Look at this awesome hunk of steel, would you? Is there anything finer than a classic Dodge Power Wagon? Honestly, if you can lay our eyes on this truck and not get any sort of a gearhead tingle than there’s no hope for you. Get in the Prius line and leave the rest of us alone to recognize what the cool stuff is. This truck is like 95 points out of a possible BangShift 100 and we were heading to a 100 point score until we saw two things. The first is that the truck has been swapped to an automatic and the second is that the shifter for said transmission is by no means right for this truck. Those two items would be rectified nicely and without too much craziness. We’re picking nits with those two complaints because this is a stunning truck. The paint is great, the huge military style tires look fantastic, the bed is beautiful, the 4WD works, and a Dodge 318 was swapped in place of the old six banger. Oh, the old school winch with the rope wound into nearly made us ruin the clothing we had on while writing this….yes, we’re pro bloggers we actually write while clothed.
You wouldn’t think that these trucks would look good in a light blue color, but we think this big guy pulls it off well. The fires extinguisher and wooden box on the driver’s side running board are period perfect, the bed cover is a nice touch, and the bed wood is spectacular. We’re not sure what the plan was with the weirdo interior using some fabrics and patterns that are not exactly keeping with the bruiser image the rest of the truck promotes.
The oversized from stock tires really look awesome in our opinion. They fill the truck’s wheel wells up perfectly, give it a taller, more aggressive stance, and are still narrow enough to not look goofy. Wide, modern tires on these trucks typically don’t look good and while old military NDTs are cool, they certainly are not an idea road tire. These big tires solve most, if not all of the issues and raise the top speed of the truck at the same time.
The 318 V8 is a welcome addition to the truck and with headers, an intake, and probably a cam it should scoot the truck down the road nicely enough and the big inch exhaust pipes on both sides can bellow out their tune for everyone to hear. We’d take ‘er home, swap in an NV4500, replace the door panels and bench seat with black vinyl pieces, and then own the road, the dirt, and whatever buildings we wanted to drive through.
What do you think? BangShift approved truck?
eBay: 1949 Dodge Power Wagon
i think it’s great! i like the color and the upgraded motor. i agree that it needs a stick. i would have to put in a heater. with this truck i would be able to use my favorite movie quote. “roads? we don’t need no damn roads!” awsome find Brian, keep bringin’ em on!
I would also put a stick shift back in and lose the grandma’s couch upholstery. Other than that I like it.
No “almost” about it. I’m man enough to leave the upholstery the way it is, and would rather have the automatic in it than to take it off the road one single day for some foolish notion that it needs to have a clutch and granny gear. It is perfect just the way it is.
I agree that a stick shift is the right tranny for this truck and would make it better. But maybe the guy has a handicap to where he can’t drive a stick. Should he be denied the privileged of having it because he can’t drive a stick?
I’m almost to the point of not being able to drive a stick anymore because of injuries to my left knee over the years. It hasn’t stopped me yet though.
440 – I was simply stating how I would like the truck. This dude liked it with the automatic. It isn’t like I’d ever kick this sucker out of bed, but hey, the fun is always in speculating about junk I can’t afford!
Very nice, but Stacy David’s from Gearz YV show is tougher. I’ll stick with my 1077 K-5 Cheyenne Blazer though.
I get my Y’s and T’s crossed up sometimes…*TV
*1977 Blazer. Just woke up and haven’t had my coffee yet.
Power steering and brakes? Awesome! I could live with the auto trans. I’m thinking saddle blanket seat covers.
Just looked at the ad. The truck is nice, and I know these old Power Wagons are getting about as scarce as hens teeth these days, but $35,900 worth of nice? Maybe if your into 4X4s which I’m not.
Considering that the Legacy Power Wagon’s asking price is $130,000 for basically the same vehicle, with a few creature comfort upgrades, 40 g seems like a relatively good deal.
I gotta agree… loose the sick looking paisley interior!! As for a stick or not, that’s up to whoever drives it, bit I’d take it either way!! Nice to see it didn’t get a generic 350 :), but I think I’d have gone bigger, maybe a 383 or 440.
Come to Fairfield Iowa for the Vintage Power Wagon Annual Rally June 4-7 2014. You can check them out at http://www.vintagepowerwagons.com
Only thing I’d change is the rope!
Mine had the hill holder and dualies… Goes too deep before it gets stuck..
Have to have looong cable before finding anything stout enough to pull one of these babies out!
Buy it Now for $ 35,900.
You’re Crazy.
I’d probably keep the slushbox, but the shifter has to go. I’d replace with a Lokar just to try to get the look of a manual back. 🙂
it would get a man pedal put in, and I prefer black and red or olive drab on these beasties…but I wouldnt kick it out of bed for eating crackers if you know what I’m sayin’
Seat upholstery is not good, but I kinda like it.
Always thought one of these wuld be great for driving to work. Outta my way sucker! I’m coming past you or over you.
The only thing more patriotic than that truck would be watching it winch the USS Constitution into drydock.
Because it could.
Seriously.
looks cool . perfect for intimidating minivan morons .always wanted to build one of these with a 4bt and nv 4500
Somehow, I would struggle along with it just as it is. All of us here, change our rides to suit our taste, one thing that does need to change is the asking price. Seems a bit optimistic to me, but what do I know. Beautiful
I had one of these back in the mid ’60’s. They are a beast!. Ours was stock and could push an 8 foot snow plow through a wall of snow three feet high like i was nothing. The only downside was the stock brakes were crap, dead steering the thing was impossible, and the gearing was so high the engine was screaming and 50MPH was about top end. So if this one has the stock gears, that 318 has to be taching 4-5 grand at highway speeds no matter what tranny you put behind it. Nice looking ride.