(first posted 8/28/2012) As I remember the early 1970s, there were two kinds of Dads. There were the guys who were reasonably fashionable and with the times, who kept with the styles. These guys let their hair and sideburns grow a bit, and got in touch with their softer side. My own father was numbered among this group. Then there were the hardasses – usually ex military guys who stuck with their flattops and who wore skinny ties and wingtips when dress up was required. The former Dads would gently but firmly correct their children when we misbehaved. The hardass dads would smack the little bastards in the head to straighten them up, usually muttering something like “knock that the hell off.” In the world of trucks, there was no mistaking that the Dodge trucks were like the hardass Dads.
The 1960s saw the beginnings of the softening of the pickup truck. But not at Dodge. Only wussies need independent front suspension. The Sweptline years (1961-71) marked Dodge as the land where time pretty much stood still. But for 1972, Dodge tried on some new duds. Not so much so as to hang out with the cool Dads, but as a way of sort of coming to terms with the 1970s.
When the 1972 models came out, Dodge looked as though it might finally be able to elbow its way to the front of the line. It may not outsell Ford or Chevrolet, but it certainly looked as though it could now run right up there with them. To my eyes, the 72 Dodge pickup line was among the most handsome ever. The truck seemed almost car-like in its styling. I particularly liked the way the two-tone treatment accentuated the soft flairs above the wheel cutouts.
To me, the general shapeliness and the two-toning treatment of these trucks reminded me a lot of the concurrent Plymouth Satellite coupes. Unfortunately, the body engineering of these trucks would not live up to the legendary toughness of their drivetrains. Rust, squeaks and a general feeling of flimsiness would bedevil these trucks for the entirety of their lengthy run. Also like these Satellites. Oh how the world could have been different had Chrysler brought these trucks out in 1968 or so.
The new Dodge also got a publicity boost from its starring role in the TV show Emergency. The ladies may have been oogling Randolph Mantooth and Kevin Tighe, but I tuned into that show to watch that big red Dodge (Rescue 51) play the hero every week.
We have previously written here about the other big breakthrough of this generation of Dodge’s pickup line – the 1973 Club Cab. (CC Here) Nobody else in 1972-73 offered the kind of variety in pickups that could be found at your friendly Dodge dealer, with standard cabs, the Club Cab, and even crew cabs. Ford would answer pretty quickly with the 1974 Super Cab. Chevrolet, inexplicably, would wait for nearly an eternity before offering an extended cab of its own.
There was one segment of the 1972 line where there would be no real compromise with moderninity – the Power Wagons. The original Dodge Power Wagon was a truck’s truck. Going back to our Dad analogy, it would have been the toughest of the Ex-Marines. The guy capable of taking down a grizzly bear with a swiss army knife without letting the cigarette fall from his lips. The 1946 Power Wagon was pretty much identical to the military issue truck from World War II, and remained in the Dodge catalog largely unchanged until it was discontinued in 1968.
However, the Power Wagon name (and its rugged spirit) moved onto the later editions of the Sweptline trucks and became pretty much the gold standard for truck buyers who really put trucks through their paces in places far off the beaten paths. The Power Wagon’s 8-lug Dana axles could haul the big, butch Dodge trucks pretty much anyplace a truck had any business going.
I saw this rig parked on a side street recently when I was on my way downtown. It is rare enough to see one of the early versions of this truck, at least in the midwestern U.S.
As I took a closer look, I saw that I had hit the trifecta – a Club Cab, a Power Wagon, and even in the high-level Adventurer trim. I cannot imagine that many were sold in this combination, and surely there are not many of them left, particularly as original and unmolested as this one is.
Chrysler has had a number of really good car names over the years, and has done a better-than-average job of recycling them. We have seen multiple versions of Dusters, Scamps, and even Diplomats. But the Adventurer is one of my favorites. After being used as the flagship of the DeSoto line from 1956, it came back as the uplevel trim package on Dodge trucks. Is there anyone besides me who thinks that the Ramcharger should actually have been the Adventurer?
