My raison d’être, I believe, is to amass as many old, largely unwanted cars as I can, and make them operational; however, being the primary caretaker of five old cars leaves me little room or sanity for many more, and selling anything is nigh-on out of the question. Therefore, I satisfy myself with car fantasies (I’m sure you know the drill). This week, it’s the Dodge Ramcharger, a peculiar choice considering that I’m not the “mud truck” kind of guy.
First off, the dealer video sold me. Being born in 1977, my recollection of the 1970s is functionally nonexistent, so my notions of it as a fashionable or unfashionable entity are derived from print and film sources. In other words, cop shows and car brochures make up the bulk of my 1970s perceptions.
Therefore, the video hooked me by checking all the right boxes. Pale, hazy sun? Check. Cheesy music? Check. Outlandish ’70s clothing? Check. A vehicle I never knew I wanted? Check. After all, it’s kind of a truck, but I could remove the top! I would, however, like to abstain from any slant sixes in my Ramcharger. If I’m going to get crappy fuel mileage anyway, I’ll go for a big-block.
See what I mean? Look at that hazy 1970s picture of a Ramcharger in the hills. In the words of Liz Lemon from 30 Rock, “I want to go to there.” Sigh. I love my personal image of the ’70s. Of course, in real life, Chrysler was in dire peril for much of the decade, and, in the case of the Ramcharger, had to compete with the Blazer and Bronco.
As usual, Chrysler was in an unenviable position. But don’t let that deter you from enjoying the fun of some Ramcharger videos. And although I’m about at the practical capacity of space and sanity as far as old car maintenance is concerned, that doesn’t mean I won’t do something I’ll later regret (kind of) and buy a neat old Ramcharger.
I can’t believe they offered the Slant-6 for this. Those upmarket bucket seats look like they were for Barbie & Ken, not human beings; even the base ones looked better. Americans have long designed seats that are both ugly •and• uncomfortable, & not just for cars either.
Once you park your butt in a chair, it doesn’t matter what it looks like.
They might as well have offered the Slant-6, seeing as how from the doors forward it was a W100 pickup. There was also a 2WD Ramcharger (and Blazer, and Bronco). Don’t know who that was for.
The /6 was definitely offered. I saw one so equipped show up on CL, and some sales brochure somewhere listed it also.
225 slant 6 (and 400 V8) were not available on California models.
Yea, CA had a LOT of weird quirks in those days.
Stringent CA emissions compliance was the reason, as anyone who lived in LA County back then could tell you; one could have breathing problems on bad smog days. Industry had to make a cost/benefit decision here. I have no problem with •state• emissions regulations.
A few of the Ramchargers I saw, and the one I owned for a while, had the same exact seats as my ’77 Powerwagon. Not very handy, as they didn’t fold up! You had to climb over them to get into the back. It was easier to open up the back end and crawl in. Those seats were, in almost 44 years of driving, the best I’ve ever sat in. Perfect. I could drive all day, and feel great.
One thing that literally stands out in all of those pictures is the front differential. The airbrushers could have fuzzed it out, but they made sure it was highlighted.
Message: THIS IS 4WD.
Might be the one and only time that Chrysler aimed its marketing at the right target!
Okay, they sold me at the “New lower body side moldings” line.
I do love the Madison Avenue, Mad Men hype!
I’d love a Ramcharger. But I’d prefer a second gen as the interiors were much nicer.
The one thing you are missing from your 1970s vision is everyone laughing at you for buying a Chrysler product, particularly by 1975. Polite society did not drive Mopar during that decade. Chrysler products were for poorly educated older people who bought tradition rather than making intelligent choices. Whatever argument you might have made for superior engineering had pretty much been swamped by evidence of widespread quality disasters by then, Look at the side trim on the car in that top dealer film – this was the one they picked to feature on camera!
Oh yes, there were Gerald Ford’s WIN buttons (Whip Inflation Now!), too.
