It’s been a couple months since my last COAL submissions, which details my origins as a gearhead in childhood. By the time my sixteenth birthday rolled around, as a resident of Tennessee, I could get my driver’s license, yet I held off. While I’d gotten my learner’s permit the moment I turned fifteen, my family had come down to just one vehicle, in adition to the company car my dad used for daily duties. However, he was itching for another truck, having owned two Ford pickups before, and I’d have the privilege of using whatever he ended up purchasing.
Had we just stuck with the Bronco my mom owned, being the only rig we actually owned at that point, I wouldn’t have much seat time and I’d be paying for insurance. There was no way my mom was going to do without wheels just so I could drive to school and work and in those days–about 1990–a sport utility was also significantly more expensive to insure than a pickup.
My father’s not much for popping for brand new vehicles, especially for one which would only serve as a part timer, so it was decided to buy older and pay cash. The criteria was that the truck be American made, reasonably priced, well maintained and not a compact. Four-wheel drive was strongly preferred, though a two-wheel drive with something special might be a contender–think a stepside or a classic truck. I had never driven a stick and badly wanted to learn, so naturally I was lobbying pretty hard for a manual. Trouble is, in small town western Tennessee, a used but not abused 4×4 pickup that isn’t criminally overpriced is as rare as hen’s teeth.
We went to go check out a lot of trucks and many were absolute crap. One, a mid ’80s GMC was lifted about four inches using lift blocks and extended U-bolts front and rear. Using lift blocks in the rear is already sketchy; adding them in front is a total deathwish. Of course, my dad and I butted heads regularly in those days, my being a bullheaded teen with a case of Jeepitis.
As far as Jeeps were concerned, a “normal” CJ was out, but my dad had let it slip that a J-Truck, Comanche or even a Scrambler could still be used as a pickup, which is what he needed, so they were not out of the question. Trouble is, any of those are rare anywhere and in non-destroyed status in Tennessee, they were nearly impossible to find, even then. Think wheelie-on-a-unicycle impossible.
That following summer, a few leads started to solidify. My dad is a Ford guy, and I came dangerously close to being stuck driving a longbed F-150 in that godforsaken two-tone dark blue and tan paint scheme that was so popular then. I don’t remember how that fell through, but luckily it did.
In scanning the paper (remember shopping for cars like that?), my dad found a Dodge for sale just outside of town. His friend had one he purchased new–a late ’70s Power Wagon with the Macho package, identical to the one in this ad. I’m a sucker for bright gaudy color schemes. I hoped this truck was so outfitted, or perhaps that it was a stepside–I can’t say no to those.
Well, it was an ’84 and by the mid ’80s, many cars and trucks were becoming more muter and conservative in their appearance, even stodgy. Mid to late ‘7-s trucks and sport utilities tended to wear brighter colors, with stripes and tape packages that may get ridiculed for “sticker performance,” but which reminded me of the Stompers, Hotwheels and slotcars that I’d loved as a child.
My tastes are a little on the “look at me” side anyway, but in rural Tennessee, tastes are especially conservative. Two-tone paint jobs in beige/fecal brown, maroon/white, dark grey/silver tended to be the norm, and mid ’80s Dodges often had that wonky hood ornament. The big-rig inspired second-gen Ram and the whole Mopar renaissance were still a few years away, so my hopes weren’t too high at the time, but I digress.
Not our truck, but similar
We went to check out the ’84, and boy was I surprised. No, it wasn’t a Power Wagon, it’s wasn’t a stepside; hell, it wasn’t even orange. What we found was a pristine, bone stock Power Ram 150 with the a single cab, a short bed and the 318 V8. It had 60,000 miles on it, was solid black and came with a manual transmission. It wasn’t some wussy five-speed, either, but a four-speed with a granny gear. The was the old-school goodness I’d read about in 4Wheel & Off Road and Four Wheeler magazines, soaking up all I could about 4x4s.
It ended up looking very similar to these rigs, right down to the factory turbine wheels on the Ramcharger you see here. It was a local two-owner truck that had led a pampered life, but it was not like the fancy, posh luxury trucks of today. A/C was about the only creature comfort and it had a rubber floor, a vinyl covered bench seat, crank up windows, and a tinny two-speaker AM/FM radio. It didn’t–and still doesn’t–have a headliner, just painted steel! This was truly a “real truck” in every sense of the word: everything you need, nothing you don’t.
But rather than a cheap El Strippo, it came off more as a blank canvas with loads of potential to be whatever one might want it to be. The owner lived outside of town and had a small farm. He really wanted a farm truck and while the Dodge was plenty capable, he’d decided it was just too nice and clean to beat up. So Dad haggled it out and for the princely sum of $5500, this became his truck but my ride.
