I surely write about a lot of trucks here at Curbside Classic. It’s not that I’m particularly partial to them; actually, I’m much more a car guy. But old trucks are relatively plentiful here in Indiana–even in Indianapolis, where I found this one.
Dodge made these trucks for a whopping 21 years, starting in 1972. I’m partial to them because my grandfather drove one, an orange-over-white ’72 like the one in this ad (except that Grandpa’s had “POWER WAGON” badges on the center hood bulge). When I was a boy, Grandpa and Grandma took my brother and me on a vacation in that truck. Although we rode four-abreast in the cab all the way, I don’t remember feeling cramped. But my usual place in that truck was in the bed, where I rode while Grandpa drove the back roads around his rural southwestern Michigan home.
In 1981, these trucks got both a subtle facelift and the “Ram” name. The easiest way to spot the 1972-1980 trucks is by their body side character line that flows around the wheel arches, which is absent on 1981-and-later models.
From what I can gather from a little internet sleuthing, stacked dual rectangular headlights were available only in 1979 and 1980, so I’m semi-arbitrarily dating this one to 1980. And it’s a typical 1980 truck: single cab, boring paint color and ready to work. Usually, that work tears these trucks right up, but this one still looks solid, that peeling plasti-chrome grille notwithstanding.
Nice find! These trucks were not particularly rust resistant, and this one is mighty clean and rust-free for one of these in this climate. This is either really seldom-used, or is an import from a southern or western state.
A nice touch is the New Yorker wheel cover. I think these came out on the 78 models and may have been available on the R body (St. Regis, maybe?) as well. Now we just have to find him something for that front wheel.
You also seem to have found one of the nice models – I think that only the upper level models got the quad headlights. Zackman will be able to clear this up, as I believe his Dodge pickup was an 80 model.
I think that New Yorker-style wheel cover is actually correct for this era pickup.
Those are hard-to-find wheelcovers. From what I remember, these things did not have the most robust retaining clips.
Interesting how time changes perspective. When these came out I (with the wisdom of 13 years) found them embarrassingly wussified. If you wanted a real, honest-to-God stronger-than-dirt TRUCK…you bought a 1966 GMC. Or Chevy. But not older than 1964…wraparound windshields were for girls. And the window glass is only two-thirds in those horrible early-’60s years as it was in later permutations.
Or, if you were a junkman with missing teeth, so dirty and bath-deprived that a spring rain made dirt tracks on your neck…you owned a Ford. But again, not the early 1960s F-100s – with cab/box combos no more rugged than a 1959 El Camino.
No…you got a real truck. From before GM let the stylists into the truck garage.
Anyway…compare this specimen to today’s inexplicable offerings, all the Big Three plus the Toy Store…you’re right, it’s the essence of truck.
Or…could it be the owner just didn’t hose out the manure he had in back?
These are terrific pickups.
Yes, these do rust, but my admittedly limited experience with them leans toward their rate of decomposition being slower than the competition. However, this is the reason I sold my ’87 D-250 as I could stick a screwdriver through the cab mounts.
I would enjoy another one someday.
Our first “brand new ” vehicle was a leftover 1989 Dodge Ram 100. Standard cab with an 8′ box (THE WAY a pick-up is supposed to look!) Magnum V-6 and Torqueflite transmission. $8995 out the door.
We kept it until 1999. Drove it through every heavy road salt winter in the Syracuse, NY area. NO RUST, honest. Sold it to a young couple with 241,000 miles on it. They drove it for another 25,000 miles until they hit a deer.
We replaced it with a 1999 RAM, (one of the biggest vehicle disappointments we’ve ever had).
I’d love to find another late 80’s or early 90’s RAM in good shape. No one makes a truck that well anymore.
If you asked me to attach the name “essence of a truck” to a particular model, I would choose a 1948-54 Chevy/GMC Advanced Design pickup. If I were choosing one of this generation of Dodge trucks, I would look for one of the early club cab models also bearing the Adventurer model name, for the DeSoto connection of course. Maybe acquire some Turkish DeSoto truck badging to make a nice what-if out of it.
