The Dodge D-series truck…other than minor bits here and a facelift there, between 1972 and 1993, it’s pretty much all the same. Same frames, mostly the same bodies, and generally the same engines for the most part. We dig the boxy 1989-93 Cummins trucks because they pack serious grunt and can be built up, and we dig the 1972-80 body shape for pretty much everything else, especially since in the 1970s, at least one enterprising member of the Dodge Truck team figured out the EPA loophole and was able to squeeze out a little bit of performance when across the board, there wasn’t jack squat to be had. Trucks like the Power Wagon, Warlock and Lil’ Red Express were the new vehicles to get because you could get a small-block that still had some semblance of giddyup left, or, if you ordered before the end of 1978, a big-block could fill up that engine bay. And the graphics and colors were all-Mopar: bright and bold.
The colors might be a little bit faded on this 1977 “Macho” Power Wagon, but that doesn’t take away from how startling these trucks were and are. The seller can say “rare” all he wants, but what we see is the ideal restoration candidate for the budget enthusiast. We’d leave the paint alone for now, mostly because the truck really needs a full repaint to return to top-tier glory, but because the 318 under the hood might be a touch underwhelming. It might make the right noise, but really…wouldn’t you rather have a big-block? Or Cummins swap, if diesel is your thing? We’d say stroker 400 and get on with it…but for a sale price of $3,900, we’d stick to cleaning up the interior, getting new carpet, and making sure that everything is on the up-and-up first.
Craigslist Link: 1977 Dodge Power Wagon 4×4
(Thanks to Charles Wickam for the tip!)
Always liked these trucks. Growing up in the 70’s, had a few Power Wagon models built to different configuration.
That ones been on CL for 6 months. The tags don’t check out for it to be an actual Macho but it’s definitely a cool truck.