There would be some serious retrenching in Dodge trucks in the years ahead. The Power Wagon was retired after 1980, and the Club Cab was discontinued a couple of years later (although it would be re-introduced in the early 1990s at the end of this truck’s long run.) But this 1975 model was right in the heart of the era when we Mopar fanboys still (wrongly) believed that Dodge trucks were poised to rule the world. It is interesting to me that these mid 1970s trucks are not well documented online. Not even Allpar has significant coverage on these D series trucks until the appearance of the hot Lil’ Red Truck in the late 1970s.
So many of the cars I shoot for CC are quietly sitting in parking areas, patiently awaiting the return of their owners. But I was fortunate to actually meet the owner of this fabulous old pickup. Nick is a young family man and U. S. Army vet who has some Mopar in his blood. And for the record, he is a very normal guy who does NOT have a flattop or look like the kind of Dad who smacks his kids in the head. Times have changed since 1972. He is just the second owner of this truck that has still travelled less than 100K miles. Other than replacing the transmission (which Dodge called the LoadFlite in trucks) and installing police-style (with cooling holes) dog dish hubcaps, this truck is bone-stock.
This was a challenging truck to photograph. The mix of sun and shade gave the trusty JPC BlackberryCam about all it could handle, but an even bigger problem was the extreme length of this truck in tight urban quarters. Up close and personal, this is a long, long vehicle. And in a quaint, gentrified ninetheenth century neighborhood, this old Dodge stood out like a gun show in the parking lot at Whole Foods.
During a fun conversation about the truck, Nick asked if I would like to hear it run. You betcha! Most of you know that I simply cannot get enough of the old Chrysler reduction gear starter, and it is even better with the sound of a throaty 360 as a chaser.
Nick really enjoys driving this truck, saying that he plans to drive it until it it either dies or is outlawed. If the day ever comes when it is illegal to drive a big, gruff old Dodge truck like this one, well I think that this would be the kind of outlaw activity I could get behind.
it looks to have either the clock or rare factory tach in the left-hand instrument panel. Nice. Nice color combo too. These had really weird glove boxes that were located nearly at the “top” of the dash.
That’s a tachometer but it’s not OEM. Looks like the guy simply cut a hole where the factory tach would go and slapped an aftermarket unit in. Still did a nice job of it, though.
And Chrysler was famous for those ‘flip-up’ glove boxes. The logic must have been that anything you had in the box would not fall out when the box was opened in that configuration.
ya the hole was there and made it easy, just could not help myself, i love it.
Thank you!
And the fuse box was under that flip-up lid!
Oh man, what a find. You’re right, you really pulled off a hat trick here with this combo of three delicious delicacies. And to get to hear that trademark Chrysler starter sound to boot.
My grandfather had an orange ’72 Power Wagon with 4wd. He lived with Grandma in southwest Michigan, in the country, where it really snows. That thing started rusting almost immediately, and by ’78 it looked mighty rough. But we accepted that kind of rust as normal in the 70s.
My grandparents took my brother and I on a vacation to northern Michigan in that truck. It was 1976; we were 8 and 9. All four of us sat abreast on that bench seat. Seat belts? Pshh. Again, it was the 1970s. Hell, my default seat in that truck while tooling around the gravel roads where Grandpa lived was one of the wheel bulges in the bed. These were riskier, deadlier times.
Adventurer trim?
Whadaya think I am? Some sort of nancy? Armrests and carpet are for sissies, now wheres my whiskey?
Seems like every Adventurer I ever saw had a big cab-over camper on it.
lol ok
Somehow it doesn’t seem right without a big ol yellow dog in the bed.
Whats funny is that the extended cab back then was treated as a “thats nice” idea, even though it really is like discovering fire for full size trucks, extended cabs have become the bulk of full size sales where regular cabs are scarce.
Dammit, JP. I’ve thought about replacing my starter with one of the newer “mini” units that draw half as much and crank twice as hard. But everytime you mention the sound of the old one I fear excommunication for such blasphemy. 🙂
That interior is amazing. I’ve never seen the inside of an old Dodge truck that didn’t look like an owner and his dog lived in it at some point.
