BF Exclusive: 1970 Dodge D-100 Adventurer
Update: It’s now listed here on eBay with a $0.99 starting bid and low reserve. The auction is only going to run 3 days too, so it might end up going cheap! Should be fun to see what happens.
We’ve hinted that there is a new project joining the Barn Finds fleet. This isn’t it though! That may seem confusing because we did just buy this truck. See, neither Josh nor I currently own a pickup and we had a lot of stuff to haul. So, when this old Dodge popped up for sale, we couldn’t resist. We have had it for about a week now and it has performed its duties flawlessly. Now that we have everything moved though, we need to free up some cash. It’s not perfect, but it has proven itself as a cool and capable classic. It’s located in Boise, Idaho and based on a few recent sales, we feel that $3,500 is a fair asking price. You can email me here if you’re interested. Keep reading for details.
This truck had been parked in a barn down in Twin Falls for the last few years, so we had to do a quick rescue before we could use it to rescue our other project! That was easy though. The seller already had it running, so we immediately went to the nearest JiffyLube and had the old oil changed and the zerks greased. On the way there, it quickly became apparent that one of the front tires was smaller than the rest. Not only that, but they were all bias-ply and weather checked. Not good words when you’re talking about tire safety. Needless to say, we drove very slowly.
So, the tire store was our next stop. New rubber was ordered for all four corners and we went to lunch. When we came back, our truck was ready and we were hauling parts that afternoon! The steering felt a little loose and the brakes pedal had quite a bit of travel, but we didn’t have any problems making multiple trips back and forth across the valley the last few days. We received many thumbs up during the whole process and it was whole lot more fun than renting a u-haul pickup for the day. Our Adventurer turned out to be a great start to our new adventure!
Here’s some more specifics for those interested:
Drivetrain
Our D-100 is a 1/2 ton and is equipped with a 318 V8 and an automatic transmission. The engine starts right up and runs well. It could still benefit from a tuneup and a new battery though. The engine does leak a little oil, but the rear end and transmission are sealed up well. As mentioned, the tires are new and the suspension feels firm. The steering has a little slop, but I’m guessing they had some when new. The brakes are drum all around so stops need to be planned ahead. Again, that can be expected with any older truck. New shoes and fluid may help with the pedal feel though. Oil pressure is good and we never saw the temperature gauge rise above the midway point even while idling in traffic.
Exterior
With the Adventurer package and tan paint, our old work truck is a looker! It appears to have been resprayed in the original color at some point, but we couldn’t find any over spray in the jams or under the hood. There is some rust in the rockers on both sides and at the bottom of the front fenders. If we were going to keep it, we would probably treat the back sides of those panels with some POR-15 to keep the cancer from spreading and just use the truck as-is. The rust doesn’t affect usability, but I’m sure the next owner will want to address it eventually. The bed is solid without any rust holes and the heavy-duty tailgate is a nice touch. There were hub caps installed from another Chrysler, but I think the black steelies look tough. There’s a heavy duty bumper out back and chrome one in the front.
Interior
It seems strange to say this, but this was a a well-optioned truck in its day. With carpet on the floors and fake wood on the dash, this thing was pretty fancy. Ours even has the cool bucket seats with fold down armrest in the middle. There are a couple of seams that have split and the headliner is missing, but overall, the inside of our truck is a nice place to be. The gauges all work, as does the radio. We didn’t test the cassette player though. There is a round crack in the windshield, but the rest of the glass appears to be good. There are lap belts and a sliding rear glass. See, lots of luxuries! Anyone know what those buttons are for around the rear window? Not much else to say about the interior. It’s durable, clean, and simple – just the way a work truck should be.
Our Dodge has its flaws, but for some reason they just seem to add character here. Trucks, even classic ones, are meant to be used so a few scratches and dents just show everyone that you are busy working. Take a look at the full photo gallery here and let us know what you think. We had a ton of fun with this one and are confident that it will serve its next owner well.
