BF Auction: 1974 Dodge Ramcharger Half-Door
- Seller: Luther P
- Location: Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
- Mileage: 82,287 Shown
- Chassis #: A10AE4X085898
- Title Status: Clean
UPDATE – The seller has added photos of this Ramcharger with the top off! You can find those in the gallery below.
This 1974 Dodge Ramcharger is a rare and early first-year survivor. What helps it to stand out is its doors because only Ramchargers produced before June 10th, 1974, featured what became known as half-doors. Only around seventy-five examples exist on the Registry, and even fewer are roadworthy. This Dodge is an amazing discovery that runs and drives perfectly. Its owner feels it needs a new home with someone who will appreciate all it offers. Therefore, he has listed the Ramcharger exclusively with us at Barn Finds Auctions.
The owner and his son discovered this Ramcharger squirreled away in a shed, and it seems it occupied that spot for a while. They were astounded by its overall condition because while the stunning color combination of Sunstone Orange and Alpine White shows signs of minor touch-ups, the paint is original, and there is no evidence of accident repairs. They cleaned the exterior, applied Meguiar’s Cleaner Wax from top to bottom, and stood back to admire a jaw-dropping classic. The paint has a few minor imperfections, but this Dodge will still draw praise as a survivor with an excellent shine. A deeper inspection revealed a soft spot in the driver’s side floor, and the owner replaced that section with appropriate steel to retain a factory appearance. Otherwise, the floors and frame are as solid as the day it rolled off the line. The half-doors are one of this Ramcharger’s defining features, providing the feel of a classic Convertible with the top removed. The lack of abuse and mistreatment is apparent when we examine the finer details: the doors close perfectly, and the windows wind up and down effortlessly. The top disengages easily, and every seal on this beauty is remarkably well preserved. There are no issues with the trim, although the “O” was missing from the badge on the hood. The owner replaced the entire set with some from an older Dodge. He retained the originals, making reversing the change straightforward. The same is true of the side moldings, which now feature a Yellow overlay. Returning these to Black would be easy, although I find the current look appealing. The glass is crystal clear, and the roof rack is a practical feature.
The first owner ordered this Ramcharger with an optional rear seat, providing room for five occupants. They selected White vinyl trim, which has survived the last five decades with no significant problems. The previous owner replaced the driver’s seat lower cover, but the remaining upholstered surfaces and mat are original. There is no appreciable wear or staining, and the painted surfaces show only the occasional small chip. The interior bright hardware is in good order, as are the dash and pad. The center ice chest is a practical feature, and the AM radio, gauges, and lights function as they should.
When discovered by its current owner, this Dodge had hibernated for a while, and he crossed his fingers regarding its mechanical health. However, it sprung a huge surprise when he dropped in a new battery, pumped the gas pedal twice, and its original 360ci V8 sprung instantly into life. The three-speed transmission engaged, and he drove the Ramcharger out of its hiding place and onto a trailer for the trip to its new home. He worked through a meticulous revival process, returning the Dodge to a roadworthy state. He replaced the plugs, wires, radiator overflow tank, and tires. The engine received a new heavy-duty starter, and the V8 exhales through a Glasspack muffler and a 3″ tailpipe. He says it has a pleasant exhaust note, a claim I find easily believable. The 360 produced 210hp and 285 ft/lbs of torque when it left the lot, but there may be a few additional ponies under the driver’s right foot. The owner installed a Weiand aluminum 4bbl intake manifold and Edelbrock 4bbl carburetor, which improves the breathing markedly compared to the factory 2-barrel setup. However, he retained the original components and includes them in the sale. The odometer reads 82,287 genuine miles, and the owner has the original Build Sheet and Owner’s Manual to hand to the winning bidder. The Dodge runs and drives as it should, and the dual-range transfer case ensures it should effortlessly tackle anything Mother Nature throws at it.
Dodge produced 15,810 examples of the Ramcharger in 1974, but only seventy-five examples of the half-door variant are known to still exist. There will undoubtedly be others that aren’t on the Registry, but this is still a rare classic. I admire it more as a genuine survivor than I would have if it had been meticulously restored, and I’m sure many of our readers share that sentiment. Its rarity and condition make it worth preserving, but are you up for that enjoyable challenge? It might only take one bid to transform that dream into reality.