You nailed it, Cap’n. Replace that starter and you might just as well go ahead and put a small block Chevy in the thing. 🙂
Which won’t be a bad idea for another Dodge of the same vintage 🙂 , but 73’s car is on another level entirely to even think about this.
You can say that again. Of all the things to like about an older Dodge truck, the starter is the undisputed top of my list. There is something completely satisfying about it. It has more of a pleading sound to it rather than the manly strong and demanding sound of a small block Chevy.
You guys keep talking about that sound, so I had to go hear one on YouTube.
“Gotta love yer Chrysler”
…compared with the starter sound on this tap dancer’s old Ford. (WTF?)
That old Ford has a great starter on it, but I much prefer this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj9rMOmnpwY
Reminds me of a guy who used to work for my dad back when I was a little dude. I always eagerly waited for him to leave at the end of the day. I just couldn’t get enough of his cold natured Dodge D truck. Cranking it over and over again, then hearing that jar of marbles sound as it wound down, me wondering if it started, only to hear him crank at it again.
motor has a bigger cam, bigger intake and a bigger carb with headers and 3 inch for start to finish. If that Helps out. sound beautiful!
The sweet song of the Hamtramck Hummingbird. Once heard the love remains forever in your heart. You don’t choose it, it chooses you
What amazes me (as an advertising man) is that the ‘All new for 1972’ truck ad would not be repeated until 1994….I grew up in a mixed mopar/chevy family, having driven and ridden in every combination of 70s/80s dodge truck; and I was in college when the new 94 finally came out. Unbelieveable long run.
I am now searching for a clean pre 93 Dodge truck so my kids can drive the same thing i had. (I already have an 85 Chevy truck, need to complete the combo.)
Still searching hung for that dodge power wagon.?
I have a 75, in running condition for sale.
The sound the reduction starter was known as the Hamtramck Hummingbird.
I’ve also heard it referred to as the “Highland Park Hummingbird”. Highland Park being Chrysler’s HQ at the time, Hamtramck being where the big Dodge plant was located.
I didn’t fit in with either of those dads – at the time, I wasn’t – until our son came along in 1979. Then, it was in between…
In 1975, us guys were somewhere in between – anti-disco, not heavy metal, wishing-the-’60’s-never-ended, working on cars, country rock sort of guys who spent many weekends camping, out in the country, more-firearms-than-guys-but-no-drunk-hunting-trips, Jeep and pickup truck guys who had more fun together, not concerned with dating (very much).
That began to change for me when I met the lady who would become my wife in two years that summer of 1975…
Still, I never got away completely from that outdoorsy life. In 1980, I bought a new Dodge. 225, stick w/overdrive 4th. 18.5 mpg on the highway and pretty close around town. Photo below. it was the last year for any US truck that had an all-metal (aluminum) grille!
in 1988, Dad purchased a 85(?) from the estate of a close friend of his that used this pickup for his small carpentry business. I recall that this truck drove on a cloud, and did not have a rear bumper…. it’s feathery ride seemed like the anti P/U at the time!
the biggest issue was that the truck hated the rain…. a series of mechanics wrestled w/ the electronics— what a pain. Dad had it for 2 years (and 15+ visits for non starting), sold it and got a brand new ’95 F150 with bedliner that he just sold last year and I regret not buying!!!!
Our truck had an odd glitch – all of a sudden the engine would die on you when you came to a stop. It would eventually start, but never could figure out what the problem was after repeated trips to Florissant Dodge up the street. I believe they did find a pinched fuel line, however, and after two months, I never had another issue with it.
Bought it in July, 1980. Basic as basic can be. Rubber mats, which is what a REAL truck SHOULD HAVE, no power anything – well, power brakes were standard and “free”. We added the sliding window and rear step bumper. I added an old cassette player and two speakers that I bought 5 years before.
Thing is, that truck was a delight to drive, as the steering was so well balanced, wifey even enjoyed driving it!
If your truck hated rain, mine hated snow even more – it didn’t move! Real small tires and wheels.