Over the next few weeks, my dad and I got familiar with the truck. We changed all the fluids, tuned it up, tore down the front hubs/bearings, ditching the auto-locking front hubs for manual units, and generally giving it a good going thru. It was all basic maintenance on a used 4×4 and it was a great experience for me.
Soon the vinyl bench got recovered in cloth, the running boards were scrapped, and it got a nice set of loud glasspacks: perfect! Dad taught me how to drive a stick over the next few days. I really had the hang of it by the second or third lesson, and I was clutching, shifting, coasting, downshifting like a champ, but just to make sure I had it, he gave me a fourth on-the-road lesson before turning me loose on my own.
I remember it being a perfect storm: I was sitting at a stoplight on an incline, with wet pavement and a cop right across the intersection. Dad didn’t say anything but I could see he was giving me “the look” to see what would happen. I gave it a bit too much gas, and not enough clutch, spinning the rear wheels the whole way across the intersection, opposite the cop! My dad is a good sized dude too, and he tried to shrink down to the size of a gnome as the cop gave us the evil eye, but luckily Depute Dawg had a date with the donut shop or something and kept right on motoring.
I drove that Dodge for over a year, but almost immediately began shopping for my first Jeep while slowly saving money. While I really liked that truck and even considered buying it off my dad, I still wanted a Jeep so badly, I could almost taste it. Still, I had a lot of fun in that rig. I started driving it to work a month into that summer, and it was immediately a hit with my running crew. All my grocery bagger co-workers were smitten with it. Most of them either had lowered minitrucks or were pinching their moms’ cars.
On the weekends, it was cruising “the strip.” Many a ride was given to a cute girl, with some bench seat debauchery enjoyed on occasion. When school started back up, I was a junior and it was again the envy of all my friends. We had our share of spoiled kids whose parents bought them new 5.0 Mustangs, or GM F-bodies, or who dumped tons of cash into lowered minitrucks that were all the rage at the crack of the ’90s.
There were a few others who had older muscle cars or classic trucks, some of which were nicely restored, but the clean, simple Dodge definitely made me a few friends among the kids who liked to go muddin’. It saw a bit of that action, too, and shrugged off all my abuse until later that year, when I got my Jeep.
Over the years, I’ve had several Jeeps along with other Mopars. I’ve always liked the Pentastar, but have steadily become an even more solid enthusiast and this ’84–along with the many adventures I’ve had with it–is where it all started. Those with a sharp memory also will remember that in addition to starting out in this single cab shortbed Ram, I have another one now (although very different from the subject of this article). That’s yet another COAL…
Nice writeup and please *do* digress as I come here for the stories as that’s where the _truth_ lies in most cases…..
-Nate
Of all the pickups from the ’80s, the Dodge is definitely my pick every time. Sure, they weren’t as refined as the others, but that is the allure of them. They also seemed to have the most vast spectrum of equipment, from total bare bones to surprisingly equipped. Truly stout pickups that embody what a pickup is supposed to be.
It sounds like you had (have?) a very good one.
Nice first truck. My first truck was a stripper 65 Chevy C10 2wd longbed. 283 3 on tree non sync 1st. Power nothing. It had an aftermarket heater that only blew on floor, so no defroster. My Dad bought a brand new 74 Duster stripper forest ranger green slant 6, 3 on tree. Rubber floor mats, flat thin seat. His had a defroster and 1st was syncro. And I added an am-fm cassette. Talk about luxury! He was working in Portland and left the truck there, after he bought his Plymouth in Southern California we drove up and I drove the truck back alone, I was 17, this was in December 1973. I loved that old truck, drove it where a 2wd had no business going and was sometimes pulled out of trouble by others in 4wd’s. Once on the top of a mountain it dropped the driveshaft, the tow truck driver that rescued it yelled and screamed at me the whole time he was on the fireroad about how his truck was getting f***ed up, he charged me big time. I think he told me about ten time that I was a total idiot. I loved that old truck. Great story, stirred up old memories, your truck sounds like it was a great machine.
It’s nice that there’s a much bigger community for lift kits and suspension parts now, so there’s less of a chance of encountering the dreaded (and illegal now, right?) front axle block lift.
Great article and nice truck Rocker. You can see where they were determinedly chasing GM with the 1981 restyle. I became a Dodge fan after the ’72 redesign, and their part in the TV show, ‘Emergency’. I always considered the first generation club cab and dually versions my favorite. With the rare club cab short bed, being my ultimate pick.