Bid On This Auction
RD bid $43,750.00 2024-05-20 10:21:48
OG1x bid $43,500.00 2024-05-20 10:18:23- RD bid $43,000.00 2024-05-20 10:17:52
Powrwagon1 bid $42,500.00 2024-05-20 10:16:24- RD bid $42,000.00 2024-05-20 10:14:54
- Powrwagon1 bid $41,500.00 2024-05-20 10:14:10
- RD bid $41,000.00 2024-05-20 10:12:20
- Powrwagon1 bid $40,500.00 2024-05-20 10:11:47
- RD bid $40,000.00 2024-05-20 10:09:55
- Powrwagon1 bid $39,000.00 2024-05-20 10:09:30
- RD bid $38,500.00 2024-05-20 10:07:37
- Powrwagon1 bid $38,000.00 2024-05-20 10:06:50
- RD bid $37,600.00 2024-05-20 10:06:05
- Powrwagon1 bid $37,500.00 2024-05-20 10:05:32
- RD bid $37,000.00 2024-05-20 10:04:15
- Powrwagon1 bid $36,500.00 2024-05-20 10:03:42
- RD bid $36,000.00 2024-05-20 10:02:14
- Powrwagon1 bid $35,000.00 2024-05-20 10:01:56
- RD bid $34,000.00 2024-05-20 10:01:28
Dominic bid $33,100.00 2024-05-20 10:01:16- RD bid $33,000.00 2024-05-20 10:00:46
- Dominic bid $32,500.00 2024-05-20 10:00:30
- RD bid $32,400.00 2024-05-20 10:00:02
- Dominic bid $32,300.00 2024-05-20 09:59:17
- RD bid $32,200.00 2024-05-20 09:59:10
- Dominic bid $32,100.00 2024-05-20 09:58:56
- RD bid $32,000.00 2024-05-20 09:58:26
- Dominic bid $31,000.00 2024-05-20 09:57:48
- RD bid $30,500.00 2024-05-20 09:57:24
- Dominic bid $30,250.00 2024-05-20 09:57:02
- RD bid $30,000.00 2024-05-20 09:56:38
- Dominic bid $29,500.00 2024-05-20 09:56:10
- RD bid $29,000.00 2024-05-20 09:55:45
- Dominic bid $28,500.00 2024-05-20 09:55:21
- RD bid $27,750.00 2024-05-20 09:55:21
- Powrwagon1 bid $27,500.00 2024-05-20 09:54:12
- RD bid $27,250.00 2024-05-20 09:50:16
- Powrwagon1 bid $27,000.00 2024-05-20 09:34:45
- RD bid $26,450.00 2024-05-20 09:20:06
- Powrwagon1 bid $26,350.00 2024-05-20 07:15:08
- OG1x bid $26,100.00 2024-05-20 06:46:23
- Powrwagon1 bid $25,750.00 2024-05-20 06:25:17
- RD bid $25,500.00 2024-05-19 08:29:22
- Dominic bid $25,250.00 2024-05-18 09:34:25
- OG1x bid $25,000.00 2024-05-18 07:11:26
- RD bid $24,000.00 2024-05-16 19:12:20
- Dominic bid $20,250.00 2024-05-16 18:56:21
- RD bid $20,000.00 2024-05-15 09:31:14
- Dominic bid $15,250.00 2024-05-14 12:59:14
- RD bid $15,000.00 2024-05-14 11:51:07
- OG1x bid $12,345.00 2024-05-14 10:56:43
- Dominic bid $10,500.00 2024-05-14 10:19:17
- RD bid $10,000.00 2024-05-13 21:24:45
WildJRanchOC bid $8,000.00 2024-05-13 13:45:06
Ridge West bid $7,000.00 2024-05-13 12:36:11- WildJRanchOC bid $2,500.00 2024-05-13 10:07:37
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Comments
Nice !!! ……I love it ! ……What a beautiful Ramcharger ……
Not a fan of the white seats ( with the way I eat ..they wouldn’t be white long ) ….I would love to have this beauty in my driveway ! ….😊😊
I remember when these came out; they were an instant success. I can’t say that they were a competition to GM’s Blazer/Jimmy because I always saw lots of the General’s offspring around the region. But the Ramcharger/Trailduster was well received.
That 360 engine was fairly strong (We had one in our ’73 W-300) but the heat-riser passage tended to clog solid with deposits, making it a cold-blooded POS until you pulled the manifold and rodded the passage out. In the meantime, if you were planning to leave the truck to warm up, you had to find something to wedge in the accelerator pedal (an empty JD bottle did the trick quite well).
That NP 203 transfer case, Chrysler really went all in for that; you couldn’t get a 205 on anything after the 203 came out. And they ate up their share of chains.
Whoever lands this is going to get a good machine. Be prepared for a rough ride. I think that Dodge must’ve put an extra leaf into the springs because I remember these being rough compared to a Jimmy. And I rode in some rough Jimmys…
I love these things, although I admit I’ve never owned one. I almost bought a white Plymouth Trailduster years ago, but I had a Jeep CJ5 at the time and two 70’s convertible 4wd’s seemed like a bit too much fun for one person. I was unaware of the half door deal. Is the ice chest center console a factory option? What a great find.
John of ye-ole-scrapyard 😉 The console “ice chest” as Dodge called it was indeed a factory option (see the magazine tear sheet article/which I’m including with the sale)-and you’ll note its listed there as an actual option. Its how we found it, and a very cool idea. The orange seatbelts we couldn’t resist and are located on both front and rear seating. Have to say the cleanliness and originality of this rig certainly is outstanding and was a joy to clean up and get it road worthy. We actually were out looking for dodge parts for another project when the previous owner asked if we’d like to see his pride and joy…which of course we obliged- but words cannot describe when we were shown this rare rig in such pristine shape. Well you can see for yourself the result here in my listing.