We only kept that truck for 7 months! Bought our 1981 Reliant!
I remember going to a Dodge dealer in 1980 when my mother wanted to buy an Omni. I would imagine that when you walked in wanting to buy a Dodge pickup that year, the dealer treated you like a king. If he didn’t, he should have, because most people wouldn’t go near a Chry-Ply or Dodge dealer that year, between the state of the economy and the state of the company.
Cool truck. A shame you couldn’t keep it longer. Also, I have always been curious – you had both a Chevy and a Dodge fairly close together, how would you compare the way they rode and drove?
Well, the Chevy was a ¾ ton and rode and drove like a tank. I got a good upper body workout steering that thing.
The Dodge was a ½ ton and was a world apart. It was a pleasure to drive and I – we hated to get rid of it and we still fondly talk about it.
We traded the Dodge as I made a bad decision – our son was already almost a year old and we were planning on a second child. The seat only accommodated three! Guess what? When wifey was expecting our daughter, we had to do something – she wasn’t working at the time and we were going to need more room.
Never really occurred to me to get a second car – we should have…
I chose my 69 Chevy over that style Dodge based on the way it drove. Turned out to be a good choice, I guess. The Chevy ran good till I got rid of it. Who knows what the Dodge would have done. Then I inherited my Dads 68 Chevy and the beat goes on.
I think I could have gone for the Dodge if I hadn’t tried the Chevy. Same car lot and the owner didn’t care which I took. 318 and Auto. Drove like a car and maybe I was into being a macho sailor. If it had the club cab it would have won hands down.
Great read, Jim! This would even be a worthy find here in Eugene, although I did just find and shoot a ’75 Dodge pickup, but the extreme other end of the spectrum: stripper, with slant six and three on the tree. But it was in excellent shape; I suspect it had even been repainted.
Yes, the sound of a 360 working through a low-restriction muffler is one of my vacation joys.
You’re dead on with your comment about “Emergency”; my wife watched the show as a little girl and thought the rescue squad guys were hot (well, in whatever sense a 7-8 year old girl thinks that way), while I at the same age thought the vehicles were cool, as well as the stuff the guys got to do on the show.
Now that’s when a truck was a truck!
You gotta hand it to the TV show creators’ genius.
I seem to remember Randy Mantooth’s character drove a Series Land Rover. I grew up watching that show, idolizing those guys.
Nice ute though the stupidly long wheelbase would limit its off road capability it looks quite a useful weapon.
Notice that this truck has the ventilated Mopar “cop hub caps” on it as well, which I’m pretty sure were not stock (anybody know for sure?).
That was the one modification that the owner told me he made to the truck. I forgot to ask what had been on it when he got it.
Is that a storage locker under the RHS front part of the bed?
Yes it is. I believe that those were optional at extra cost, and I don’t remember seeing them all that frequently. I have always wondered how useful those compartments were as the truck got rustier, as these pickups were rusters in salt country.
IIRC Fords offered similar storage bins in the bedsides that also were not that common. Ed Stembridge may have more on these.
Come to think of it I’m sure I’ve seen them before, probably on Fords because there are so few Dodge pickups out here.
I was never that impressed with this truck in its time…but now, if I were to look for an old truck, I’d try to find an early 1990s Dodge. With the slant six, of course. It would be the easiest and most likely find on the theme of “basic truck.” What with the Jeep J-series gone into history’s closed books two decades ago…it’s the only game left.
One was for sale about a year ago, but I had too much on my plate. Like so many other lusts, it will go unsated…
Love these trucks of course if you really wanted a big dodge in 75 you could order a 4×4 crew cab 8’bed with a 440 now thats a truck. I’ve driven a number of these old dodge but for me they hit the peak in the early nineties with the Cummins and 5 speed manual now thats a keeper. A friend of mine has a 1993 long bed club cab 4wd cummins 5spd love that thing. Some one mentioned these being a tough sell in th 80’s a friend of mine worked at a Dodge dealer in the late 80’s he told me the salesman used to say “Ram tough tough to look at tough to sell”
Hey — that reminds me of the one we had when I was a kid! Couldn’t tell you now if it was a ’73, ’74, or ’75. But it was a workin’ and haulin’ monster; a 3/4-ton, I believe. And I feel like it might’ve had the 318. You can see in the pic that it definitely had the trifecta packages!