“Polite society did not drive Mopar during that decade. Chrysler products were for poorly educated older people who bought tradition rather than making intelligent choices.” Or for small city radio station executives who were obliged to spread around their car leasing business so as not to alienate potential advertisers, and who had used up their quota of GM-Ford business. That’s how my dad ended up with a crappy & slow ’78 318 LeBaron that replaced a 460 Elite.
Well, I wouldn’t say I’m missing the laughing…people have been laughing at me my whole life anyway. 🙂
Dad bought a new ’75 1/2 ton cargo van (225 auto ps am radio) which was trouble free and reliable, even though often overloaded and driven (not at all gently by me) in hot city traffic. AC would have been nice back then. Friend bought a ’77 new (same but with 318) and put lot’s of trouble free miles on it for ten years. ’74 Duster strippo 225 Dad had was also problem free except for crappy column 3 on tree linkage, which was replaced with Hurst floor shifter. The ’79 Volare, however loaded with everything but with 225 (318 would have been better choice), was a problem loaded pos and was his last Chrysler.
FWIW, the vans and the A-bodies — and their F-body replacements, until it became apparent how poorly they were built — were among the few market segments where Chrysler was still fairly competitive well into the ’70s (maybe not fashionable, but competitive).
You seem to have a lot of strange ideas about Mopars.
“You seem to have a lot of strange ideas about Mopars.”
No kidding….
Can’t believe they didn’t fix the poor rear quarter trim fit on the yellow one.
I also can’t believe they let “318 SEE EYE DEE engine” thru on the voiceover…wow.
Re-read JP’s comment. And if you’re still tempted to buy one, read it again. These were sad days for Mother Mopar…
I agree late 70’s mopar’s were not a high point but I worked at several shops in the 90’s using them for shop trucks (pickups not ramchargers) and other than rust they were still reliably plowing snow and towing boats and campers. So I really wouldn’t have much issue buying a mopar truck from that era. Cars thou not my cup of tea.
Call it a sickness, knowing what a crapshoot Mopars were during the ’70s but i want a 1st gen pop top Ramcharger/Trailduster in the worst way. Crooked trim? No prob…rip it off there! The blue/white one calls me pretty loudly but the solid yellow with white roof is a good look too.
Seriously, whats NOT to love, if you score a good one? Beefy, bomb proof 4×4, open roof, available big block and manual trans, more distinguished than the competing bronco/blazer. Pure opinion, but the ’70s era Dodge trucks with the round headlights and a few body lines inspired by the fuselage cars and contemporary B bodies makes for one of Ma Mopar’s sharpest looking trucks. The ’81 update definitely numbed their good looks.
Good read, Aaron. And if you score one, I know of a spot in Oregon with plenty of room and love!
My granddad bought one new in 76. He ordered it in RWD for trailer-towing. It came with AWD. The dealer had never sold one in RWD.
The 2wd versions were available right to the end of the model in ’92 IIRC. They were never strong sellers in that configuration. 2wd Broncos never existed outside of the BII, and the Blazer dropped the 2wd sometime in the early ’80s. Ive seen 2wd RC’s and Blazers lowered and given a bit of sport truck attitude. Personally, Id rock a 2wd RC/TD. A warmed over 360, dumped suspension, old school mag wheels and some beefy tires…sounds good to me!
You know you’re in trouble when “easy-to-change fuses in the dash” are a selling point IN YOUR AD, and not something the dealer mentions as a hey-this-is-neat at delivery. How often would you have had to change fuses that you’d need them to be that easy to get to?!
“How often would you have had to change fuses that you’d need them to be that easy to get to?!”
Yup, Mopar in the 70s. Other than electrical systems, carburetion, body and interior pieces, fit and finish, and maybe styling, these were fabulous cars. 🙂
And this from a guy who would own one of these (or any one of a number of other 70s Mopars) in a heartbeat. What can I say, love is irrational.
I’ve always loved this generation Dodge Ramcharger. I remember seeing these when I was a boy. I was disappointed when Dodge discontinued the Ramcharger for the Durango.