Here’s a picture of our 1980 Dodge. We bought it in July, 1980. This truck was very basic – 225 slant six, stick w/overdrive. We added a rear step bumper and a dealer-installed sliding rear window.
This was such an easy truck to drive, that wifey even enjoyed it, though the steering was armstrong, it was so well-balanced that she could handle it with ease.
1980 was the last year for an all-metal grille. It was also economical – 18.5 mpg on the highway, and almost that much in town commuting.
Love the Zackman Mopar. Actually, Dodge began phasing in the “RAM” name in 1980 as some later ’80’s had little leaping Ram decals. I had an ’83 Dodge Ram D-150; long bed, regular cab with the “Miser” package. Slant Six with four-speed overdrive. Power steering, but no power brakes (didn’t really need ’em).
Once I had the Mopar dealer fix the initial stumbling it suffered (it had electronic spark control), it ran like a top. Timing had to be advanced, so I ran it on Super Unleaded. As I eventually knew I’d be headed back to California (U.S. Coast Guard active duty at the time), I kept on the Electronic Spark Control box. I drove it from Virginia to Oakland in ’85, registered it and it had passed Cal. smog no problem. Slant six was capable of 21mpg on the highway (flat). Flat roads were OK power wise, but long grades and the Slant Six would struggle (which meant a dump into 3rd gear).
I didn’t realize it back in the day, but Dodge pretty much stole the 81-93 front clip right out from under Ford.
Not that this is a bad thing, because it helped this truck last well beyond its past-due date.
I was told by my Dodge dealer that Lee Iacocca took a special interest in trying to improve the Dodge truck designs that existed when he came over from Ford. (There was no money for all new).
Several exterior and interior modifications were a direct result of Iacocca’s attention.
The horse gets all the ink in any western books/movies/etc but If I understand correctly the mule got most of the work. Trucks are motorized mules. Keep writing about trucks. You do it well and they deserve the attention.
How about writing something about mules when you get the chance, or….nevermind.
Well said, Teach, well said!
Which is why I enjoy trucks…Jeeps…owning them and talking about them.
The horse…is a good seat for the pretty damsel. The mule…built the West. And, status aside…I’d rather be commanding a mule. Keep me grounded…I yam what I yam.
+1
My dad had a 1986 Dodge D150 . 4×4 , 318 with the four speed manual ( really a three speed with a crawl gear , we never used first except lugging down logging roads as Dad is a logger ) . He said it must have been the best Dodge truck ever built . It was VERY overloaded most of the time with a 100 gallon diesel tank in the bed , a tool box filled with Stihl 066 chainsaws , logging chains , a heavy equipment toolbox to repair the skidders and log loaders , and various and sundry other tools and kit of his profession . It would also routinely pull a John Deere 1010 crawler tractor on a lo-boy trailer attached with a pintle hitch. All of this in the Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania.
The amazing thing in retrospect , and Paul commented on this in his piece about how high pickups have become , is that it barely sat any higher than Paul’s F-100 !
God , I miss that rig !
A “real” pick-up, a man’s truck, allows access to under the dash and many of the components, wiring, ducts, etc. within.
Not the fancy pretty-boy wimpy trucks of today with pretty far more important than utility.
Sadly, my 2004 Silverado requires major effort to stick paws or nose inside the dash.
Do not judge a Disgruntled Old Coot too severely since my wimpy pretty-boy conveyance does not represent a persona so gruff I can barely tolerate myself.
Grumpy toad is my hero:
I’ve really come to like these trucks, especially the first generation with the original grille. Was always more of a Sweptline guy – we had a couple of pickups at the golf course my family ran, along with a ’66 medium-duty dump truck, but I do remember liking the ’73 Club Cab my Uncle Theodore acquired. It was in the same orange and white as your grandfather’s – that seemed to be the *official* color for these.
One thing I’ve always found interesting is the character line following the wheel arches, because that was the look for the ’71 Satellite and Satellite Sebring. Odd that it went from Plymouth intermediates to Dodge trucks.