And, as a predecessor to our ridiculous 6.5-people-packed-in-an-Omni Grand Canyon trip, six of us drove from OK to KY in the Power Wagon (pulling a sweet ’67 Plymouth Belvedere behind us, and chatting with truckers on the CB radio). Dad driving, mom and sis in the front; my older brother and myself in the Club Cab jump seats; and my little brother sitting between us in a child’s lawn chair (nope, no seat belts, Jim).
My best friend and I at least got full sized lawn chairs in the back of his dad’s 73 Dodge Royal Sportsman maxivan.
Really great writing! You are dead on about the poor body engineering on these. But the drivetrain was top notch.
I used to work on a lot of these in the military. 1976 and 77 were Dodge years.
The ammeters tended to burn out where the wires connected to the back of the ammeter. Sometimes slowly or all at once. If you find all the usual charging/battery components replaced and still low voltage or the truck is mysteriously dead take a look under the dash. The other was fuel delivery problems from kinked/damaged fuel lines as others have mentioned.
Its a shame that ,no matter where you look, nobody manufactures a complete floor pan for the 1970’s dodge trucks, only rust repair panels. I have a 75 club cab 4×4 long bed with a 70 steel crank 440 and is a real head turner. Everywhere I go I get asked to sell it. I never will sell it but am about to fall through the floor on both sides. Same as as my 75short bed, 73 camper 2500, and my 73 w100 sb.
Well, first off: GREAT BLOG ! Very well done Sir! I could not help but write in a comment as I sit in my 1950s Motel room in Healdsburg CA. I am just about to close a transaction on a 1972 Dodge W200 PowerWagon CrewCab !! A true Northern California 3 Owner Sonoma County ‘Survivor’. Off white 4 door cab with TX9 black interior; AM/FM radio, Factory AC, slider window, 360/727. Only non-original piece is a green ’75 short bed with ‘Adventurer’ emblems on rear quarters! Feel very lucky to score such a classic rig near my hometown of San Francisco.
Great blog. Refreshing to read people’s comments about old iron of yesteryear. I have a 1976 PW with 400 2 barrel. The NP203 has been converted to part time. The front Dana 44 axle has locking hubs and a limited slip differential.Skyjacker leaves lift it up 4 inches. It has a Warn bolt on bumper with a M12000 winch that has never been used. Plus many other new parts and improvements. How do I sell such a truck as I can never recoup what I have into it?
I know someday I will regret this, but I need to sell my old ’77 pw and I’d like to see it go to someone who can really appreciate it. Any suggestions?
I learned to drive in a 75 D 100 4×4 short box.I love that styes much. That I collected them for years. At one time I had 14 trucks. And 11 of them ran. The only one I truly loved was never mine though. I’m looking for a 73 now. I have a 68 red block 318 to drop in it. She will be my best ever when I’m done with her.
Got a 75 Adventurer Sport Power Wagon 4×4 short bed 318/727 for sale right now, 210-909-2637
Dodge trucks are so cool. My dad bought a used ’65 D100 Stepside in 1978 when my family moved to Wyoming for his new job. it was the Slant-Six, 3spd stick w/granny gear, & power nothing. Definitely not a truck for the limp-wristed. My old man made that Dodge do things it was never designed to do, including crossing a wheat field in 16 inches of snow because all the roads were closed & we needed to get to town for food & supplies. (We literally lived on the prairie on 5 acres 10 miles east of Cheyenne.) He did manage to spin a rod bearing while trying to get free of a snowdrift one night, but this being after the wheat field adventure, not surprising. Anybody remember the Gary Busey flick from the ’80’s called ‘Eye of the Tiger’? He drove a fairly bad-ass Dodge pickup in that movie. Not that the film added much to the cinematic world, but it has its moments.