93 was the last yr of the Ramcharger. Total production was only 3900, so they are kind of scarce. The new Ram pickup body style debuted in 94 and apparently nixed any new body for the low volume Ramcharger. The dealer I worked for 40 min. W of St. Louis only sold 2 that yr. Bolth with the high line Canyon pkg. alloy wheels, gold trim and wheel opening moldings, ect. One red the other emerald green ( per peak of the green car era.) Shortly after they arrived in inventory a big snow blizzard blew in deep snow. Bolth owners parked their New Yorkers and commedered them as demos. The Durango came out in 98 a yr after the new Dakota body.
I always figured that Chrysler was on a tight budget when they redesigned the fullsize trucks for 1994. They didn’t introduce the extended cab until the following model year; then they dragged their feet for many years without a proper crew cab with comfortable rear seating, even though that’s where the pickup market was heading. No money to engineer an updated Ramcharger on the new fullsize platform, especially if the Durango was already planned as well.
That video with its music and camera angles was classic. Just needs John and Ponch chasing it down the 405 and it could be an old episode of CHiPs.
Not a strong Mopar guy, but I have always liked these. Would really like to find its sister, the Plymouth Trail Duster.
I also have always been fond of the Ramcharger. I considered buying a blue one that belonged to another tenant in the same building that a friend of mine was living in, but talked myself out of it as I certainly didn’t need a vehicle. I was driving my ’84 GMC diesel van at the time, which was reliable, had more interior room and got better fuel economy.
If I was to shop for an old Ramcharger now, make it RWD with a smallblock V8 and stock-size tires. I would swap-in the 4-speed automatic from a newer Dodge van. Unfortunately, I think too much time has passed since these were made for me to buy one to use as a DD, and I’d rather spend my hobby-car energies on something older. I expect the closest I will get to Ramcharger ownership is a Dodge pickup with a cap on the box.
As I recall I think a few of the 93’s made it out with 4 speed autos from the factory they also had the higher HP magnum 318’s
This is my memory of the Ramcharger! I took this picture for the student newspaper of SUNY Purchase back in 1978. It seems some of the campus police were bored during a long night shift patrolling the campus and started doing donuts in the snow. Apparently the huge parking lots were not big enough to prevent them from having a head on collision and totaling the force’s two patrol cars. For the rest of the year they ended up patrolling mostly on foot and occasionally in a borrowed service truck from the facilities department.
I bet the RC would’ve been repairable. Pull off the front clip, put the truck on a rack and pull the frame back into spec, bolt-on front clip from junkyard donor.
Priceless!
Talk about great job security.
To save money, Chrysler used the musical soundtrack from popular pornoflicks of the day as background music in their commercials. I know this from watching Jeopardy!
An interesting tidbit about the early Ramchargers is that Chrysler went to the effort and expense of moving production of the Ramcharger/Trailduster from Warren Truck to Jefferson Avenue (which hadn’t built a body on frame vehicle since the ’66 Imperial) for just two model years. (1979-80) It was a stopgap to keep Jefferson open in the period between the end of the C-body Chryslers and the beginning of K-Car production.
The Ramcharger moved back to Warren until the summer of ’86 when it was moved to Mexico to make room for the Dakota.
While the Ramcharger was ultimately a dead end for Chrysler, and an amazing gas guzzler with any engine thanks to Chrysler’s ancient engines, this promotional film is spot on. The full-size Dodge Royal Monaco was dying and done for after 1977, and modern versions of the Ramcharger in the form of crew cab pick-ups were to become the de-facto full-size car after the SUV era.
I drove past a UP car rail depot today, just loaded with FCA product. Well, a variety of a Jeeps and a preponderance of Ram Crewcabs.
Osborn Tramain has also published a You Tube video where Chrysler hoped to create some backlash to GM’s downsized cars with the 1977 Royal Monaco. While the effort failed miserably, it does sort of create a hand off from the traditional American full-size car to the pick-up based Ramcharger as the full-size car of the future.