Sounds like it was a good truck. There have been a few old Dodges owned on both sides of my family. I’ve always had a thing for Ramchargers myself, and considered buying one once. The owner had grafted the hood bulges from a Challenger (I think) onto the hood.
Ya, Ive developed a MAJOR thing for the Ramcharger/Traildusters. The 1st gens with full removable top look sweet in Hemi orange, slot mags and no roof. Someday….
When I was in the Navy, my squadron got a new vehicle for the Duty Driver…a 1972 Dodge pickup. I so wanted to take a turn in that truck and finally got a chance in a similar truck. It (only) had the slant 6 and “three on the tree” but a fun “little” truck anyway. They would give a Chevy/GMC a good run for the money but even better, didn’t rust as fast as the GM trucks. Being less popular than the Ford or GM trucks when new, they are cheaper now.
Really liked the styling….in AND out.
Count me as another who has a thing for Dodges of this era. I liked the squared-up styling. Also, I am a sucker for any old pickup with an old-school 4 speed like yours.
When this restyle came out in the early 80s, I thought these were finally going to see some mainstream success. Ahhh, no. It took the 1994 version to become a real contender, but hindsight tells us that there were quite a few trade-offs made.
Lerooy–Yeah, kits are out for just about any truck to lift them…but that wont stop Bubba and Junior from having at it with blowtorches in one hand, Steel Reserve in the other. Ive seen things on Jeeps and pickups that would give you nightmares.
Daniel–Thanks, man! I always thought these channeled the contemporary Fords, with the eggcrate grille and single headlight setup, however the suspension setups in both 2wd and 4×4 were similar to GM. Ford was the oddball with its suspension. Nice rig…I do like the RumbleBee homages on those 70s era Dodges…
This rig is my Dad’s always really was, even when I drove it. 24 years later, its gone thru some upgrades but its still going strong. SOME day itll be mine, and if I have my way, itll be looking a helluva lot like that Rod Hall one. But luckily my dad is just about to retire, yet he’s still going strong as the ‘Mighty Dodge’ as one of my HS buddies recently called it.
Why exactly is a block lift for the front bad? I’m not doubting you and it sure does sound sketchy, but what is the exact danger in doing this? I’m just curious.
If you put a block between the axle and leaf spring you increase the lever arm that bends/wraps the spring which is a reason why you get axle tramp/hop on the drive wheels. If the normal distance is say 2″ for the radius of the axle tube plus bracket and you put a 2″ block you have doubled this effect. On a front axle this deflection is also affecting your steering, and front wheel braking is a lot more important than at the rear. There are also steering geometry changes to deal with, and also the possibility of disastrous failure:
http://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/suspension-brakes/131-0708-4×4-front-lift-blocks/
Your Power Ram seems to be the nearly polar opposite of my ’77 Macho Power Wagon. So many problems, it just ate money. It was a fun truck, and plenty quick after all the mods I did when it had issues.
Reminds me of my first new vehicle, an ’86 D-150 shortbed with a 318. Good little truck, never had much trouble with it even though it had an oddball feedback Holley 2bbl. carb. (Carter had gotten out of the OEM carb. business in ’84). These 2nd. generation D/W trucks were not far removed from the ’72-’80 models, updated grilles, slightly revised fenders and quarters, and a new dash was about it.
Although I’m a die hard Bow Tie Guy at heart , I know and respect these old Dodges as our Fleet had them and they were damn near unkillable .
CalTrans. bought them in large numbers through the mid 1980’s and I had a very nice business buying up all the well equipped 1980 D-100 short bed 1/2 tonners with slant 6 engine , automatic tranny , PS & PB , AC and the full tow package including factory dual tanks ~ talk about well equipped cheap work trucks ! .
I wish the crack head hadn’t bashed my cherriest one right out side my house , only 32,000 miles and everything was *PERFECT* .
Dodge / Plymouth trucks are not for everyone but if the quirks don’t bother you they’re hard to beat .
-Nate
I hope an old Dodge truck (60s or 70s, or maybe even 80s) doesn’t come up for sale cheap around me anytime soon, because I’m digging the heck out of them lately (and that’s always code for “one’s going to be parked in front of the house soon.”
I’m just going to disregard this entry and go about my business…there are engines to be assembled out in the garage…yes, I’m just going to walk away. 🙂
Love these things. A buddy of mine has an impossibily clean 93 with a built 340 from a 71 (iirc) challenger. Its hemi orange with the super bee stripe, a proper 6″ lift with some 35″ mickey thompsons with an unknown 15″ aluminum wheel. It really is sweet. The same guy has a bunch of 70-73 challengers and cudas including two rt challengers just sitting in the weeds waiting for the time he says I can take all of them and make two really nice r/t’ s.