I just love these old Dodge trucks, I’ve wanted one since I was a child. In 2009, was passing a by a Ford/Dodge dealership in El Dorado, Kansas and saw a 1975 W-100 Custom Power Wagon sitting on the lot. It was a short-bed club cab. The only thing not original was the seat and the mud tires. it still had the original copper paint. It was night time and the business was closed. I went back the next day and learned they were going out of business the next day. I took my skeptical wife for a ride on the test drive and told her my story of wanting one my entire life. Long story short, after heaving a big sigh she said “I’ll transfer the money out of savings”. And the rest is history! This baby is in great shape, still has all the original decals and chrome trim. My son and I sure enjoy driving in the “man truck”. I sometimes let him sit in the middle so he can shift the gears.
Port Townsend Wa. has some great PowerWagons
this is my 1974 Club Cab Adventurer
used to clear my land.
Im happy with mine. 74 club cab adventurer w100 with the 225 and 3 on the tree. Have not seen another like it.
Dad bought one that was a Club Cab Power Wagon(unfortunately, no Adventurer tag)in 1975 or 1976 because he needed a work truck again. And dear god was this what he needed.
I live, breathe and bleed Chevrolet, but this Power Wagon gave me second thoughts.
I remain a bit mystified at the low sales of this generation of Dodge pickups, given how popular the B series vans that were sold alongside them were. What did the vans do right that the pickups did wrong?
These trucks were extremely poorly built and weak. That’s why no one bought them.
Thin sheet metal, weak frames, weak suspensions, small brakes, weak transmissions and differential.
They just fell apart when worked hard unlike GM and Ford trucks of the same era.
This really became apparent when the Cummins 6cylinder diesel was dropped in about 1989. The engine ran forever but everything else fell apart.
The 3/4 ton versions of these trucks do have a following though.
Guys rebuild and strengthen the entire truck and drop in a stout Cummins and drivetrain.
The new Gen Ram in 1994 with continued Cummins engines plus Ford and GM miss-steps helped Chrysler greatly in the light truck market.
Wow, NOW I love these trucks .
When new I was a Fleet Mechanic and got tired of the endless melted fuse boxes and fried ammeters & harness’ due to the daily usage including allowing them to idle for hours on end with all the lights going plus orange bubble gum lights on the roof…
The list of things you could order for these when new was really impressive .
After some decades I began buying up all the D100 short bed slant 6 powered ones I could find from CalTrans ~ every one has P.S., B.P., A/C, a basic AM radio made by Motorola (unkillable radios) and towing package including factory twin fuel tanks .
In California they didn’t hardly rust and CalTrans used these *very* lightly, they’d salvage them filthy and usually years out of tune, easy-peasy to polish up and wax, tune and service then sell on again for $eriou$ profit .
I should have kept one but hindsight .
My brother still owns a 1979 D200 crew cab long servie bed, it’s a beast but still chugs along and had gone down many a 4X4 dirt / rock road in Death Valley and the Mojave Desert…..
The radio hole is the same as late 1990’s passenger mini van so we now have a 4 channel AM/FM/CD player that’s factory .
MoPars are a subjective thing ~ you either like them or not .
I give them serious begrudging respect because they’re so hard to kill .
I still find them in junkyards, either clapped out work trucks of grand father’s dusty old thing no one wants so it gets scrapped when he dies .