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Comments
Nice ole truck, bring it to Missouri I might buy it from you. I have always loved the older Dodge trucks with the huge cab!!!!
Those snaps around the back window are probably to attach the boot that you would crawl threwn if you had a camper shell or small slide in camper. The boot would provide a weather resistant passage and to install and remove quickly all you would need to do is unwrap it and pull the camper off the truck using the legs that came with the camper to support it when not in use.
This truck would not be my first choice in speaking out a truck. First off to be able to carry any camper shell I would want a full 1 ton. There are too many reason to need a 1 ton for me to explain. In 1971 I bought a 1966 IH 1100A 1/2 ton Travelall. The v304 engine was ok but the best part was the 5 speed Overdrive T34 transmission. 10 mp3 but gas was 29.9 for Gulf take and it had a pair of tanks that held 30 gallons. I then
Bought a 1966 Holiday Rambler 27 foot travel trailer. My wife and 3 kids were moving to N.M. and we planned on living in this travel trailer. On the way I snapped an axle shaft. No problem, the local IH dealer had one instock. But then due to the heavy weight of the trailer the welded on weight equalizing hitch bent the frame of the Travelall. I bought a 1971 IH 1310 1 ton with a v304 and a 3 speed with low first. I took my T34 5 speed out of the Travelall and installed the 3 speed and put the 5 speed into my 1310. In 1984 I owned a Michelin truck tire dealership and I used the 1310 as my service truck. Michelin paid to paint it YELLOW, nice color! I installed new king pins, wheel bearings, brake cylinders and shoes. I still have the 1310. Katrina dropped 17 pine trees on my pole barn and one ceiling joist banged the roof just behind the windshield, but did not break the glass. That was the first time in 30 years that the 1310 was under a roof. The last time I cranked her up the brake pedal went to the floor and I saw brake fluid at the right front wheel. That truck is parked behind what was my pole barn and a water oak seedling sprouted next to the truck. In the ten years since Katrina that tree is 40 feet tall and my truck rests in shade. So I saw a 1987 Ford E250 Ambulance with a 6.9 natural breathing diesel, for sale at an auction. I won the truck, which is going to the love of my life after I install some amenities like a bed and some storage shelves. The point is this Dodge was not a work truck, even with that nice 8 foot bed. If it had been intended for a slide in camper it should have had big radiator, transmission cooler and stuff like that. A 1/2 ton pick up with a fancy interior was the ranch owners truck, not the ranch hands work truck.
My 68 IHC1200 pickup has the 5 speed od transmission from the factory with 4.10 gears. It is a wonderful vehicle overall. I have owned hundreds of trucks and it is the best of it’s time. This 1970 Dodge was built at the height of the camper craze. A small cabover camper would have been within the GVW of this truck and it would have be a decent ride too. I always want to tow something, Horses, boats, vehicles or something, so the bigger brakes of the 3/4 ton are important to me but many 1/2 tons were sold for campers. Most wound up with overload springs and heavier tires but they were serviceable. The hair still stands up on my neck when I remember a return trip from elk hunting one year, my 1963 IHC with cabover camper and a horse trailer with 2 geldings coming down the grade from Logan Ut to Brigham City…….I had fire coming out of the rear brakes and the fronts were too hot to touch even after 30 min of cooling. The grade has a stop light at the bottom and I was very thankful that I had a green light when I got there……..could have been really ugly.
Hey Dave. Do you have any pics of your 4X4 Dodge? What kind of shape is it in?
looks like a very nice truck in a good price range to sell fast. love the rear bumper and tailgate. does it have power steering? it does have a dual master cyl. for the brakes which is great. looking at the photo with the bed full i still do not know what other new project you bought. great find.
Judging by the photos, there’s no power steering or power brakes. It Does have a 318 though, which should give it plenty of power. Or is it a 360?
