garage serviced a tree chipper. It was a brand new unit installed in a new 73 Ford F600. It used gasoline as did the truck, but many of these ran on propane. Being engineered for propane meant all sorts of neat stuff like chrome rings, hardened valve seats and Stellite alloy valves could be had. These engines were internally compatible with unleaded gas long before Chrysler’s regular auto engines. If anyone wanted to convert a Chrysler flathead to propane, it is an easy conversion with a long history.
You never know where you will see this sort of thing, I remember seeing a Ford six cylinder years ago as a backup generator for a supermarket refrigeration bank. It was running on mains natural gas.
I’m thinking that the size of the tyres most likely indicates a hike in power.
From what I understand, the 225 Slant Six (the heavy duty 225-2 version) was installed in the WM-300 from 1971 on, and the last year for WM-300 production was 1979. I got this information from Dodge Truck dealer parts catalogs. Story was they were built in small batches throughout the 70’s for U.S. military assistance programs.
There is a good book on Dodge Trucks (Dodge Trucks by Don Bunn) that collaborates with the parts catalogs.