-Nate
I have to make sure that you understand that your opinion is ill informed at best. The faults and shortcomings of the Dodge trucks of the era are well known to anyone who actually operated them. They all had their faults. I got to spend lots of time behind the wheel of Dodge, Chevy and Ford 1/2, 3/4, and 1 ton trucks when I worked for some oil refineries in the mid-late 70s. My favorite to drive were the Dodges. They performed and handled the best and I liked the roomy cab and the overall driving position. I also felt that they put together somewhat indifferently. Large plastic panels that squeaked took the place of the Stylelines vinyl and steel interiors. The quality definitely was better in the more optioned higher trim level trucks. The basic rubber mat specials I usually drove were not as well made, were drafty, noisy, rattled and tiring to drive all day and you could experience something weird like the ashtray suddenly shaking out of the dash. The Fords I drove varied in quality. Some as bad as the worst Dodges but in general seemed to be a little better built. The were quieter and had a softer ride. The build quality could be just as sloppy. What I didn’t like was how shifters always felt rubbery. I didn’t like the way the Fords handled in turns. They were less tiring to drive but for me the driving position was wrong and uncomfortable. They were slugs performance wise. I preferred the early 70s versions with the 302. Coupled with the FMX or C4 automatic or whatever they used made for a nice truck to drive. Those were probably my favorite Fords of the era. The later Fords especially with the M series motors were heavy, wallowing gashogs in my opinion. Most of my time was spent driving Fords. I didn’t always have a choice and the refineries all had more of them. I drove GM trucks the least. I liked them well enough. They were competent but without much distinction. They also seemed the least dependable. I recall regular downtime for things like wheel bearings and u-joints and rear axles. Mostly nickle and dime stuff but lots of axles. After leaving the refineries I went work for the California Department of Forestry. There we had International Fire engines and everything else was Dodge. That was when I first got hands on experience with Power Wagons. If you absolutely, positively had to get something big, heavy, dirty and dangerous done you used a power wagon. When we were working way up in the hills and Mountains I saw more Dodge trucks being put to use by timbermen, loggers, pot farmers and homesteaders than anything else. Most of them were used pretty hard and some were just beat to shit but they were still working away. I was pretty sure a lot of them hadn’t been near a paved road for years and hadn’t had a current license for about as long.
My experience tells me that the Dodge trucks of that era were tougher and more long lasting precisely due to the quality engineering of component axles, transmissions, suspensions, engines and drivelines.
Probably due to the quality problems that came from rushing the 1957 cars to market before they were ready, the Newburg conflict of interest scandal and 1962 redisign debacle Chrysler became very cautious regarding change preferring to see what GM and Ford were going to do first. The seemed to create near paralysis when it came time to make big decisions. Chrysler was years too slow reacting to the Mustang tsunami, The Barracuda that preceeded Mustang was never properly reconfigured to compete with it. The Barracuda was another example of making a modest commitment and then being to slow to change when it was obvious that Ford had gotten it right with Mustang. By the time the sexy looking but underdeveloped E-bodies came along the initial ponycar era was just about over. The E-bodys were just in time to be too late. Then in typical Chrysler form the decided to kill the E-bodies completely after 4 years. Ford being Ford had ruined the Mustang by 1971 transforming it into a bloated and corpulent fraud. They followed that with the Malaise Princess Mustang 2. They regained their senses again by reinventing the Mustang by way of the Fox body. Chevy and Pontiac soldiered on with the Camaro and Firebird. The Firebird carried the torch until the world changed againand performance cars were again in demand. By killing the E-body Chrysler eliminated any possibility of a revitalization like Camaro and Firebird.
Sorry to carry on here but the point I wish to make is that Chrysler Corporation was in a bind. They were cautious for some good reasons but too slow qand cautious to recognize when they need to make changes to insure they will be in business not just this year but 5 or 10 years ahead. Regarding the trucks they were 4 or 5 years late when they made the 1972 change and they didn’t spend enough money on the redesign to assure higher quality all across the entire truck line. The quality of driveline components carried over from the styleline but the build quality and the quality of interiors and the fit and finish were done on the cheap. This may be an example of building a vehicle to a price point instead of building the best vehicle you can and then determine price.
I agree that these suffered from build quality that allowed for quick deterioration if not maintained. They tended to get shabby looking in a hurry if neglected. I won’t convince me these aren’t tough truck. I’ve seen how tough they are with my own eyes.
Thanks for reading this far. Ugh. It’s too long to proof read and I need to go to bed so I will apologize in advance for this mess.
Should be “You won’t convince me these aren’t tough trucks.”
Nobody is reading this far I’m sure.
I need sleep…………….
I read it!
Chrysler wasn’t always in “reactive” mode, as with their pioneering extended cabs with the 1972 truck. They beat Ford and GM to market with four-door crew cabs as well.