Just wanted to give a 👍 on this presentation.
Yes it was a “Factory” option.
If you wanted a “Pick up” with a full roof, you could order a “Bench” front seat as I did.
Nice to see it is still A.W.D. !!!
Please explain the allure of the glasspack, seems childish to me, not to mention irritating to the people around who do not want to hear it.
The muffler we used is not loud at all. Matter of fact its a very nice low rumble ;-)
It looks like there has been some rust repair to the door bottoms and quarter panels. Was this done before or after you acquired the truck? Any more pictures of the underside?
The main focus for us was welding in new driver foot floor area which we had professionally done. Any touch ups or other repair would have been done prior to us. The underside of it is excellent condition throughout. If you look at the undercarriage pic where the underside is white original paint, that is basically the condition everywhere- excellent. Hope that helps.
I wondered if anyone else noticed that. It’s either rust repair or bubbling that’s been painted over.
WTF is a “half door”?
Look at the window frame of the door. It is removed along with the top, leaving only the main (non-window) portion of the door on the vehicle. Nice to be able to take the top off, but not have the window frame still there.
Does the window go into the window frame or rest outside of it like a hardtop?
Hello Kim, the driver and passenger door window with the top on actually roll up into the window frame just like a hard-top. I believe what you meant was on convertible tops when up, the windows roll up to the outside of the top frame– that is not the case here- so with this RC design you actually have a better seal with the top on than the typical convertible. Hope that helps explain it.
Luther P.,
Have you ever had the top off?
How does it come off exactly?
Have you done a compression test on the cylinders?
What are the current cylinder compression numbers?
Have you noticed any transmission problems (hard shifting, hunting for gears, noises?
Thank You
Hello Ridge, please refresh the listing and you will see our updated pictures with the top removed. The top removal is straightforward and quite simple with 4 bolts at front, and bolts running down each side. They came out easily and we hoisted the roof to our warehouse rafters. Compression is even high 160’s across. No shifting issues whatsoever. The mileage noted in the listing is accurate and not rolled over fyi. Hope that info helps and good luck bidding.
WOW, About 45 years ago I had one i-e-dentical to this, and if memory serves me correct 74 was the only year they made the 1/2 door combo (a true convertible top door) and when I had the top off it was a chick magnet.
What a great looking rig !
That $10,000 price should draw a lot of dreamers out to bid.
Had one identical in 1975. Got 13 mpg alone, and 13 mpg pulling a 24-ft sailboat. Full time 4×4 was great for those slick boat ramps!
The only drawback to the one I had was the width. Mountain trails are typically jeep width and the Ramcharger wider track.
Mine was the same way, loaded or empty got the same millage. I do remember hauling 2 hay bailers down the freeway (2 trips) about 15 miles at 60 miles an hour and kept up with everybody else, and 1 trip I hauled a 40 foot mobile home for a gal about 10 through town although I really felt the weight on that one I had no problems
Wonder if it has AC? Can’t zoom in on the pics on my phone. If so…this could be perfect for Sacramento… 😁
No A/C from factory, but you could always add vintage air.
Guessing the original owner must have done an engine swap to the 360. It was manufactured with a 318 engine. Very clean RC. Woth every penny of the upcoming winning bid and then some.
360 engine is the original–Build sheet clearly denotes that the 360 is original to this truck, with a 2bbl setup but as stated in the listing we swapped that for a 4bbl setup and kept the original 2bbl setup for the new owner.
The fifth digit of the VIN is listed as E, which is the VIN designation for a 318 engine.
Yes the 5th digit of vin is an E, however it is equipped with its original as ordered 360 engine- with the original build sheet that shows this. Just to set the record straight again. This was not an engine swap, this is the original engine to this RC, and it is a 360. ;-) There.
And you could actually order a 440 in one – was just looking at the factory manuel the other day while moving my library.
The 360 engine is original to this ramcharger, and is specifically denoted on the build sheet. Just to be clear, and miles are actual.
Are you sure that this wasn’t a body swap or, a VIN swap because, although the original-looking option code decal clearly lists it as a 360-2bbl, the VIN clearly states it as an “E” which is a 318-2bbl. Could you post a picture of the VIN tag? A 360-2bbl would be an “F” as the fifth digit of the VIN.
Nice rig. You are very patient Luther P. 😊😊
Absolutely a stunner! First off, been to plenty of car shows and have never seen one of these 1/2 doors, secondly to even see a first gen of an RC in this incredible original condition elicits hope that there are still some tucked away gems out there ;-) What a cool find! Congrats to whoever snatches this classic up.
The reserve is off!
When I first saw this, I thought this was my old Ramcharger until I noticed that this one wasn’t an SE version. Mine had twin Cherry Bombs on it. It sucked gas as if it had a hole in the tank and I could almost hear it rusting at night. This one wouldn’t be very pretty long here at the beach. Good times.
Congrats to RD on winning this sweet Ramcharger!