No power steering or brakes. It is new enough to benefit from a dual master cylinder though. It has the 318 V8 and A727 Torqueflite transmission with 3.55 rear end.
That is a highway truck.
yes i noted in my comment that the truck had a dual master cylinder which is a big plus. first thing i look for when i look at the under the hood photo ( or whatever photo shows the master cylinder ). whoever ordered this truck new did a great job on the options also. the new owner is getting a great all around truck.
My guess would be it had a in box camper and the rear window was replaced with a boot between it and the camper at one time. I’ll buy it in NYS if you will deliver for that price.
Sorry guys, but shipping is up to the buyer. You can get quotes on uship to see what it would cost. I forgot to mention that this one is fitted with the auxiliary fuel tank. It needs to be flushed out and hooked back up, but will provide some extra range for those long hauls.
I think that’s a cool truck. How close are you to post falls Idaho? I live in wash on the west side and I am selling and going to Spokane or just into Idaho. I follow your site daily ,be fun to come say hi. I.ve got lots of good REAL stories and have gotten a few cars through barnfinds good job!!!!!!!!!
Boise is about six and a half hours away from Post Falls. Let us know if you are interested. Thanks for the kind words!
Yeah, that truck is great! I just sent my wife the link. It’s much nicer than the trucks I’ve been showing her lately. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
Let us know what she says Alex! We have a few interested parties, but it’s not sold yet.
Guys……keep the truck. You’ll be sorry
I’d like to, but unfortunately we cant keep them all!
that vintage truck did not come with a factory bumper. The temperature takes a long time even to the middle in that vintage Dodge.
I wish I had the money or the space for that truck. We had a ’68 D100 flareside like that. $100.00 because the owner didn’t feel it was safe to drive. I believe it had around 45-50K miles on it. We replaced the flareside with a stepside (we had to rebuild it with new angle iron and wood. Installed a slider window we bought used. Put Wrangler rwl tires and wagon wheels on it.
The shifter on the dash (automatic) and the 318 2bbl were enough to smoke the big tires. We would haul 3/4-1 ton of newspaper for recycling or old lawnmowers we had rebuilt to take to the flea market. Your truck brings back lots of memories!
You mentioned play in the steering; I believe the drag link is adjustable. Power steering was actually a slave cylinder attached to the tie rod bar.
Good luck in selling it. I wish it was mine…
The headliner is not missing, that’s the way they were in all the early 1970s pickups I’ve seen, even the fancy ones. The park service had a bunch of these in the early 1970s. We used them for everything, from roadside, toilet duty, pulling sweepers and ever operator pickups. They were great dependable trucks with great heaters. I can still see that PS green, like the calming color you’d expect to see in a mental institution.
You’re probably right about the headliner David. These old trucks were so simple.
Can you tell me the color of this truck? It looks pink in some photos, tan in others…can you clarify?
How’s the exhaust system?
Have you done a compression/leakdown test?
Thank you,
Ken
The color is most definitely tan. The exhaust looks like it has been replaced and we have not yet done a compression test. We may do that next week if it doesn’t sell before then. Thanks for your interest Ken.
I had a 66 D100 short bed Sweptline for a while. 318 ploy V8 and 3 speed manual. That truck was a handful in the rain because it would spin the rear tires at the slightest application of the go pedal. Sold it about 8 years ago and regretted it ever since.
Given the condition and relative rarity of vintage Dodge trucks (compared to Chevy or Ford) I’d say at $3500 it’s a smoking deal. The long bed is a big plus, great for hauling motorcycles.
We had many interested parties, but no one committed so we have listed the truck on eBay. The auction is going to start low and only run for 3 days so it should be interesting!
It would look really nice sitting in my driveway beside my 59 Willys pickup and you’re only a 10 hour drive from Summerland BC. Just got to get it across the border. I’ll be watching your auction.
Only an hour and a half to go! Do you think it’s going to sell for more or less than my original $3,500 asking price?
It sold for $3,383.33 with 30 bids! Not bad.