I’ve always been drawn to the idea of a work truck. Blame my father for instilling that stereotype of “the truck is for work, the car is for everything else” into me when I was young, but I can see things that way. In my entire history of vehicle ownership, I’ve had four truck-like vehicles: a 1999 Blazer that was only good at self-destruction; a 1984 Dodge Ramcharger that was at the perfect height and build for a casual wheeler or a search-and-rescue rig; a 1984 Dodge D100 shortbed that was an engine build away from being a muscle truck; and a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 that I only owned because the Blazer was such a pile and the car I really wanted (2002 Camaro SS) had an insurance premium at the time that would make your eyes water. I only regret selling two of them, both of the 1984 Dodges. And to this day, I still want a beauty late 1970s dually of some kind of my own as the work rig around the house.
But damn, does this thing make a case for itself. I’m not the biggest fan of the Sweptline era of Dodge trucks. The interiors were too austere, the body seeming to be an afterthought, the chassis as brick-basic as they came. Great engines, great transmissions, exactly zero frills whatsoever. If it was a car I’d celebrate it as a pure musclecar. But this is a truck…I should be happy that it’s a stripped-down rig, yet with the 1960s Dodge trucks, …eh. They needed something. Something that would make that flat expanse of dashboard and that flat, thin, International-like gauge panel worth looking at. And while I can’t put my finger on what makes this 1970 Dodge D300 so attractive to me, there’s a lot that is good. Big-block noise from the 383, good. 4.56 gears in the back, good. An air-conditioning system that should turn the cab into a meat locker, good. Air horns that would make a New York cabbie fill his brown trousers. great.
This truck needs to be pulling one of those three-car trailers behind it, with a Max Wedge, a Hemi Dart and a Satellite behind it. Just make sure you get some kind of overdrive if you plan on driving anywhere outside of city limits.
I love the strangeness of Mopar but the looks of these trucks are kinda like seeing the overweight neighbour in lingerie, kinda cool for an instant but then you gotta look away hoping no one saw you checking it out.
Geordie, you crack me up with some of the shit you write! Good to see you back!
Saweet! My wife grew up drivin’ a ’67 D200 my father-in-law would still have if it hadn’t been t-boned. I love the 60s Dodges & Chevys. In my book it needs 2 more doors, 4wd & a Cummins & it’d be the perfect tow vehicle for a nice size 4 season 5th wheel RV for our retirement.
I know there “is a price for anything and a buyer for everything”, but $29k for an old truck…nah…